Oh dear, new Backer element

[vacant]

I thought I'd buy a spare element for my boiler and just received this in the post. Needless to say I've asked them to arrange for collection and replacement. The plating is incomplete and it also looks like it is covering rust. I've been using a second hand Backer element that looks better than this.

poor plating

rust underneath?

edit: copper rust is called patina. I also found a few mm of exposed copper on the underside of the the element, not scratched off, just thin/non-existent plating

copper exposed

[JonA]

I think you might find that it's not rust underneath, it's splatter from where the element is fused to the mount. Just had a look at both the Backer elements in my boiler and they both have similar 'blobs' - shall we call them. They have made plenty of brews no problem.

Probably made in China these days

[Fil]

a white kitchen paper towel wiped over the element and its back plate after its been stood to dry after a dunking in water will reveal any rust issues as a visible red peppering in the towel.

[vacant]

Just had a look at both the Backer elements in my boiler and they both have similar 'blobs' - shall we call them. They have made plenty of brews no problem.

That could well just be blobs of plating. What the 2nd photo can't show is the rough edges where the plating has come off or never properly adhered in the first place.

a white kitchen paper towel wiped over the element and its back plate after its been stood to dry after a dunking in water will reveal any rust issues as a visible red peppering in the towel.

No iron rust, the third picture showing exposed copper is the bit that would cause most problems - patina forming between brews weakening the plating boundary and water trapped after boils etc.

[Fil]

ahh my bad, some abrasive like bar keepers friend should remove the 'patina' verdigrises a type of patina can be toxic so be thorough and as long as you clean and dry before storage in dry conditions between brews that should not re occur.

the question you need to ask is how confident are you that the remaining plating will remain in place after a few brews. there were some cheap seaton 3kw elements some of us took a punt on a while back that did shed their platting after only a few brews, and while copper is a beneficial metal to expose your beer too zinc magnesium and chromium 3 things iirc you can expect to find in plating metals among others may not be so desirable.
also it may look like copper but it may be a dark brass with some lead content expected to be hidden behind the plating?

I think your wise to return

[vacant]

I filled in their web contact form on Friday and included a link to those pics in a google shared photo album but got no response. However, I phoned just now and explained the problems - without me asking they're going to send out a new one that's been double-checked and they don't want the old one back. So that's good. No company is going to send out 100% fault-free items, it's how they deal with any problems that counts. Looking better so far.

[Brewedout]

The main issue with kettle elements is that they are not designed with acidic wort in mind. Eventually the plating wears away in the hot acidic wort. I've got through a fair few backer elements over the years. I'd just stick to stainless it's safer and worth the additional cost IMO.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[vacant]

Pleased to report the replacement element arrived by courier this afternoon i.e. 24 hours. No blobs or copper showing though still a slight roughness in parts.

All three Backer elements are 2.75kW but these two new Backer element are a different design from the one I already have. The older one has a mirror quality chrome finish and is longer. These two are more like my Shel 2.4kW element.