Heating element says " do not submerge in water", why?

[fleabag]

http://www.partselect.com/asse...images/2201231_1_M.jpg

I have one of these and there is a label on there that says, "do not submerge in water", unfortunately I couldn't read that label until AFTER I put it through the dishwasher! So now I'm wondering, why did it have such a label? The only thing I can think of is that I didn't get to dry it when the dish washing cycle was done and now it has started to rust in a various places on the element and I'm tempted so sand it down again so there is no more rust showing. But I just have to wonder, is there some special sort of coating in various places or something? Is there a risk of this device failing or something? I'm tempted to just buy another one because the plugs where it plugs into the receptacle are corroded a bit anyway (this was before I washed it).

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: fleabag
there is a label on there that says, "do not submerge in water", ..... now it has started to rust in a various places on the element

i think you answered your own question?

 

[fleabag]

Originally posted by: guyver01

Originally posted by: fleabag
there is a label on there that says, "do not submerge in water", ..... now it has started to rust in a various places on the element

i think you answered your own question?

hmmm, but is that really it? I mean can I really just sand it down and then there is no problem anymore? Also shouldn't this thing have rusted by now if it were in a really humid environment?

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: fleabag

Originally posted by: guyver01

Originally posted by: fleabag
there is a label on there that says, "do not submerge in water", ..... now it has started to rust in a various places on the element

i think you answered your own question?

hmmm, but is that really it? I mean can I really just sand it down and then there is no problem anymore? Also shouldn't this thing have rusted by now if it were in a really humid environment?

Well, apparently not.

There's also a difference between being in a humid environment and running through a dishwasher. If there wasn't, my dishes would be cleaning themselves.

 

[skyking]

there is an inner wire running through the element, encased in an insulation. Where the wire enters the element it is not waterproof. if you submerge it, the water will seep into the element and short it out when you try to use it.

 

[brandonbull]

Reminds me of my days as an electrician in the Navy because we had these cooks that kept spraying oven cleaner on the oven elements. It was so much fun changing them out every few weeks.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

why the hell would you put that in the dishwasher?

 

[wiredspider]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
why the hell would you put that in the dishwasher?

 

[BoomerD]

Oven elements are designed to be used/cleaned in the diswasher.

Keep telling yourself that OP. :roll:

Obviously, there's NO DIFFERENCE between what it was actually made for (oven heating) and dishwasher cleaning...



How the fuck "geeks" can be so stupid is often baffling to me.(this is only one glaring example)

Do you have "book smarts" but NO common sense?

 

[Clair de Lune]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Oven elements are designed to be used/cleaned in the diswasher.

Keep telling yourself that OP. :roll:

Obviously, there's NO DIFFERENCE between what it was actually made for (oven heating) and dishwasher cleaning...



How the fuck "geeks" can be so stupid is often baffling to me.(this is only one glaring example)

Do you have "book smarts" but NO common sense?

+1 to typical & predictable ATOT douchebaggery.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
why the hell would you put that in the dishwasher?

He's too lazy to wash it by hand.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: skyking
there is an inner wire running through the element, encased in an insulation. Where the wire enters the element it is not waterproof. if you submerge it, the water will seep into the element and short it out when you try to use it.

Interesting.

Too bad it often takes so much reading to sift thru all the useless crusty thread responses to a simple question in order to find the one that actually attempts to answer the question.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Depends what the heating element is for. If it's for a hot water heater or a kettle then obviously it can be put in water, if it's for a stove or heater, then probably not.

 

[Eli]

You really aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? lol

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Eli
You really aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, are you? lol

Yea seriously. He wanted to to put something in his gas tank to reduce the capacity so he could make it easier to track his mileage

 

[lxskllr]

I think it has more to do with trapping water around the electric bits. Just make sure it's thoroughly dried before you use it, and it should be fine.

