Electric water heating devices are widely used by modern people to solve everyday problems. Their main element, which ensures heating of water to the required temperature, is a tubular electric heater (TEN). The wire spiral located inside the TEN has a high resistivity and heats up when an electric current passes through it, transferring heat to the body of the device through the thermally conductive filler. If a washing machine, electric kettle or other household appliance stops heating water, then the cause of the problem is most often a breakdown of the thermoelectric heater. In this material we will talk about how to check the heating element with a multimeter to make sure it is faulty or to establish that the problem is not in the heater.

Check Features

Before checking the serviceability of the heating element, it is necessary to calculate its resistance using the formula R=U 2 /P. The letters in it mean:

• R – resistance of the electric heater.
• U is the magnitude of the applied voltage.
• P is the power of the device, indicated on its body.

It is necessary to know the resistance value in order to compare the results obtained during testing with it.

Having calculated it using the given formula, you can proceed directly to diagnosis. Checking the heating element is performed in the following order:

• Disconnect the device cord from the power supply.
• Place the tester switch in the resistance range in which the indicator obtained during the calculation is located.
• Apply the multimeter probes to the body of the household appliance and, in turn, to the output contacts of the heater.
• Decipher the readings on the multimeter display. If the tester shows a resistance equal to that obtained in the calculations, the heating element is working. The number “0” indicates the closure of the spiral located inside the element. The number “1” or infinity means that the spiral is broken.

The whole process is detailed in the video:

Having finished testing, you should ring the heating element to find out if there is an electrical breakdown on the body part.

This procedure is also performed using a multimeter in this way:

• Use the regulator on the tester panel to set the meter to buzzer mode.
• Touch the probes to the body and, in turn, to all contacts of the electric heater.

If, when the probes touch the terminals, the device emits signals at a high frequency, this indicates that electricity is “breaking through” to the housing. You cannot touch such a device if it is connected to the network, otherwise a strong electric shock may occur.

How to check the heating element of a water heater?

The boiler is checked for serviceability of the electric heater in a manner identical to that described above. The only peculiarity of this procedure is that, in addition to the heating element, you also need to check the thermostat. The resistance value of serviceable heating elements of water heaters, depending on the brand of device, can range from 0.37 to 0.71 MOhm.

As was said, after diagnosing the electric heater, you should check whether there is a breakdown in the body part. We have already told you how to ring a heating element using a multimeter: you need to set the meter to buzzer mode, and then, touching the contacts with the multimeter probes, listen to the signals that the device emits.

How is the heating element of a washing machine checked?

The main difficulty when checking a washing machine heater is that it is quite difficult to find - especially for many modern units, the internal structure of which is quite confusing. Most often, the heating element in washing machines is located near the back cover, just below the loading tank. However, in some models it is installed on the front side, and in top-loading machines, electric heaters are often located on one of the sides.

Checking the heating element of a washing machine has one more nuance - these heating elements are equipped with three outputs, but when checking you need to connect only to two of them, and it is important not to confuse these contacts. Typically, the terminals to which you need to connect (neutral and phase) are located at the edges, and between them there is a grounding contact, which is not important for testing.

Otherwise, diagnostics of the heating element of the washing machine are carried out in accordance with the instructions given above.

The resistance value of a working electric heater in modern washing machines in most cases ranges from 25 to 60 Ohms.

Checking the heating element of an electric kettle

The electric heater of these devices always has free access, and finding it is not difficult. To check it, you must first calculate the resistance of the element using the formula. Then you need to set the measuring device to the minimum resistance mode, then attach the probes to the terminals of the heating element and see what data is reflected on the tester’s display. If the heater is faulty, the value of the resulting resistance will differ markedly from the calculated one. If the multimeter shows “1” or infinity, the spiral is broken.

We can talk about the presence of a short circuit if the device produces the same indicators when one of its probes is applied to a metal pipe and the other to the heating element.

