When the heater breaks down, the best thing that can happen is the washing will go in cold water, and the worst thing is that the machine may start to shock. The most dangerous - a short circuit will occur, which is fraught with fire. How to determine the health of the heater to prevent damage?
Check without instrument
How does a heater work? He heats the water in every modern washer. It consists of a heating coil, covered with a special insulator with heat-conducting properties, enclosed in a steel tube - it prevents moisture from entering.
Interesting! To make the SM more compact, manufacturers are reducing parts, including the heater. To compress the dimensions, but at the same time provide a large area and volume of heating, the heater is made in the form of twisted U-shaped arcs.
We will talk about how to check the heating element in the washing machine, namely:
- How to use a tester to check the resistance of a heating element.
- How to quickly and easily check the breakdown on the housing of the washing machine.
- How to independently check the heater of a washing machine without an appliance.
If you do not have a so-called household tester, that is, a multimeter, you can try to check the heater without even opening the washing machine. Having looked at the behavior of the washing machine, you can easily diagnose a failure of the tubular heater:
- Water does not heat up, the selected wash program is not executed. If your machine is equipped with a display, the characteristic error code will blink: Indesit - F07, Bosch - F19, Kandy - E05, Elji - NOT, Samsung - E5, E6.
In an AGR without a screen, indicators will notify you of a breakdown. For example, in Virpul washing machines, the “No water heating” indicator lights up. - The washing cycle is not interrupted, the water heats up, but it takes much more time than usual.
- The washing cycle goes on continuously, the water warms up, but when you touch the machine body you feel electric shocks, or an RCD trips.
If you find at least one of the above problems, you can rest assured that the problem is in the heater. If checking the heater with a tester is an overwhelming task for you, contact the wizard - he will quickly determine if it is worth changing the part.
Also, to check the heater without tools, you can use other well-known methods:
- If you find black dots on the case body, this may indicate breakdowns. Sometimes the dots are not visible due to scale, then you need to clean it to completely verify the serviceability or breakdown.
To descale, soak the heater in a concentrated solution of ordinary citric acid. - If you think that there is no good reason to disassemble the housing of the washer, refer to the counter. Run the AGR at full power, setting the wash temperature above 60 degrees. If the counting speed of the counter has increased, then the heater heats up. The fact is that the operation of the heater requires considerable power, and if the heater does not heat, then the meter will not wind up anymore.
- Inspect the element for swelling, scratches and other damage - this will already be a good reason to replace.
- You can also check the cliff in this way: using a test lamp (these are used by electricians - you can buy it and even make it yourself).
How to find a part
In different brands of washing machines, the heater is located in different ways - it is in the back of Indesit and Ariston, while it is more convenient to get to Bosch and Siemens from the front. If you have a connection diagram for the heating elements of the washing machine, it will be easier to operate.
But if there is nothing to start from, then find its location yourself:
- Inspect the rear panel. If the back cover of the SM is quite large, then with a high probability the heater is behind it.
- Put the washer on its side and peek into it from the bottom to reveal a heater.
- Simple and effective way: remove the back cover. Even if you don’t find a heating element behind it, putting the panel in place will not be difficult.
Attention! You can also arm yourself with a flashlight and enlighten the drum from the inside, but you need patience and good vision to understand the exact location of the heater.
If the heater is found, it's time to figure out how to check the heating element with a tester. Before ringing the heater, it is not necessary to remove it.
Calculation of indicators
Before checking the TEN, you need to know very clearly how to ring it and what data is considered correct.
To calculate the resistance, you need to rely on:
- U is the voltage that is supplied to the heater. In our household electrical networks, it is usually equal to 220V.
- P is the capacity of the water heater. You can find out this parameter by contacting the manual. If the manual does not say this, google, finding your model SM.
Further, using a simple formula, as in a physics lesson in grade 7, we consider the resistance in Ohms:
R = U² / P.
If the received figure is displayed on the tester screen during verification, then the heater is OK.
So that you are not mistaken in the calculations using this formula, we give a practical example.
Let's say the heater power is 1800 watts. We substitute the values in the formula, and we get:
R = 220² / 1800 = 26.8 ohms. As a result, the working heater should show 26.8 ohms. Remember this mark and you can start checking.
Ringing: Quick Guide
Attention! Before checking the operation of the heater, turn off the power to the washing machine, be careful.
Start by disconnecting the wiring. After removing it, turn on the resistance measurement mode on the tester (in Ohms), set the selector to 200 Ohms and attach the ends of the tester to the terminals of the water heating element.
What is the result:
- A working heater will transmit an indicator close to the calculated figure to the tester's panel.
- If the tester shows a unit, then this will indicate a break in the structure of the element, which means that the heater will have to be changed.
- If the screen of the multimeter is 0 or so, then the heater is short-circuited, which means that it is unsuitable for further service.
Now you know how to check the heating element of the washing machine with a multimeter. But this is still half the battle, it remains to check the part for a breakdown.
Breakdown test
Even if everything inside the heater with the spiral is good, this does not mean that everything is in order. Inside the tubes between their walls and the spiral there is a dielectric that can go to the SM case. This, of course, is very dangerous for your health.
In order to check the element at the time of breakdown on the case, the tester's operating mode is switched to buzzer mode. To check whether you have chosen the measurement mode correctly, connect the wires - the light on the tester will immediately light up and it will emit a characteristic squeak.
Now:
- Attach one end of the tester to the element terminal.
- Install the other end on the housing.
- The tester does not peep - everything is in order.
- Do you hear a squeak? There is a breakdown, the heater must be changed.