Tesco Element Help

[Froggit]

Im having issues with my tesco elements.

Origionally my boiler was one element in a pan which was also on the gas hob, never had problems with the element all be it for only 5 brews.

On my 6th brew i switched to 2 elements and no gas, one of the elements stopped working half way through so i had to finish the boil on one alone but with no problems.

I went for brew 7 and checked the element that stopped working and it worked , of i go again. 15 minutes in and one element goes, no problem i think, will continue on 1, 45 minutes in and second element goes, im buggered not a lot i can do as plastic isnt too good on the hob.

I go to my boiler this morning and both elements are fine , im no electrician but im assuming these cheap elements dont have a cut off, i removed all the bits on them including the switch prior to use and like i say ive had 5 boils with one of them with no issues.

I know your all gonna say get a decent element and tbh i think thats the way to go but im curious as to why this is happening.

Any help thanks in advance.

[Deller12]

Get some decent elements

Have your elements got a heavy deposits of burnt wort on them. I know the cheapo elements tend to over heat quite easy if they crud on them.

[Froggit]

No they do get clagged up during the boil but i clean them with acid after every batch!

[barneey]

With a lot of talk about elements recently.... what is the hole diameter required for the tesco elements? Highlander on the other thread has already mentioned about the Asda ones being 44mm dia.

[vanish]

The only reason I've ever had any problems with any Tesco elements is when they get covered with burnt on wort/hops. I removed mine after least two brews and clean thoroughly by soaking in vinegar and then using a scrubbing brush. This way I keep on top of the problem and never have any cut outs during the mid brew.

[trucker5774]

Mine are argos elements ....I think! I thought I had removed all the cut outs from mine until I had the same problem. I then found a sneaky one I had missed, but the reason it tripped was because of a build up of crap on the element........it only takes a couple of boils. I now scrub them to death every time and make sure I get underneath and in between them.

[Froggit]

With a lot of talk about elements recently.... what is the hole diameter required for the tesco elements? Highlander on the other thread has already mentioned about the Asda ones being 44mm dia.

I cut a 38mm hole, it is a little tight but it makes for a real nice fit.

I stripped my elements down and there is a sprung push pin on the back of the element, i am assuming this has to be pressed (as it would be when it was screwed together) to provide power to the element and it is not some sort of cut out device.

You can see the ivory coloured pin which pushes against the copper plate.


Ive removed the elements so i can make sure they are absolutely spotless before my next boil and see if it happens again!

[barneey]

Thx for that, useful to know + you could always update to a better element at a later date if required, whereas using an asda element initially would cause afew more upgrade problems.

[Fil]

after having similar issues i attacked my tesco element housing pulling the white pin and bending the copper metal flexi cutout disk so heat wouldnt trigger it, both are overheating cut outs..no problems since attacking the housings..

[Highlander]

Yes i've been using tesoc elements with 38mm holes.
I bought an asda element for an earlier boiler and it was 44 mm.

Froggit.
The white push button needs to be pushed in. Its somesort of cut out, i assume to cut off the power if the screws backed off.

[Froggit]

The white push button needs to be pushed in. Its somesort of cut out, i assume to cut off the power if the screws backed off.

Thanks for that, thats what i was thinking but was considering attacking it and seeing if it worked anyway, so youve just saved me a fiver

Got them all cleaned up spotless and im gonna try again next week, if same problem happens i think im gonna move onto a immersion heater element.

Been doing some costing and will deffinatley be cheaper than buying the haden kettle element.

[floydmeddler]

This happened to me before. I took it off, bent the copper circular plate back so that it created a better connection and bingo. No more problems. Could have been a fluke though!

[Dr. Dextrin]

I think the white plastic pin needs to be pushed in and is a fail-safe in case of serious overheating - it melts. So I doubt that has much to do with the cutting-out problem.

[The Dribbler]

The pin needs to be pushed in. I checked it with a multimeter.

I just snapped the over boil protection round spring straight off. So no chance of the thing cutting out.

It might burn out being cheap but thats another matter.

[dynamic dave]

I use two TESCO elements I cut the white pins with a craft Knife and removed them and the spring never had a problem with elements cutting out,cleaning them after use and using simerstat to control rolling boil might help with there life.