Ok, almost 6 months and issue was fixed by new timer so figure I should recommend it. My theory is that my old timer would drop voltage when pid enabled power, and this put some part of the machine into a funny state. I think I missed the voltage drop because my digital multimeter updates slower than the pid pulses?
I checked out the timers at home depot. Lots of small sketchy units for <$20, was about to give up when I found the Intermatic "Grasslin" GM40 for $50, comes in a cardboard box and internals can be checked because it is easily disassembled into pieces. Insides look really nicely made, way overkill for this. I wired it with the ends of a 3 foot 10/3 extension cord that I cut in half. Note that box doesn't come with strain relief plugs so get some that match the extension cord diameter (I got a bag of them from amazon.) Wiring diagram was simple to follow. I was focused on getting a unit that could easily handle the startup draw without lowering voltage - I never want this problem again - and this unit should easily handle the power. My favorite thing about the timer is the big clunk it makes when power turns on or off, that is a big-ass relay. Least favorite thing is that it is inconvenient to turn the power on manually (need to reach behind machine, open the enclosure, fiddle with a tiny switch.) Eric On Monday, June 27, 2016 at 5:38:11 PM UTC-7, Eric Christoffersen wrote: > > Ok guys. Sorry for the delayed response and thanks for the riveting > conversation. I am 99% of the way to 'fixed' the only thing missing is my > own understanding. I got an element and the correct socket delivered, > waiting in my holster. All set to replace except that every time I went to > diagnose the machine it would start working again. > > Then had a fortuitous accident, my wife didn't know that the wall timer > had a switch on top so she removed timer to make coffee in the afternoon. > Next morning machine is tip-top, same the next day. I noticed that the > timer was gone after 4 days, plugged it in and next morning the machine > wouldn't reach temp... > > So... looks like problem was my wall timer. I'm not sure why I couldn't > diagnose an issue, the voltage and resistance all read fine, everything > pointed to there being something was wrong with pid. Appears the pid > problem was caused by the timer. > > I got a new wall timer and machine has been 100% fine for weeks. > > Cheers, > Eric > > >> I had the same problem recently, and tech support at WLL thought it might >> be a failing PID because the element was not entirely out, but the machine >> would still get hot -- although not hot enough by a few degrees. I ruled >> that out with a little testing, including a nasty jolt when I touched the >> brew boiler and ground and popped the GFCI. Resistance was about 800 Ohms >> across the element, and I was getting 20 ohms from one element lead to the >> boiler wall -- and 120v from the boiler wall to ground. So, the element >> was in the process of failing and was shorting. I bought a new element >> (with a daily discount, which was nice), bought a 37mm socket for my air >> impact wrench. My 1 1/2" socket was sloppy, and a 1 7/16" heater element >> socket I used for sizing didn't fit -- but it was a cheap stamped socket >> and not a precision tool by any means. WLL recommended a 1 7/16" socket, >> so I suppose a good one would work. 37mm is right on the button, and I got >> one pretty cheap off Amazon. >> >> The recommended removal process is to use a standard socket wrench while >> holding the boiler with a oil filter wrench, but with all the gunk used to >> seal the element, I didn't think that would do the trick, and a WLL tech >> said that an impact wrench was best -- as others on this NG have written. >> Worked like a charm, and he element was split. I used the oil filter >> wrench and socket for reassembly with some Teflon thread paste, which I >> like better than tape. The machine is up and running and working >> beautifully. My only screw up was that after I popped in the element and >> turned on the machine, the steam boiler automatically filled -- and I >> forgot that I had to fill the brew boiler and about cooked my new element. >> But I was watching it heat up and realized my mistake before the element >> got too hot. Its funny that I should forget since this all started with me >> trying to fix the problem with descaling, which involves a lot of brew >> boiler filling. >> >> As for scale, the inside walls of the brew boiler and my split heater >> element were clean, but there was about an ounce of white, non-adherent >> material just sitting in the boiler. I suppose it was calcium carbonate, >> but it flushed right out. >> >> -- Jay Beattie. >> >> >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
