Quick update after reading more forum entries and getting frustrated.... I'm seeing several instances of brittle wiring on the temp sensor...
Anyways, I resorted to brute force and pulled the sensor out. The plastic wire insulation was completely brittle and cracks under the slightest pressure/flexing. So, now what? I saw a post where Todd Salzman says that the sensor and temp controller come as a set... great. How much does that cost for a wire that apparently is being applied to an out-of-spec temperature condition and it undoubtedly will happen again? I saw one poster that stated he simply cut back the wiring, twisted and soldered the end, stuck on some heatshrink and reinserted it into the thermowell.... Apparently this worked fine for him... I thought there was a special solder you needed when making thermocouples... the different metals react differently to temp. Anyone else try to solder/ repair the existing temperature sensor for the brew boiler? I've about two feet of extra wire in the original sensor.... It was wound up and held together with a twist tie.... Come on, please respond if you have thoughts on this... I'm jonesing over the prospect of not having my machine running tomorrow.... Tonedeef.... On Nov 26, 9:15 pm, Tonedeef <[email protected]> wrote: > If I understand you correctly, I'm having the same issue.... > > Just today I noticed that the temperature readout was only 53 degrees > C... Then the LED would light all the bars... flash and go crazy... > then 52, 53, maybe 54 degrees. It wouldn't get hot enough.... I pulled > a shot and checked the temp with a thermometer and sure enough.... > > Found water leaking from the fitting in the back of the steam valve > and dripping onto the PID unit located directly below... > > Searching around, I smell burnt electrical stuff..... The black wires > going to a large (maybe 11/16" dia.) brass nut on the top of the brew > boiler (the boiler closest to the front of the machine) have the > insulation melted off and there's black soot around the hole in the > brass nut. > > I assume this is the thermostat based on my tracing of the wires back > to the temp readout/pid. But, the wires don't feel like they want to > pull out.... > > I've employed brute force alot of times in my life and have found that > this approach doesn't work well with electronics.... Is the thermostat > wiring supposed to just "pull out"? > > Thanks, > > Tonedeef > > On Nov 22, 5:00 am, wiseguy <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > John, > > I need to replace the wire bulbsensor(and then replace the stat) > > that goes into the well on the brew boiler. Should it simply pull out > > of the top of well or is it somehow attached. If it just pulls out, > > how would you remove it if it feels stuck? > > Tx, > > Carl > > > On Nov 22, 1:55 am, John Brinkman <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > BII doesn't have a PID, just has a regular thermostat. > > > > JohnB > > > > On Sun, Nov 22, 2009 at 4:13 AM, wiseguy <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I need to replace my pidsensor. The old one seems to be stuck in the > > > > well and won't just pull out. Any suggestions? > > > > Tx, > > > > Carl > > > > > -- > > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > > Groups > > > > "Brewtus" group. > > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > [email protected]<brewtus%[email protected]> > > > > . > > > > For more options, visit this group at > > > >http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=.-Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en.
