We repair the electric kettle on our own

The electric kettle has become an indispensable attribute of any kitchen and is a leader in sales in comparison with other household appliances. This device is widely used both at home, in the kitchen, and in office conditions. But unfortunately, like any electric appliance, a kettle fails after some time of operation. Since the price of this water heater is not too high, it is easier to buy a new one than to do repairs. But if you consider yourself a home craftsman, or an apparatus for boiling water is dear to you as a memory, you can try to repair the kettle yourself.

Principle of operation

The electric kettle works on a fairly simple principle, regardless of whether it is an expensive model or a budget one.In the lower part of the device there is a heating element connected to a thermostat consisting of bimetallic plate. A tubular heater, when a current is applied to it, heats the liquid to a boil. When steam is formed during the boiling process, it passes through a special channel to the thermostat, causing the latter to turn off the power supply.

If you look at the scheme of the apparatus, you can see that it works on the principle of iron, and does not differ in the complexity of the design. But before repairing an electric kettle, there are always difficulties when body disassemblySince the latches (holding the handle) are different in different models of units, besides the fastening screws can be equipped with a cap under a special screwdriver.

Typical faults

An electric kettle is a simple device that contains few elements that can fail. But there are still common problems, among which are the following:

• slow heating of the liquid;
• device shuts down prematurely;
• the kettle does not turn off;
• the device does not turn on;
• burnout TENA;
• water flows from the body.

Slow heating fluid

If you notice that the kettle does not heat the water quickly, then pay attention to the condition of the heating element. Thick layer of scale on it, formed due to insufficiently good maintenance of the unit, has a poor thermal conductivity, which takes more time to heat the water. If scale is not removed, the heating element can burn out.

In addition, the entire contact group of the apparatus suffers from overheating, as a result of which the contacts melt or burn.

To get rid of scale, you can use the usual citric acidsold in stores. It is enough to pour 1-2 bags of citric acid (20 grams) into the tank, bring it to a boil and leave the heated solution in the tank for 30 minutes. After that, the container must be well rinsed with running water to remove residual scale. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated.

Device shuts down prematurely

This behavior of the electric water heater is due to the fact that the shutdown of the apparatus may be due to scaling formed on the heating elements. Since the heater has a fuse from overheating, it works and breaks the electrical network.To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to clean the heaters from scale.

Kettle does not turn off

During boiling water in the vessel, steam should be collected under the lid and directed through a special channel to the thermostat. If the lid is not tightly closed, this does not occur, and the appliance will work without shutting down. If the cover is OK, check that the steam hole, which is located on the handle side, is not scum-contaminated. In the case when and with the hole everything is in order, we can assume that the kettle does not turn off due to thermostat breakage.

The thermostat at the kettle is located at the bottom of the case, and to get to it for replacement, you will have to disassemble the device completely.

For example, the usual budget device was taken, which does not differ in construction from the more expensive models - the Vitek, Tefal, Polaris, Scarlett and others. By the way, in this model, as in the apparatus Vitek VT-7009 (TR), the capacity is made of heat-resistant glass. So, we will sort the unit according to the following algorithm.

1. Repair the kettle should start with disconnecting it from the mains. Next, remove the device from the stand (base) and unscrew all the screws on its bottom panel.
   

2. After this, it is necessary with particular care to pry the plastic cover on the handle with a thin screwdriver. This should be done carefully because in different models of devices, the latches can be located in different places and it is easy to break them.
   

3. After removing the cover plate, you can see the mounting screws. They also need to be removed.
   
4. After unscrewing all fasteners, exerting a little effort, detach the handle with the cover from the case.
   
5. Next, disconnect the housing from the bottom of the unit.
   

6. At the bottom of the case you will see all the main elements of the device: a contact group, a thermal relay, and a heating element.
   

   

7. pay attention to bimetallic plate (on the right in the picture). If it shows damage or has a worn look, then this may be the reason why the appliance has stopped turning off. The plate is not repaired, but replaced with a new one.

But how to disassemble the Bosch teapot, if, when unscrewing all the screws on the bottom, it is not removed? Those who disassembled such a device faced difficulties that often resulted in the breakdown of the device.Since the process is rather complicated to describe, it is better to look video on this topic.

The device does not turn on

The reasons that your boiling apparatus does not turn on may be different.

1. Malfunction of electrical cord and plug. To do this, you need to “ring out” with a tester cord, touching the probes to the contacts of the plug and the contacts on the stand (base). If a break is detected, replace the cord with a new one.
2. Bad contact in the stand (base). From long-term work, the contacts can burn, because of which their conductivity is disturbed. If the contacts formed fumes, they can be cleaned using fine sandpaper. But in the case when they are melted, they will need a complete replacement.
3. Faulty internal switch in the device. Since the switch has to experience fairly large loads (from 1500 to 2000 W), its contacts may melt over time. This may cause the unit to not work. There is a switch at the bottom of the handle, and it looks in the event of a malfunction as shown in the figure below.

In this case, the button must be replaced. But there is a button fault,in which you can repair the kettle with your own hands without replacing it. If you look at the button on the side, you can see 2 contacts that are closed in the “on” position. If on them nagar is formed, the device will not turn on.

You can use fine-grained sandpaper, a nail file or a thin file to eliminate the soot. To make it easier to do the cleaning, you need a small “refinement” of the button, namely, the removal of the bumpers with the help of the nippers.

Another reason that the device does not want to work can be called mechanical power button malfunction. This breakdown is most often found in the Tefal vitesse model, since plastic slats are embedded in the handle of the electrical device, which transmit forward movement from the outer button to the inner button located at the bottom of the unit.

After this part breaks, switching on the Tefal kettle becomes impossible. To learn more about how to repair an item that is broken, you can look at videowhere is considered one original way to correct the defect.

Combustion heater

When repairing electric kettles, both the old models and the newer ones, the most common failure is the burnout of the heating element. The problem with PETs arises, first of all, due to their overheating during untimely descaling.

Before you fix the kettle with a disc heater or heating element in the form of a spiral, it is necessary to disassemble the unit in the manner described above. After that, take a tester and connect the gauges of the device to the output contacts of the heater. If a light bulb is lit on the device, or it makes a sound, then the heating element can be considered serviceable.

How to check the heating element if no measuring device? It turns out very simple. It is necessary to connect a zero from the mains to one contact of the heater, and a phase to the other. Next, insert a 220 light bulb into the holder, from which 2 insulated wires are connected. Touch one end of the wire to one end of the heater, and the other to the opposite. If the light is lit - then the heater is healthy.

If it turned out that the disk heater has burned out, it cannot be replaced, since it is one with the bottom of the appliance, such as in the Scarlett kettle, or Vitek VT-7009 (TR). So you have to buy a new unit. Only open type heaters are subject to replacement.

Water leaks

If you notice that water flows from the device’s reservoir (seeping in), it is recommended that you use this device for a while until microscopic cracks form, which can block the leakage of liquid. If this does not help, then you will have to buy a new “boiler”, if the warranty period has expired.

Another reason a reservoir leaks may be loose connection of the electric heater with the device case (if TEN of open type). In this case, you can tighten the fasteners that hold it. If this does not help, then you have to remove the heater and change the rubber gasket that has worn out.

Thus, it is possible to sum up: to repair the unit for boiling water on its own in some cases is quite possible. But if you do not have enough skills in the repair of household appliances, then the best option would be to buy a new kettle. Repair in the service center, from a financial point of view, does not justify itself, and there is no guarantee that the failure will not happen again.