Step-by-step testing of the heating element in a washing machine with a multimeter. How to check the heating element on a washing machine at home. Check the heating element of the washing machine with a tester.

2016-12-09 Evgeniy Fomenko

There are several ways to check the heating element of a water heater with a tester and without it. First of all, you should calculate the resistance for your boiler. Calculation formula: R=U*U/P. U is the voltage, which is equal to 220 V, P is the power of the device.

For example, the resistance for the Ariston BLU R 100V model with a power of 1500 W will be calculated as follows: R=220*220/1500=32.3 Ohm. And for a Termex ER 200V water heater with a power of 6000 W, the resistance should be equal to: R=220*220/6000=8 Ohm. The power value is written in the operating instructions and on the factory sticker at the bottom of the tank.

First of all, the device is disconnected from the power supply. After this, remove the protective cover from the bottom of the water heater. To do this, unscrew the screws with a Phillips screwdriver and pry it up to open the latches. The insulation is removed from the connection to the tubular electric heater, the wires are disconnected and you can begin checking.

There are the following ways to test the heating element for serviceability:

Visual inspection

If you do not have a multimeter, then the performance of the part can be checked by visual inspection.

First way. The wash should be started. And start watching your electric meter, in particular the wheel. If it picks up speed, then most likely the heating element is working.

Second way. Visual inspection. Remove the heating element. To do this, you need to unscrew the nut that is located in the middle. Next, you need to press on the end of the protruding bolt so that it goes deeper, and pry off the heating element with a knife. Now that we have the heating element in our hands, we can carefully examine it from all sides. If you find even minor cracks or black spots on the part, then most likely it is faulty.

Please take note

When you install a new heating element or return the old one to its place, carefully ensure that all connections are absolutely tight. Make sure that the heating element is in the correct mount located at the bottom of the tank. Otherwise, the part will touch the drum during washing. Which, of course, will not have a very good effect on its future performance.
Do not neglect preventive measures that will help extend the life of the heating element. Once every six months, run the wash in the standard cycle with an empty drum. Instead of washing powder, add a spoon or two of citric acid. This method will remove scale formed during operation. Read more about methods of dealing with scale on heating elements.

Conclusion

If your washing machine has stopped heating water, do not rush to buy a new one. Perhaps the problem lies simply in a faulty heating element. The part should be dismantled and ringed to confirm or exclude the guess that it is the heating element of the washing machine that is damaged.

If this manipulation does not reveal the malfunction, then a careful inspection of the heating element will help to fully verify its functionality. If the defect is confirmed, the electric heater must be replaced. A new part can be ordered through the service center.

Tubular electric heaters are used in domestic and industrial applications. They are necessary for the operation of such familiar equipment as a washing machine, iron or kettle. However, sometimes it is necessary to understand whether the heating element needs replacement or repair. It is very easy to check the heating element at home.

What does the heating element device consist of?

A device such as a heating element performs the function of converting electrical energy into thermal energy. Thanks to this, it heats the water. These devices are capable of operating in a wide variety of environments, so they are made of high-quality material. Before you begin repairs, you need to understand what parts an electric heater consists of. This:

spiral;
contact rod;
insulator;
filler;
sealant;
contact nuts and washers;
tubular metal shell.

The internal design of the heating element is quite simple and can be checked quickly if you follow a certain algorithm of actions and use high-quality equipment.

Why might malfunctions occur in a tubular electric heater?

As a rule, if the heating element breaks down, the electrical appliance stops heating water. There can be many reasons for the breakdown of this element, from a faulty switch to system failure. However, there are several most common causes of heater failure:

the thread of the chrome helix broke;
overheating of the thread, which contributes to its melting;
the appearance of a large layer of scale inside the system;
the use of heating elements not in a liquid medium;
poor quality of the installed heating element;
the occurrence of a short circuit of the spiral to the metal shell.

There are only two types of the most common problems that can be checked with a tester at home. These faults are a broken spiral and an insulation breakdown.

These problems can only be detected if the tubular heater is tested in various ways. Problems originate in different elements of the heating element design. The insulation is guaranteed by a tube located inside the heater and filled with sand. The break in the spiral is already formed inside this insulating tube and has little connection with it.

How to check the heating element with your own hands?

You can check the condition of the tubular electric heater only after determining the power of the device. The power of the heating element is usually indicated on the body of the electric heater itself.

Of course, before you start checking, you must disconnect all wires from the electrical appliance. Checking the heating element serves as an intermediate and integral step between the occurrence of a problem and its immediate elimination. The check can be performed in several ways:

pointer tester - you need to touch the probes of the device to the terminals of the electric heater while minimizing the resistance, the optimal resistance level for the spiral is found out using an online calculator or calculated using special formulas;
multimer - it is used if the spiral has not broken, one end of the probe must be touched to the terminal of the heating element, and the other to the tube, the device should show the value “1”, with other readings a short circuit is likely;
LED and battery (or power source) - when connecting the LED to the heating element, you must observe the polarity; a glowing LED means that the coil is not damaged;
phase indicator - it is better not to carry out this type of check yourself, since if the procedure is carried out incorrectly, it can cause serious harm to health, the main condition for carrying out this check is not to touch the heating element after it has been connected to the outlet;
electrician's control - this test option is based on turning on a light bulb with a spiral in a certain sequence, after which the circuit is connected to ordinary electrical wiring with a power of 220 volts, and the result of sequential connection of the plug with cord, light bulb, socket and heating element should be a bright glow of the light bulb.