The following video shows the process of checking the heating element of an electric kettle:

Conclusion

In this article, we figured out how to properly check the heating elements of various household appliances using a multimeter. Finally, it must be said that if a malfunction of the heating element is detected due to a short circuit or a broken coil, the functionality of the household appliance can only be restored by replacing the non-working element. The same must be done if the electric heater causes a breakdown on the device body, otherwise the operation of such a device may lead to electric shock.

All electrical devices sooner or later exhaust their service life, and using the device becomes impossible or dangerous to life and health. The transition from tube products to transistor ones has helped to increase the service life of many electronic devices by reducing the heating of the most critical elements, but in many electrical devices this effect is not undesirable.

How to check correctly

Various heating elements have an efficiency of 100%, since all the electrical current used is converted into thermal energy.

Despite the fact that these elements are made of heat-resistant materials, the service life of heating elements still remains very short, so if an electric stove, oven or washing machine fails, it is necessary, first of all, to check these products for serviceability of the heating element. You can make the diagnosis at home using a multimeter.

You can check the heating element with a multimeter without any difficulties, but you should be aware of some features of such diagnostics:

These conditions are mandatory for carrying out diagnostic work, otherwise you can get false positive results, or mistakenly consider the heating element to be faulty.

Multimeter models

It doesn’t matter at all which multimeter or tester the heating element is diagnosed with. In order to check the heating element, you can use both pointer devices and digital models.

The cost of diagnostic equipment also does not affect the quality of the diagnostics performed. The main condition that must be met in this case is the serviceability of the equipment with which it is necessary to check the heating element.

Particular attention should be paid to the integrity of the wires that lead from the multimeter probes to the device. If checking heating elements is part of the daily work process, and not a need for home repairs, then you should choose models with which you need to check heating elements equipped with an alarm.

When using such devices, you can not be distracted from the process of repairing the product, but determine the integrity of the electrical circuit by an audio signal.

How to check the heating element of a washing machine

Using a multimeter to check your washing machine for a malfunction of the electric heater is not difficult. Modern models of household appliances will definitely notify you of a problem with a special sound signal, indicating an error code on the device display.

Deciphering the encoded information is carried out using the instructions for the washing machine, which describe the most common problems with this device.

If the error code indicates that the heating element of the device is faulty, then in order to replace this device, as well as to ensure that there is no self-diagnosis error on the device, the heating element must be dismantled. Work must be carried out in the following sequence:

• De-energize the electrical device.
• Remove the rear protective cover of the device.
• Disconnect the wires to which the heating element is connected.
• Unscrew the bolts that secure the heating element to the body of the washing machine and carefully remove the heating element.

The heating element is checked in the following sequence:

• Turn on the measuring device and switch it to resistance measurement mode.
• Connect one multimeter probe to the threaded terminal on one side of the heating element, and connect the other probe to the second terminal of the heating element.

If the spiral located inside the shell is intact, then the multimeter display will display a value from 10 to 100. If the heating element is faulty, then the measuring device will not show any values. If the multimeter is equipped with a sound annunciator, then a high-frequency signal will notify you that the heating element is working properly. The absence of a signal will indicate the need to replace the heating element.

If the coil is in good condition, then it would be useful to check the leakage of electric current to the housing of the heating element. To check the heating element for breakdown, you need to switch the multimeter to resistance measurement mode up to 10 kOhm and connect one probe to the body of the heating element, and the other to one of the main terminals.

There should be no readings on the multimeter display. If a pointer device is used, the pointer must remain stationary.

If, when trying to check an element for leakage of electric current, a “breakdown” to the heating element body was detected, it is necessary to refuse further use of this element, even in the case when the washing machine is not equipped with delicate electronic filling and the socket has a grounding electrical contact.

If the heating element needs to be checked on washing machines produced in Soviet times, then the whole process is carried out in a similar way, and the reason for starting the test is the lack of heating of water in the device.

How to check the heating element of a boiler

Despite the fact that many modern models of water heaters have a special anode rod for protection against corrosion, heating elements in such devices also fail from time to time.

To make sure that the water heater has stopped performing its function precisely for this reason, it is necessary to dismantle the heating element and make sure that this “disease” is present.

