How to use the Tesco Value kettle heating element

[johnc86]

Ok. I tried this. Got it assembled and plugged it in.....

.....blue flash inside the plastic tubing and the RCD tripped :? .

On inspection it seems the LED may have been the problem as it appears blackened. Or was it like this before :hmm: .

I cant be certain what went wrong. Here's a few pic's in case anyone can help me.

A couple of things I did differently than Big Yin. I couldnt get a good enough join with solder so I used 3 cable joiners to clamp the prongs on one end and give me something sound to screw the cables into.

I don't see an issue with this but please feel free to give your opinions.

Also I made the mistake of drilling the hole in the bucket to far down. There is only a couple of cm between the bottom part of the element and the base of the bucket. I'm happy to accept that I may need to scrap this bucket due to this :x .

Any input much appreciated.

 

[BigYin]

The two red switch wires are both into the same terminal of a connector and then the led from that same connector back to the element body? From the pics it looks like that's what you've done, but did you manage to include the resistor that's in the led wire? It's a little bulge in the wire. :hmm:

 

[Sean_Mc]

Surely it must be easier and safer to buy leads from one of the DIY sheds :?

 

[johnc86]

Included the resistor, there is only a couple of mm between it and the connection coz the single wire was a pita and broke. Had to restrip it and didnt have a lot to play with.

Both switch wires are in the same terminal and led in the other end.

The switch on the socket outlet I used is now stuck in the on position :? . The circuit breaker went back on ok though and the other outlet is working (its a 2 gang). Why would this happen?

 

[BigYin]

I suspect a short has drawn too much current through your socket and has overheated it :hmm:

Why it has shorted is much more important...

Was there water in the boiler when you switched it on?

How long was it on before it went wrong?

 

[johnc86]

I suspect a short has drawn too much current through your socket and has overheated it :hmm:

Why it has shorted is much more important...

Was there water in the boiler when you switched it on?

How long was it on before it went wrong?

The element was submerged mate yeah, It happened the second I flicked the switch. There was a bright blue flash and the rcd tripped (thank god lol :lol: ).

when I inspected it the led was really hot and looked a bit blackened. Other than that it all looked as it should have.

 

Aye, until the missus turns the washing machine or microwave on. That's the only reason.

Never thought of that as I also brew in my garage, which is on a seperate feed.

 

[BigYin]

I suspect a short has drawn too much current through your socket and has overheated it :hmm:

Why it has shorted is much more important...

Was there water in the boiler when you switched it on?

How long was it on before it went wrong?

The element was submerged mate yeah, It happened the second I flicked the switch. There was a bright blue flash and the rcd tripped (thank god lol :lol: ).

when I inspected it the led was really hot and looked a bit blackened. Other than that it all looked as it should have.

I'm afraid I've no idea how you've managed to get a short in there, but that's the only thing that would I'm aware of that would cause the problem you describe.

I've fired my boiler up again out of sheer interest, and both elements are working absolutely fine.

Sorry I can't offer you any more help at the moment as short of inspecting it in the flesh, and checking a few things with a meter, I really don't know what's caused your problem :wha:

 

[johnc86]

I suspect a short has drawn too much current through your socket and has overheated it :hmm:

Why it has shorted is much more important...

Was there water in the boiler when you switched it on?

How long was it on before it went wrong?

The element was submerged mate yeah, It happened the second I flicked the switch. There was a bright blue flash and the rcd tripped (thank god lol :lol: ).

when I inspected it the led was really hot and looked a bit blackened. Other than that it all looked as it should have.

I'm afraid I've no idea how you've managed to get a short in there, but that's the only thing that would I'm aware of that would cause the problem you describe.

I've fired my boiler up again out of sheer interest, and both elements are working absolutely fine.

Sorry I can't offer you any more help at the moment as short of inspecting it in the flesh, and checking a few things with a meter, I really don't know what's caused your problem :wha:

Argh no probs mate. Its trial and error this sort of thing after all.

 

[hairybiker]

OK what you should have is this:-

Mains ===> L ----> Element
| ----> Neon 1

N -----> Element
| ----> Neon 2

And what you have done is :-

Mains ===> L ----> Element
| ----> Neon 1 ---------|
|
N -----> Element |
| ----> Neon 2 --------|

(Forgive my cr*p ascii art)

I.E. you have shorted out the L & N by connecting both wires that go to the neon into the same connector.
They need to be separated one to each side of the neon (what people here are calling a led)

 

[johnc86]

OK what you should have is this:-

Mains ===> L ----> Element
| ----> Neon 1

N -----> Element
| ----> Neon 2

And what you have done is :-

Mains ===> L ----> Element
| ----> Neon 1 ---------|
|
N -----> Element |
| ----> Neon 2 --------|

(Forgive my cr*p ascii art)

I.E. you have shorted out the L & N by connecting both wires that go to the neon into the same connector.
They need to be separated one to each side of the neon (what people here are calling a led)

I will look at it again when I finish work. I actually bought 2 kettles so I have another one to try if I want to.