The choice of verification method depends on your skills and knowledge. The safest and most convenient option at home is the use of a multimeter.

It should be noted that a tubular electric heater is considered faulty if, during its testing, the instruments did not show resistance. You can even find out if there is damage to the heating element design visually. For example, if you see that there are dark spots on the outer surfaces of the device, this means that there is a breakdown in the body of the heating element, and, therefore, it needs to be replaced.

An electric kettle has become an indispensable appliance in any kitchen. It heats water quickly and consumes little electricity. However, like any other device, sooner or later it may fail. There are many reasons for this situation, but most often they come down to the fact that the device does not work due to damage to the heating element. Therefore, many are interested in the question of how to ring the heating element in a kettle and, if necessary, change it?

Types of electric kettles

Principle of operation

To understand what could cause a malfunction, you need to understand the principle of operation of this device. Regardless of the model and its cost, electric kettles operate on the same principle: the main heating element is installed in the lower part - a heating element, which is connected to a thermostat. When the device is connected to the network, the heating element heats up, gives off its heat to the water and brings it to a boil. When the water temperature approaches 100°C, steam is produced. It passes through the channel and reaches the thermostat, after which the kettle turns off.

Operating principle of an electric kettle

Despite the fact that the operating principle of the device is quite simple, its repair will be easy only for an experienced technician. But those who encounter a similar problem for the first time do not know how to change the heating element in a kettle. Only a few prefer to fix the problem themselves, while others go to the store in search of a new device for boiling water.

Private breakdowns

There are a number of typical problems that are directly related to deviations in the operation of the heating element. Among them it is necessary to highlight:

Slow water heating. This malfunction is associated with the heating element, since there is a significant layer of scale on it. Deposits are formed due to insufficient maintenance of equipment. Scale is fossilized minerals and salts found in tap water. During use of the device, they harden and deposit on the walls, including the spiral. If the scale is not removed in time, the heating element may burn out. For the same reason, damage to the contact rods of the heating element occurs. Not everyone knows how to ring an electric kettle and determine the cause of the malfunction at home. Therefore, repairs should be entrusted to experienced professionals.
The electric kettle turns off prematurely. The reason is quite simple - scale formed on the heating element. The heating element has a fuse that trips when it overheats. For repairs, it is necessary to clean the device from plaque.
break of the spiral thread. The breakdown occurred due to scale on the heating element or turning on the device without liquid. The spiral can also burn out due to low-quality parts that were used in the manufacture of the heating device.

How to find out the performance of the heating element

To understand what could be the reason for the breakdown of the kettle, you need to ring the heating element. However, other causes of malfunctions should be ruled out first.

wire burnout;
The power button is broken.

You can ring the heating element using the measuring instruments at hand.

Checking with a multimeter

Most people who repair equipment have such devices. To do this, you need to turn on the multimeter (tester) in resistance measurement mode, and then touch the contact rod with one end of the measuring device. If the thread inside the heating tube is broken, an incorrect value will appear on the tester screen. The operating resistance for a kettle with a power of 2000 W will be 25 Ohms. If no deviations are found inside the tube, then one of the taps needs to touch the contact rod, and the other to the metal tube. If there is no short circuit, then the screen will show an infinite resistance value. And if it is, then it will be fixed and such a heating element cannot be repaired.

Checking the heating element

Test using power supply

Testing using a heating element power source is done as follows: a battery (-) must be connected to one of the heating element rods, and an LED light bulb is connected to the (+) pole, the second output of which is connected to the other rod of the heating element. If the light bulb lights up, the spiral is intact.

Checking with an indicator

Checking the operation of the heating element

This verification method is dangerous because it must be done while the device is connected to the network. You need to act very carefully. In the socket you need to determine where the phase is located. After this, the contact rod must be connected with a piece of wire to the phase. If you touch the opposite rod with the tip of a special screwdriver, the lamp will light up. And if you lean the indicator against the handset, it will not light up. This means that the integrity of the spiral is broken.

How to replace the heating element in an electric kettle

To replace the heating element in an electric kettle, you need to completely disassemble it:

remove the cover. To do this you will need a Phillips screwdriver. Raise the cover and unscrew all the screws;
remove the handle - you need to unscrew the screws at the bottom of the kettle, then unclip the handle. Depending on the model, the mechanism may be located at the bottom of the device or directly on the handle itself;
to dismantle the heating element, you need to remove the on/off button of the device, then unscrew the screws that were hidden under the handle;
After this, the heating element can be freely removed. Then install a new heating element and put all the parts back together.

Replacing the heating element in a kettle

After completing the repair, do not forget to check the functionality of the device. Replacing the heating element is a quick and easy process that anyone can handle. When repairing an electric kettle, you must follow safety precautions, especially when checking the device.

