immersion heater testing with multimeter

[CXR100]

hi all , sent to a job today to change 2 immersion elements in a 210 tank , went there to find the electrician had been before me to tesd them and had told the customer had to have the 2 replaced because they were "blown" and that he would now have to charge for 2 visits, one to test and dissconect, then one to reconect them. (cant see why she just didnt call a plumber first) . she told me the problem ws that the water was OVERHEATING, . so does this mean that they were not "blown" as she told me that the electric wasnt tripping at all. he had taken the 2 stats away with him so i couldnt tes them, butwhen i tested continuity bethween the 2 ends of the element iw as getting a steday reading . Was he talking cr*p to get 2 calls? thanks for your help

 

[AWheating]

whats the resistance value's of the heating elements?

 

[CXR100]

it was a steady reading of 19.8 on both , multimetes wasnt autoranging so wasnt quite sure wich ohms setting to put it on , take it like this, it ws the exact same reading as it was on a new one i had in my van!

 

[lame plumber]

what you should be testing is the immersions stats!

 

[CXR100]

if you read the first post i stated that the electrican had taken them with him!

 

[AWheating]

if it was within Manufacturers figures which it sounds like they are then i would say that they are fine, stats may have been faulty? who knows.

 

[lame plumber]

if you read the first post i stated that the electrican had taken them with him!

pointless asking then isnt it

 

[galaxy_plumbing]

i found that blown one was increasing resistance while reading, good one had just normal reading, probably around 170 ohms, dont remember exactly. could probably contact manufacturer if in doubt of electrician findings.

 

[CXR100]

i think the electrician ws just trying to take the customer for a ride! he was looking at me test them and agreed with me that both looked fine , i advised him to call the electrician back and explain to him why he was telling us that the element's were "blown" !!!

 

[AWheating]

he may have been unsure of the actual problem so just said change them. strange one, but some sparks are not to bright

 

[stevetheplumber]

i just test for continuity between each terminal and the side of the tank as they usually split and you get a circuit ive taken imersion elements out that were working but split almost the whole length

 

[CXR100]

but wouldnt the electric be tripping then?

 

[stevetheplumber]

but wouldnt the electric be tripping then?

they do eventually but not always

 

[pobsdad]

Immersions do strange things,sometimes,but if the water was getting too hot,it's going to be the stats.Fit new stats,and put 'on test',or new immersions if in doubt.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Looks like immersion was set too high and then cutting out on the stat ......

 

[AWheating]

but wouldnt the electric be tripping then?

if the resistance decreases then the electrical current will increase and eventually trip the protective device. ie. a short circuit.

 

[lame plumber]

Looks like immersion was set too high and then cutting out on the stat ......

????

immersion is a constant heat source controlled by a stat, which has an overheat cutoff built in nowadays.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

That is what I ment , immersion set not at 60 degrees therefore overheating and stat on the heating element cutting out supply so it need manual reset !

 

[Gas]

Why is the spark thieving the customers belongings? Why on earth would he do that and why would he ever need to come back and connect them up?

The customer should demand them back.