SAECO Pot Wiring Assistance

[Bent Ramrod]

My SAECO melting pot started cooling off rapidly, in the middle of a casting session, about a year ago. I got the metal out of the pot before it solidified and let the thing cool down. I tore it apart and found a wire from the temperature control had burned or otherwise come loose from the short wire to the heating element.

I soldered and crimped a spade connector setup to the wires and pushed them back together, wadded the insulation back around the connection and put the pot back together. It worked fine for almost a year, and the other day it would not heat up.

I tore the thing apart again and found the wire to the heater element was again unconnected, in the same place. The spade connectors were still together but both of them, the solder connecting them and the end of the wire from the temperature control dial were now badly oxidized, and crumbled to powder when moved. Obviously, another fix is in order, but how do I make it permanent?

Is there someplace that sells a wire extension or shunt I can use to connect the remains of the wires together? (The wire is now too short to reach the heating element when I put the sheet metal back in place. I hope I have the terminology right; I'm not an electrician.) What gauge would the wire have to be to keep from oxidizing again? I've seen "high temperature wire" for sale that seems to have the same plastic coating on it that other wires do. Does somebody sell wire with the refractory insulation on them that the temperature control wire has on it?

Fortunately, I have a Lee pot I can use as an alternate. But I would like to get the SAECO back on line.

Thanks in advance.

[dbosman]

Crimp on splices are what you need. Two with a bit of new wire to make up the missing bit.
Any electrical supply shop or good hardware store should have what you need.

[Bent Ramrod]

Thanks, Dbosman. I'll check out the hardware store for the connections.

[jsizemore]

You need to go to an appliance parts store and get high temp connectors. Maybe the hardware store has them. See if you can get an old range and strip the wire from it. Most of the wire is 14-16 gauge.

[Frozone]

Use Copper crimps to connect THIS (http://www.ebay.com/itm/14-HIGH-TEMPERATURE-MGT-ELECTRIC-WIRE-HEATERS-PER-FOOT-1000-F-600V-OVENS-/271075643859?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1d5e11d3)replacement wire.

[old cobra]

I have had good luck finding high temp. parts at ceramics stores or other places that sell kilns and accessories.

[Bent Ramrod]

Thanks to all who responded. I'll check the stove and oven repair places, and the ceramics supply places if I can find one.

[Jeffrey]

Check on using "high temperature spade connecters". They generally DO NOT have the plastic boot on the end where the wire crimps on. "High temperature" wire does not have solid plastic insulation, but instead has woven insulation that looks like fiberglass. Look at the pot nameplate for the amp rating. 14 gauge wire carries up to 10 amps, 15 amp - 12 gauge, 10 gauge up to 30 amps. If there is only a "watt" rating, volts times amps = watts. 1000 watts at 120 volts is 8.33 amps (1000 watts / 120 volts = 8.33 amps). 1000 watts on a 220 volt source uses 4.55 amps (1000 / 220 = 4.5454...). Use the next larger wire size (smaller #) for an amp draw above the rating of the of the next smaller wire: 11 amps needs 12 gauge wire etc.

[Iron Mike Golf]

When I overhauled my SAECO pot and replaced the heater element, I took some solid copper grounding wire from some house wiring cable to run from the thermostat to one end of the heater element. I wrapped it with some fiberglass high-temp insulating tape.

I did not use high-temp crimp-on connectors. I just used the regular ones and took the plastic boot off them. The high heat seems to really attack stranded wire in there. Next time I do this (had to repair connections about 3 years ago), I'll use that oven wire and get the high temp connectors. I was in a hurry and just used what was on hand.

[Bent Ramrod]

I don't know whether my spade connectors were "high-temp" or not, but they did not have the plastic insulators on them. They worked for a year or so but gradually turned completely to oxide and popped off the lead going into the heating element. They were still hooked together, but I was able to crumble them to powder off the end of the rheostat wire by rubbing between my fingers.

The local hardware store has "high-temp" wire but it is plastic insulated and I can't imagine the coating staying on the wire for very long, since there is not a lot of space nor a great thickness of insulation between the wiring and the pot and its encircling heating element. The whole pot, including the plastic pointer dial, gets too hot to touch for very long when I am running it.

Their "high-temp" spade connectors look like the ones I used, although I can't be sure they are not some different alloy.

I think I'll try the little cylindrical splice things (copper, not aluminum) when I can get to the store. I have some fiberglass tape I can wrap the splices up in. Thanks to all for the help.

[powderburnerr]

sometimes under heat , the solder will create more problems than it fixes,