Work to remove the heating element is carried out in the following sequence:

• The boiler is disconnected from the mains.
• Water is draining from the water heater.
• The bottom cover of the device is removed.
• The contact wires are removed.
• The bolts holding the heating element to the boiler body are unscrewed.
• The heating element is removed from the housing.

You can check the heating element of a water heater in the same way as the element of a washing machine. If the heating element is too heavily contaminated with lime deposits, or the contacts of the threaded terminals were not tightened well enough and burns have formed in these places, it is necessary to carefully clean the metal surface in those places where the multimeter probes will be connected.

How to check an air heating element

Using a multimeter, you can check heating elements of any design, including air heating elements, which are a less durable element than those products that are used to heat water.

The malfunction of the air heating elements can be checked not only with a multimeter, but also by visual inspection.

Very often, in places where the internal spiral of such elements breaks, deformation of the body occurs; sections of the heating element body in bending areas are especially susceptible to such changes.

Even if, when checking with a multimeter, it is formally possible to determine the serviceability of the heating device, but there are deep damages on the body with exposure of the protective sealing layer, further use of such a heating element should be abandoned due to the unfavorable prognosis for the further operation of the heating device.

Conclusion

How to ring a heating element with a multimeter and do it correctly is described in detail in this article. The main condition that every home electrician must adhere to is the complete absence of electric current in electrical appliances and devices during repair and diagnostic activities.

To connect plumbing fixtures to the water supply network, a flexible water supply is used. It is in demand when connecting faucets, showers, toilets and other water intake points, and significantly simplifies the installation process. Flexible connections are also used when installing gas equipment. It differs from similar water devices in its manufacturing technology and special safety requirements.

Characteristics and types

The flexible hose for connecting plumbing is a hose of different lengths made of non-toxic synthetic rubber. Thanks to the elasticity and softness of the material, it easily takes the desired position and allows installation in hard-to-reach places. To protect the flexible hose, there is an upper reinforcing layer in the form of a braid, which is made from the following materials:

• Aluminum. Such models can withstand no more than +80 °C and retain functionality for 3 years. At high humidity, aluminum braiding is prone to rust.
• Of stainless steel. Thanks to this reinforcing layer, the service life of the flexible water line is at least 10 years, and the maximum temperature of the transported medium is +95 °C.
• Nylon. This braid is used for the manufacture of reinforced models that can withstand temperatures up to +110 °C and are designed for intensive use for 15 years.

The fasteners used are nut-nut and nut-fitting pairs, which are made of brass or stainless steel. Devices with different permissible temperatures differ in the color of the braid. Blue ones are used for connecting to a pipeline with cold water, and red ones for connecting to hot water.

When choosing a water line, you need to pay attention to its elasticity, reliability of fasteners and purpose. It is also mandatory to have a certificate that prevents the rubber from releasing toxic components during operation.

Features of gas connections

When connecting gas stoves, water heaters and other types of equipment, flexible hoses are also used. Unlike water models, they are yellow and are not tested for environmental safety. For fixation, end steel or aluminum reinforcement is used. There are the following types of devices for connecting gas appliances:

• PVC hoses reinforced with polyester thread;
• made of synthetic rubber with stainless steel braid;
• bellows, made in the form of a corrugated stainless steel tube.

The Santekhkomplekt holding offers engineering equipment, fittings, plumbing fixtures and devices for connecting them to communications. The assortment is represented by products and materials from well-known foreign and domestic manufacturers. Discounts apply for bulk purchases, and product quality is confirmed by standard certificates. For information support and assistance, each client is assigned a personal manager. The ability to arrange delivery within Moscow and to other regions of the Russian Federation allows you to quickly receive the purchased goods without unnecessary hassle.

Drainage is a drainage and drainage measure to remove excess groundwater.

If water does not leave the site for a long time, the soil becomes gleyed, if shrubs and trees quickly disappear (get wet), you need to urgently take action and drain the site.

