Do-It-Yourself Electric Kettle Repair: Instructions and Video

Household electrical appliances are widely used throughout the world and one of the most common electrical appliances is the electric kettle. Despite the reliability of many models and manufacturers, the service life of electric kettles, like other electrical appliances, is limited, so kettles break sooner or later. And in this case, it is not necessary to take the kettle for repair or purchase a new one – you can repair the electric kettle with your own hands. In this article, we will discuss with our readers how to repair the most common breakdowns in electric kettles.

The principle of operation of the electric kettle

Before undertaking the repair of any electrical appliance, it is necessary to understand its principle of operation – this rule also applies to the kettle. According to the electrical diagram, it is easy to understand the principle of operation of this electrical appliance. Note that almost all models work according to the principle of operation below.

The principle of operation is as follows: after connecting the plug to the power source, the current passes through the wire to the contacts of the stand, on which all kettles are installed when water is heated.

At the base of the kettle itself there are special contacts that are connected together with the contacts located on the stand – in this way the circuit is closed and the heating element is heated. The electricity then passes through a thermal switch, a device that allows the kettle to turn off when it reaches a certain temperature (usually the boiling point). Also in the standard circuit there is a thermal protection switch, which is always on and is activated only if the user turns on an empty kettle. From the marked switches, electricity passes directly to the electric heating element (also called the heating element).

We have examined the basic principle of operation of an electric kettle – now we will consider separately the operation of some of its circuits and sections.

Wiring diagram of nodes

Carefully consider the stand for the kettle and the place of its contact with the kettle itself. Inside the circular grooves, you can find an electrical contact located on a small spring. It is through this contact that the voltage from the common network is supplied to the electric kettle itself. In the center of the stand there is another contact, which, when in contact with the electric kettle, grounds its case. In fact, this contact does not play any role and is intended only to protect the user in case of violation of the integrity of the insulation.

The power cord that goes to the stand of the electric kettle, inside this stand, branches into three wires, to which the terminals are connected. One wire is for grounding, the other two wires go to concentric copper rings that are used to transfer electricity from the stand to the kettle itself. Further, electricity from copper rings goes directly to the heating element, which is installed at the base of the kettle body. As a result of the closure of the circuit, the water is heated.

overheat protection

Heating elements have high power and get very hot during operation, therefore, a special protection system is additionally installed in each electric kettle. The basis of this system is bimetallic plates, which, when heated to a certain temperature, unbend and open the circuit, thereby preventing further overheating of the kettle.

Automatic shutdown

Almost all modern electric kettles have a special system that provides for turning off the heating element from voltage when the water reaches the boiling point. The principle of operation of such a machine is simple – when heated, steam is supplied through a special channel to a bimetallic plate, which in turn is connected to a switch. When the kettle boils and at an increased intensity of steam pressure, the bimetallic plate heats up and presses on the switch lever, thereby disconnecting the kettle from the mains.

How to repair a kettle?

We examined the main technical features, and now we will consider how to repair an electric kettle. For the convenience of readers, let’s consider specific examples that most often arise with teapots from various companies (Tefal, Philips, etc.):

1. Kettle stopped heating water. In this case, the malfunction is very easy – there was a break in the section on the heating element itself, or there is no contact of some terminals with the terminals on the heating element. The connection is restored very easily – for this you need to disassemble the kettle and determine the place where the contacts left off. When determining the place of lack of contact, it is necessary to restore the connection of the terminal with the terminals on the heating element using pliers.
2. The kettle stopped heating water and the indicator does not show that the kettle is on. First of all, we check the voltage in the network. If there is one, the reason is poor contact between the current collectors at the base of the kettle body and the stand. In this case, it is necessary to check how the spring-loaded contacts, which we talked about above, are holding. To do this, the stand is disassembled and a ring with a suitable contact is taken out. It is necessary to check how tightly they are fixed – as a rule, they become loose over time and you simply need to tighten them more tightly in order for electricity to pass through the contacts.
3. Switch or overheating protection does not work. When considering how to repair an electric kettle, most often in practice they encounter a non-working switch. It may be broken due to the wear of plastic parts, rust on the surface of the bimetal plate. To check the condition, it is necessary to remove the switch from the housing and check the integrity of the parts. After that, it is necessary to inspect the condition of the plates. If there is a strong deposit from steam or rust on them, it must be removed and the operation of the switch should be checked again. These measures are also taken if the overheating protection stops working (in other words, the kettle stops turning off) – it is necessary to check the condition of the bimetallic plates and, if necessary, clean them.
4. The kettle is leaking. In this case, it is necessary to check the integrity of the kettle body and see where the leak comes from. As a rule, if there is a strong leak, it may not be possible to repair the kettle, especially if its body is made of low-quality plastic or the inner surface has been badly damaged as a result of damage.

Video instruction

In addition to the above information, we recommend watching a video where you can see detailed instructions for repairing electric kettles: