With the kettle full and starting to heat up, I paused for lunch and switched off the element. Back to action I switched back on and after a few seconds my GFCI tripped. I checked for obvious leaks, shorts etc. and reset to have it trip again. After some diagnosis with multimeter I discovered my element fried.
Thankfully I am a bit of a packrat (as most homebrewers tend to be) and dusted off the spare pot and propane burner to pivot to old school brewing. However, the old propane burner regulator had seen its day and wouldn't give much more than a small flame. Thankful for close by brew friends, shoutout to bradbrewsbeer who bailed me out with a propane burner to recover.
While boiling I managed to swap the element with a spare I had grabbed during the everwood sale days. Good to go for the next brew and strongly considering ordering a spare element to have on the shelf in case of a redo.
Summary and conclusions:
- Homebrewing is often a series of unexpected events; being prepared to pivot and revaluate can save your ass
- Being a packrat pays off
- The homebrewing community is a wonderful thing. Extreme gratitude for bailouts, trades, swaps, gear sales, group buys etc.
- GFCI for electric brewing is imperative. Also a big shoutout to BBrianBoogie who originally built my controller I bought from Liverdance, the safety circuit works great!
