Fix for toaster heat coil?

Here's a "quick fix" that sometimes works for a long time and sometimes fails quickly (depending, I think, on just how old and brittle the nichrome wire is).

Mix some ordinary "Boraxo" powdered hand soap with a little water to make a thick paste -- and you don't need much.

Take the broken ends of wire, bend a small loop into each, and interlock the loops so the wires stay together.

Pack the Boraxo paste around the joint, and turn on the heater.

Keep your eyes on that joint. As the coil heats up, the hook joint will be the worst connection, so it'll naturally get the hottest.

When it gets hot enough, the nichrome wires will melt, and, being fluxed by the borate, will fuse together into a blob. The blob, now being

*larger* than the rest of the wires, will immediately cool down, and will never again get as "red hot" as the rest of the heater.

Allow the coils to cool down and, using pliers, carefully crush any glassy flux deposit that remains on the joint.

If the joint doesn't behave as I describe, or if the wires are too brittle to be formed into hooks, the wires are likely too old to produce a long-lasting joint. If the joint behaves as I described, it may last for a good long time.

I've never seen uncoiled nichrome wire of the size you'll likely be needing. You can try to find a "replacement coil" of nichrome wire at an appliance repair shop. Be sure the cross-section (gauge) of the new wire is the same as the old one, and stretch out the replacement to have the same number of turns per inch as the original -- it'll come tightly coiled.

Good luck on finding such a replacement coil; they used to be quite common, but last time I tried to find one (about three years ago) I was totally unsuccessful.

Naturally, the "victim" had very old coils that could not be repaired by the nifty "electric welding" technique I mentioned above. We had to buy a new toaster -- and after only thirty-three years of daily use, too. They just don't make things like they used to...

Isaac

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 21:55:13 -0700, Isaac Wingfield wrote (in article ):

I was planning to use this very creative solution... but the break is right at the rivet, the spot where the nichrome wire transitions to the stranded / insulated supply wire.

How might I mend this? Ideas?

Thanks,

--
Please, no "Go Google this" replies. I wouldn't  
ask a question here if I hadn't done that already.  

DaveC 
me@privacy.net 
This is an invalid return address 
Please reply in the news group

right

/

I've tried a nut and bolt; not very successfully!

Try a pop rivet

right

/

On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 05:11:52 -0700, david wrote (in article ):

Too soft, I think. Should be plated.

I used a plated crimp. See earlier post about my solution.

-- Please, no "Go Google this" replies. I wouldn't ask a question here if I hadn't done that already.

DaveC snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net This is an invalid return address Please reply in the news group

IIRC shoe repair places have hollow brass rivets.

--
N

I dont know if anyone suggested this earlier, but you can get small crimp sleeves for microtemp thermal fuses that might work

Ron (UK)