A kettle is a container with a heating element for boiling water. Previously, samovars with electric water heating were produced. Samovars were made of metal and were relatively expensive. With the development of plastic foundry production, teapots in plastic cases began to be produced.

The quality of the plastic is very important. Cheap kettles use bad plastic and if you smell the kettle, you can clearly hear a very nasty smell. If you boil water in such a kettle, the water also acquires the aroma of the kettle. Of course, the most harmless are stainless steel teapots.

Kettles differ in types of heating elements. In my opinion, the best kettle is with a flat heating element. For such a kettle, it doesn’t matter how much water you pour into it - the water will in any case cover the bottom, and therefore the surface area of the heating element. The bodies of all teapots are approximately the same.

The kettle stand is a round button in which the contacts are located. The kettle presses the button, the middle ring lowers, releasing two contacts that are pressed against the contact rings on the kettle itself. The central rod is grounding and serves for precise installation of the kettle.

Repairs begin with checking the entire circuit. The tester is placed on the resistance and rings from the plug side. In this case, the kettle power button should be in the “ON” position. If the kettle is working properly, the resistance should be 27 Ohms for a kettle P=2 kW and 67 Ohms for a kettle P=900 W.

If there is no resistance, then it makes sense to ring the kettle itself without a contact plate. To do this, you need to become a tester for contact plates on both sides of the circle.

If the resistance is very high, then you need to remove the lid and look at the contacts inside the kettle. At the bottom there is a heating element and a contact plate. No blocking or protection here. You need to ring the heating element itself. Kettle P=2 kW and resistance 27 Ohm. Ten is fine.

The contact plate is a plug with a socket. If you pull it towards you, you can pull it out of the socket. The tester needs to check the contacts up to the plug connectors. The plate is attached to the kettle body using M4 nuts. There is practically no access to them, so you can unscrew them either with tweezers or sharp teeth.

The plug has thin contacts. Of course, such contacts cannot transmit a power of 2 kW for a long time, so over time they burn out and bend. You can clean them with alcohol and bend them.

If it is definitely established that the contact has disappeared precisely at the connection of the socket with the plug, then you can solder pieces of wires onto the socket contacts to increase the contact volume, or shorten the connection using wires.

The handle has a button to turn on the kettle and a temperature bimetallic plate to turn off the kettle when the water reaches 100 C. The button contacts are also very thin and easily melt.

In addition to kettles with flat heating elements, you can purchase a kettle with a spiral heating element, which runs like a spiral inside the water flask itself. Such kettles have the same shape as kettles with a flat heating element. The only difference is the stand.

There are contact pins at the bottom of the kettle. These pins go into the contact plates and connect 220 V to the heating element. First of all, you need to ring the heating element from the side of the kettle plates. The main problem is in the plates themselves.

The plate with pins is screwed with three M4 screws through a rubber gasket to the heating element itself. You need to screw it evenly and check for leaks.

The first thing you need to do is ring the heating element. Its resistance is 67 Ohms with a kettle power of P=900 W. The heating element becomes covered with scale in cheap models. You can pour 2-4% acetic acid into a kettle and boil with it.

The contact plate is equipped with all kinds of interlocks. This does not increase reliability at all, but only adds a few switchings on very thin plates. On the contact plate on the heating element side there is a steel plate with a cut. The cut is needed to bend forward and turn off the button if the heating element overheats above 120 C. In the center at the top there is a plastic rod that rests on the heating element and presses on the plate, closing the contact. The rod protects the heating element from overheating: it will melt and turn off the voltage supply to the heating element.

If you unscrew the screw in the center of the contact plates, you can remove the top cover. Under the cover there is always a lot of burnt plastic and thin switching and contact plates. The contacts for the kettle's power button are also located here. The button is made in the form of a rod, which lifts the plate and turns off the heating element. The contact plates are all the same and do not differ in the power of the kettle. The most competent repair is to solder everything tightly and boil directly without blocking.

At the very top of the contact plate there is a switch button sensor for the kettle. It triggers when the temperature in the kettle reaches 100 C. The cutout in the steel washer was not made by chance. When heated, metal expands. When the ring heats up, the tongue is pushed forward and presses the shutdown button.

In addition to ordinary household kettles, there is a line of professional and semi-professional kettles. These kettles hold more than 2 liters of water and are able to maintain the required temperature at the same level so that the water is always hot.

A normal kettle does not have a removable stand, which eliminates moving contact. For this kettle, a wire from a computer is suitable, apparently among the Chinese it is quite popular and, most importantly, successful. The power of the kettle is noticeably lower than the power of household kettles. Indeed, professional tea is drunk slowly and in large groups, and in domestic conditions more power is required to reduce the waiting time for boiling water.

The biggest difference is on the inside. There is a motor with a pump here. Indeed, it is quite convenient not to tilt the kettle, but to press a button. It's safer for your health. Under the white cambric in the thermal protection there is a temperature fuse. The control board controls the logic of the entire kettle.

The thermal fuse can be cut out if there is no other one. He is a very uncritical thing.

Happy repair everyone.