I presume the one that I already used is for the bin now then??? Or is it just the led the neon that died?

Cheers.

 

[hairybiker]

The element etc should be fine, your cable may not be though
Since no actual power went to the element, it all went through the neon wires.
You need to separate the 2 wires to the neon and connect them individually, or leave it disconnected but SEPARATE the wires and isolate them.

If the rcd tripped before the fuse blew than the cable maybe ok but I would check for signs of damage and check the fuse as well.

 

[johnc86]

Looking at it again I still can't see what I did differently to the OP .

Comparing the guide pics and mine it still looks right to me :? . Obviously your correct in what your saying and I want to do what your suggesting, but I don't get it

I did exactly this:

Strip 5mm of the wire insulation from the ends of the brown wires. Twist each end up individually and put them both into one side of the cable block. Tighten up.

Strip 5mm of the insulation off the end of the LED wire and fit that to the other side of the cable connector - it's a single strand wire so position it carefully under the screw of the block and make sure it's secure.

 

[BigYin]

I think you have wired it right - that's what really worries me.

If we ignore the mains wiring just now, there are two browny/red wires that went up to the switch - as we want the element to be on whenever it has power, they are cut off from the switch and connected together into one side of a single connector.

Now, the led - it was attached to the switch, but we have cut that end free from the switch (keeping the inline resistor). The other end of the LED cable is a black wire that returns to the element body. The way the original wiring works, is when the switch is closed, this LED is an a loop that takes power from the switch and returns it to the elemnt body.

As we have removed the switch, to mimic this we attach the cut end of the LED cable to the other side of the connector holding the switch wires.

That effectively mimics, pernanetly, the electric flow that occurs when the switch was closed so that the kettle was on.

The olny thing that I can think of that would have produced the blue flash is a short of some kind that allowed a spark to arc between two points.

Is the fitting watertight? No water could have got into the fitting???

Are the connector blocks you have used to connect to the pins exposed in any way - what is the tape you have wrapped around them?

:wha:

 

[johnc86]

I think you have wired it right - that's what really worries me.

If we ignore the mains wiring just now, there are two browny/red wires that went up to the switch - as we want the element to be on whenever it has power, they are cut off from the switch and connected together into one side of a single connector.

Now, the led - it was attached to the switch, but we have cut that end free from the switch (keeping the inline resistor). The other end of the LED cable is a black wire that returns to the element body. The way the original wiring works, is when the switch is closed, this LED is an a loop that takes power from the switch and returns it to the elemnt body.

As we have removed the switch, to mimic this we attach the cut end of the LED cable to the other side of the connector holding the switch wires.

That effectively mimics, pernanetly, the electric flow that occurs when the switch was closed so that the kettle was on.

The olny thing that I can think of that would have produced the blue flash is a short of some kind that allowed a spark to arc between two points.

Is the fitting watertight? No water could have got into the fitting???

Are the connector blocks you have used to connect to the pins exposed in any way - what is the tape you have wrapped around them?

:wha:

Nothing is exposed as far I can tell :hmm: .

The gaffa tape was used in place of electrical insulation tape which I did have but wasn't sticky enough to hold properly.

 

[hairybiker]

OK assuming that I am wrong and you NEED to connect the 2 brown wires together (they went to the switch yes?)

I would remove ALL the connections from the element and check you haven't created a short when you tried to solder them or if there is any loose strands of wire connecting the L/N/E together.

If you have a multimeter then test the plug->element for shorts.

 

[BigYin]

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 450AAAYOei

duct tape may not be considered good electrical insulation..... :hmm:

 

[johnc86]

Yeah over long term I'm sure its not. But a split second.... :lol:

 

[gsidford]

I was trying to simplify the connection as far as possible, and used the wire with the neon connected to it and simply flattened the terminal on the end of it to make a spade. This then fits snugly where the wire on the other side of the switch went so no cutting and rejoining required.

 

[legionbob]

Just building my AG brewery and this was a great way to save money. a very good 'how to' guide! thanks