Heat Treat Oven Element

There's no exposed wire that I can see. It is encased by the ceramic. That is a side element in the pic. I have four total in the oven. 4"x9"x~.5".
But it did stop working after case hardening the part.
 
I didnt read all the responses so forgive me if it was already mentioned....

You can simply bypass the burnt section of the element by connecting the lead from the broken side right to the next section of continuous elements. Basically the element acts like a fuse and if there is a break in that element then it will no longer work. By connecting the lead to the section past the break you will regain continuity within the element although you will loose some of the heating capabilities. This works well in a pinch if need be so long as there is enough element left to reach the desired temps.
 
Last edited:
Yes I thought about that thanks.
I tested all my elements and two show normal resistance. One is in the M Ohm range and the other is of course open.
 
The element you have pictured looks to be the type that has the elements running inside along the raised ribbed sections from end to end length wise and turn back to the next rib along the short sides. In other words i would say that there are 6 runs of elements within that 1 rectangular block and i would venture a bet that you could cut into the element along the short side on either end and if you did so either directly to the left of the right side "leg" or better yet on the opposite side of the element directly opposite of the right side leg (on the other side of the brunt spot) you will be able to reconnect the right side leg and get you back in business.
 
ddickey said:
Yes I thought about that thanks.
I tested all my elements and two show normal resistance. One is in the M Ohm range and the other is of course open.
Click to expand...

M-Ohm (as in Mega)??? Hmmmm. Highly suspect! V = AxR and P = VxA. Assuming it's 230v and power is somewhere around 2000 to 4000W (typical for home HT ovens) your resistance should be about 17 Ohms. If some elements are in parallel then maybe 34 Ohms (give/take a little). I made my own HT ovens and wind element wire frequently.... Mega-Ohms is out of range.


Ray
 
Yes Mega. That would be one huge voltage drop.1514248989288.png
 
ddickey said:
Yes Mega. That would be one huge voltage drop.View attachment 250898
Click to expand...


If you're absolutely certain its in the Meg-Ohm range then, some other factor is at work here. It could be Triac in the circuit. When was this device made? If it's relatively recent, it probably has a semiconductor Triac instead of old-fashion mechanical contactors.

If the coils really were in the Meg-Ohm range, current draw would be a couple hundred micro-amps and that's not enough to generate any appreciable amount of heat.

Ray C.
 
I'm going to clean off the leads and see if I can get a decent reading. It's an old oven. Buddy found it in a dumpster. I took out all the old components and replaced them with a PID Control. New thermocouple and SS relay.
 
Nope it's open. Two out of the four have no continuity.
 
Latinrascalrg1 said:
The element you have pictured looks to be the type that has the elements running inside along the raised ribbed sections from end to end length wise and turn back to the next rib along the short sides. In other words i would say that there are 6 runs of elements within that 1 rectangular block and i would venture a bet that you could cut into the element along the short side on either end and if you did so either directly to the left of the right side "leg" or better yet on the opposite side of the element directly opposite of the right side leg (on the other side of the brunt spot) you will be able to reconnect the right side leg and get you back in business.
Click to expand...
What would you use to cut into the brick?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top