Causes of soil waterlogging

There are several reasons for soil waterlogging:

• clay heavy soil structure with poor water permeability;
• aquifer in the form of gray-green and red-brown clays is located close to the surface;
• high groundwater table;
• technogenic factors (construction of roads, pipelines, various objects) that interfere with natural drainage;
• disruption of the water balance by the construction of irrigation systems;
• The landscape area is located in a lowland, ravine, or hollow. In this case, precipitation and the influx of water from higher places play a big role.

What are the consequences of excess moisture in the soil?

You can see the results of this phenomenon yourself - trees and shrubs die. Why is this happening?

• the oxygen content in the soil decreases and the carbon dioxide content increases, which leads to disruption of air exchange processes, water regime and nutritional regime in the soil;
• oxygen starvation of the root-forming layer occurs, which leads to the death of plant roots;
• the supply of macro and microelements by plants (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) is disrupted, because excess water washes out mobile forms of elements from the soil, and they become unavailable for absorption;
• intensive breakdown of proteins occurs and, accordingly, the processes of decay are activated.

Plants can tell you at what level groundwater lies

Take a close look at the flora of your area. The species inhabiting it will tell you at what depth the groundwater layers are located:

• perched water - it is best to dig a reservoir in this place;
• at a depth of up to 0.5 m - marigold, horsetails, varieties of sedges grow - bladderwrack, holly, foxweed, Langsdorff's reed;
• at a depth of 0.5 m to 1 m - meadowsweet, canary grass, ;
• from 1 m to 1.5 m – favorable conditions for meadow fescue, bluegrass, mouse peas, rank;
• from 1.5 m - wheatgrass, clover, wormwood, plantain.

What is important to know when planning site drainage

Each group of plants has its own moisture needs:

• with a groundwater depth of 0.5 to 1 m, vegetables and annual flowers can grow in high beds;
• depth of water layer up to 1.5 m is well tolerated by vegetables, grains, annuals and perennials (flowers), ornamental and fruit shrubs, trees on a dwarf rootstock;
• if the groundwater is more than 2 m deep, fruit trees can be grown;
• The optimal depth of groundwater for agriculture is from 3.5 m.

Is site drainage necessary?

Record your observations for at least some time. You yourself can understand how much drainage is needed.

Maybe it makes sense to simply redirect melt and sediment water along the bypass channel, rather than allowing it to flow through your site?

Perhaps it is necessary to design and equip a storm drain and improve the composition of the soil and this will be enough?

Or is it worth making a drainage system only for fruit and ornamental trees?

A specialist will give you the exact answer, and we strongly recommend calling him. But after reading this article, you will gain some awareness on this issue.

Upon completion of the technological and production tasks associated with the arrangement of a sewer system in an apartment building, industrial building, as well as in a private household, it is necessary to test the involved system using the forced flow method. This task is used to identify possible defects or improper installation of the entire involved sewerage part, and the test report for internal sewerage and drainage systems will be material evidence of the work on acceptance of the facility.

A visual inspection should be accompanied by inclusion in the test report of internal sewerage and drainage systems according to SNIP, which is currently represented by the current regulations of the “D” series appendix, which corresponds to SP 73.13330.2012 “Internal sanitary systems of a building”, recently a new one has been applied updated working edition according to SNiP 3.05.01-85.

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.

If it suddenly begins to wash with cold water or gives a breakdown on the body, then this is a good reason to check the water heater for a malfunction. The only “backup” option for the lack of hot water during washing may be a software failure, however, this happens much less often than failure of the heating element or damage to the wiring of the washing machine.

How to check the heating element?

The entire process of checking the heating element will consist of detecting the heating element of the washing machine, removing interfering parts of the casing, and dismantling and replacing the water heater itself if it malfunctions.

In order not to guess where the heating element is located in the machine, it is advisable to use a diagram that can be found on the Internet. Many manufacturers, for example, Samsung, post such diagrams on the Internet precisely to facilitate the detection of breakdowns and further repairs.

If there is no corresponding diagram, at the very first stage of disassembly you will need to remove the top cover of the washing machine, for which you need to unscrew 2 screws, which are located at the top on the back wall of the machine.

