Our electric urn failed, and the reason was that in the lead to the element there was an electrical component that looked a bit like a large diode. "Tf
128 deg C D125 POPH" it said, which I took to be some sort of overheat protection, but there's a separate overheat thingy incorporated in the element. Anyway, I soldered some wire to bridge round it and it's all working, but anyone know what that does?
Google him say it is a thermal cut out
In article , GB writes
Save your life.
It's a thermal fuse, designed to be the last defence against dangerous overheating in the protected equipment. They don't usually fail unless there has been a failure in the normal temperature control of the item so using it with this bypassed would be very foolish.
A search for "thermal fuse" 128 deg C brings up loads of sources but you should be looking for problems in the main thermostat too such as sticking or welded contacts too.
In article , fred writes
Sorry, forgot to say, for obvious reasons, these things can't be soldered, they can be crimped into a loom or used with a terminal block (with suitable temperature rating).
Fred, maybe you have overlooked the need for a few people to bypass safety devices from time to time - it helps refine the gene pool!
Bob
GB brought next idea :
It is a thermal fuse - it 'blows' if its temperature rises above 128C.
That's me, group spoilsport ;-)
Thanks all for the advice. The thing is that it just failed in normal use. The urn was full of water at the time. Nothing obviously wrong with the temperature regulator. It's all going on and off quite normally. There is a fail-safe built into the element anyway. Why would you need two?
2 possibilities for the failure:
In either case you can change the thermal fuse and see what happens. If it fails again then you have an obvious fault in the control that needs to be repaired before replacing the fuse again.
You say there are 2 safety devices but what do you know? You had to ask for a thermal fuse to be identified so how do you know that the other is a safety device at all? Manufacturers don't put in anything that costs extra money for the sake of it, they put it in because someone performed a risk assessment that suggested a safety hazard existed if they didn't fit that device and that is why it is there.
If you continue to use an item like that with the safety device bypassed then you are putting yourself and those about you at risk and being very foolish, don't do it.
I went to fix a tumble drier last week. I was 100% that is was the thermostat that had tripped. Now the customer was the sort that would not tell you if there were other problems with the machine so I bypassed the thermostat for a quick test. The machine worked so I removed the link and ordered a new stat. Now the customer thinks that I am ordering parts for no reason other than to rip her off!
That makes sense to me.
Sorry, I don't understand that. It's an urn. It can't overheat whilst it still has water in it. The water just boils off, maintaining 100 C.
Not really, as it's crimped onto the lead. I've never been much of a dab hand at crimping. A poor crimp would definitely be a hot spot.
See above about not overheating.
One of the terminals of the element is connected in series into a little round thing, and I can see the thermal compound that leaked round the edges. What else would it be? Besides that, the thermal fuse does not have a good thermal connection to the element as there are a few cms of wire in between.
Customer is always right.
Like f*ck they are. This one wants me to leave a tumble drier in a dangerous condition to save a few quid.
You obviously can't do that, and I was being ironical. Sorry, I should have added a smiley. How you explain it to her is another matter.
I've soldered them a few times in the past, you just have to be quick with an iron set to 400 deg C and use a damp rag to contain the heat!
Might have made a difference to my reply!
She either pays what I ask or I walk.
But if you're having an attack of absent-mindedness you end up scratching your head over the fact that the repair didn't! And muttering unkind words about the supplier of the replacement part, until eventually the penny drops!
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