Dishwasher Element got bent in transit.. Should I still use it?

[jon.p.weaver]

I was looking for a replacement element for my Creda Dishwasher and found that going direct to Creda was cheapest.

However, they had the nerve to charge =A35.00 for P&P, but all the did was chuck it in a bag and throw it in the post.

Hardly surprising, when it arrived, it was a little bent in a few places.

Most noticabley, instead of being 'L' shaped, it was more like a '7'. It wasn't to much of problem bending it back to the right shape and fortunatly, there are no 'kinks' in the element. I would guess that its not designed to get bent, without proper tools so am not sure if any damage (or weakness) has been done.

I complained to them and they are sending me another. But when I checked today, they havn't even shipped it yet.

I was really hoping to get the dishwasher fixed and re-installed this weekend, so wondered whether I live with the one I have, or wait for the replacement to arrive.

How much of a problem would bending the element cause? Is it likely to create any major damage or weakness??

Any info on this would be appreciated

Jon

[Ian Stirling]

The damage you have probably done is not significant. However, as the element is metal cased, the absolute worst that could happen would be that it shorts out in use, and blows the fuse.

[jon.p.weaver]

And this is exactly why I don't want to risk it.

The reason I am replacing it is that my old one kept tripping the RCD. When measured with a megger, it was reading 50Kohms between the conductor and earth..

I don't want to spend all this time putting in an element which does the same thing after a few uses..

[Ian Stirling]

I assume you've given the megger back?

[jon.p.weaver]

Yep.. But even if it "meggered", OK there is still a risk that its been weakened and may fail again in the future.

My big concern is that I don't 100% believe that it was the element.. All of the evidence (i.e Megger) says that it was... But if I fit this element and it trips again.. Perhaps weeks, months or even years later, I am likely to think that i wasn't the element after all, when it could simply be the new element at fault.

I think I might just live without it for another weekend and wait for the new element to arrive.

Jon

[Harry Bloomfield]

[e-mail] expressed precisely :

They do normally need a little bending to get them to fit properly. Try gently adjusting it, if it feels as if you have over done it then don't install it, otherwise it should be fine.

So long as the metallic outer does not fracture, then it should be OK.

[Peter]

These mineral insulated elements can be bent indeed thats how they are formed in the first place, the point that is important is the seals on each end where the terminals are, if these are damaged moisture can get in and result in tripping rcds.

Peter