Be sure to turn off the power to the machine, disconnect all the hoses from it and place it on a previously prepared workplace, which it is advisable to cover with material that absorbs moisture well to prevent spills of the remaining liquid inside.

Thus, by removing the top cover, you will be able to see almost all the internal parts of the machine, among which it will not be difficult to spot the heating device. It looks like a metal tube bent in the shape of the letter "M" with wires connected to the lower ends.

Further, after removing the cover, having reached the device, you should not rush to dismantle it until the fact of its malfunction is clearly established. To do this, you need to use a multimeter to measure the resistance (R) of the device, which depends on its power (P) and in good condition will be equal to R = 220^2 (mains voltage) / R.

A multimeter is a multifunctional device that replaces a voltmeter, ammeter and ohmmeter. To check the heating part, it must be switched to resistance measurement mode.

For example, if the power of the heating element is 1800 W, then its resistance will be 220^2 / 1800 = 26.89 Ohms.

To measure this parameter with a multimeter, set the resistance value to 100 Ohms, then apply both probes to the heater contacts. If the device shows a value as close as possible to the calculated value, then everything is in order with the heating element and there is no breakdown. If “1” or “0” is displayed, then a wire break or short circuit has occurred inside the part. In both cases, it will need to be noticed.

If you do not have a measuring device, then the malfunction of the heating element can be determined by indirect signs, without disassembling the machine.

To check, you should select a washing program with the maximum water temperature, turn off all energy-consuming devices in the apartment, except the machine, and look at the amount of energy consumption.

If after starting the machine there is a significant increase in electricity consumption, then most likely everything is in order with the heater.

You can also determine the malfunction visually - if the device has defects in the form of cracks or dark spots, then this most likely indicates that it has failed.

Problems

The main causes of malfunctions in the operation of heating elements are defects made at the factory or too much water hardness, which leads to the formation of a large amount of scale deposited on the surface of the heating element.

If the first case is quite rare, then scale, due to its low thermal conductivity, very quickly leads to overheating of the device and the formation of rust on its tubes.

To prevent malfunctions in the operation of the heating element, it is necessary to use special water softening powders, as well as anti-scale additives.

To diagnose a malfunction, you need to use a multimeter or ohmmeter (in the language of specialists this is called a “continuity test”). Thus, the absence of the required resistance inside the heating element will indicate a wire break or short circuit. If, when connecting one Ohmmeter probe to the terminal, and the second to the body of the heating element, the reading value is different from zero, then this indicates an electricity leak, that is, a breakdown on the body of the machine.

Where is the heater located?

To determine the location of the heating element in the washing machine, you need to use the manufacturer’s diagrams suitable for a particular model, or disassemble the unit by removing the top, front and rear panels.

In most cases, full access to the heating element is provided by dismantling the back wall of household appliances, for which you need to unscrew four screws with a Phillips screwdriver (2 at the top and 2 at the bottom), and carefully pull the panel out of the grooves.

Most often, the contacts of the heating element are located below, under the drum near the plastic water tank. In some models it may be located on the side, which will require dismantling the side or front wall.

How to remove the heating element?

If the check shows a malfunction of the heating part of the washing machine, then it must be dismantled for replacement, for which you should:

• Remove all blocking elements of the machine design;
• Unscrew the central fastening nut of the heating element (not completely);
• Press the nut with a wooden handle (for example, a hammer);
• Carefully pry off the device with a screwdriver, then disconnect the wires and remove it completely.

Removing and replacing the heating element

After dismantling the faulty device, you should replace the heating element in the washing machine with a new one. However, in order not to make a mistake with the power of the heater, you should buy exactly the model that was installed on your machine.

Before installing a new heating element, clean its location from debris and dirt, remove scale on the walls of the tank. Then you need to insert the new heater, connect the electrical contacts and secure it, securing it in position with the mounting nut.

After replacing and installing the device, check it with a multimeter or ohmmeter for serviceability, and ring the contacts, making sure they are securely connected. Only after this should the body be assembled.

To facilitate the assembly work, it is advisable to photograph the old heating element with the contacts connected to it, which will give you a guarantee of correct installation of the new device.