Edit:
I see Skyking already gave you the answer. Consider this an affirmation :^D

 

[Rubycon]

Those elements are not a solid piece of nichrome wire as many believe. Actually there's a sheath that's filled with a refractory and in the middle is the resistance wire of surprisingly small gauge. The idea is when a current passes through the terminals the wire heats up and the heat in turn makes the sheath glow which in turn heats up your oven cavity. Temperature is controlled by the thermostat turning a relay on and off as needed.

The sheath is grounded for safety so if anything were to touch the element it would not be raised to potential.

What can happen is the refractory breaks down from either a hot spot on the sheath from getting fouled with animal greases or excessive caustic oven cleaners, etc. If this were to happen you will get a short between the inner wire and the sheath. This becomes a line to ground high resistance fault which in many cases does not cause the circuit breaker to open! The end result is the element turning into what looks like a canon fuse and it will burn its way back to the terminal supplying the fault current. As the wire length gets shorter the current will increase and often make the sheath glow very brightly compared to normal operation. It can also put out an impressive shower of sparks as it gets near the end. If this happens it's recommended to open the circuit breaker to the oven quickly to avoid dealing with a potentially hazardous situation.

Like this, for example! :laugh:

 

[Rumpltzer]

Originally posted by: JLeeThere's also a difference between being in a humid environment and running through a dishwasher. If there wasn't, my dishes would be cleaning themselves.

Awesome!

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Those elements are not a solid piece of nichrome wire as many believe. Actually there's a sheath that's filled with a refractory and in the middle is the resistance wire of surprisingly small gauge. The idea is when a current passes through the terminals the wire heats up and the heat in turn makes the sheath glow which in turn heats up your oven cavity. Temperature is controlled by the thermostat turning a relay on and off as needed.

The sheath is grounded for safety so if anything were to touch the element it would not be raised to potential.

What can happen is the refractory breaks down from either a hot spot on the sheath from getting fouled with animal greases or excessive caustic oven cleaners, etc. If this were to happen you will get a short between the inner wire and the sheath. This becomes a line to ground high resistance fault which in many cases does not cause the circuit breaker to open! The end result is the element turning into what looks like a canon fuse and it will burn its way back to the terminal supplying the fault current. As the wire length gets shorter the current will increase and often make the sheath glow very brightly compared to normal operation. It can also put out an impressive shower of sparks as it gets near the end. If this happens it's recommended to open the circuit breaker to the oven quickly to avoid dealing with a potentially hazardous situation.

Like this, for example! :laugh:

i swear this place is better than wikipedia

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Those elements are not a solid piece of nichrome wire as many believe. Actually there's a sheath that's filled with a refractory and in the middle is the resistance wire of surprisingly small gauge. The idea is when a current passes through the terminals the wire heats up and the heat in turn makes the sheath glow which in turn heats up your oven cavity. Temperature is controlled by the thermostat turning a relay on and off as needed.

The sheath is grounded for safety so if anything were to touch the element it would not be raised to potential.

What can happen is the refractory breaks down from either a hot spot on the sheath from getting fouled with animal greases or excessive caustic oven cleaners, etc. If this were to happen you will get a short between the inner wire and the sheath. This becomes a line to ground high resistance fault which in many cases does not cause the circuit breaker to open! The end result is the element turning into what looks like a canon fuse and it will burn its way back to the terminal supplying the fault current. As the wire length gets shorter the current will increase and often make the sheath glow very brightly compared to normal operation. It can also put out an impressive shower of sparks as it gets near the end. If this happens it's recommended to open the circuit breaker to the oven quickly to avoid dealing with a potentially hazardous situation.

Like this, for example! :laugh:

i swear Rubycon is better than wikipedia

Fixed that for greater accuracy.

That vid is funny as hell. The only way it could have been better is if it started the guy's house on fire... (how fucking stupid do you have to be to allow that kind of malfunction to continue in your oven...just so you can take some youtube video?)

 

[Pheran]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Like this, for example! :laugh:

LOL @ some dumbass whose first instinct is to film his oven when it is on fire.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: Pheran

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Like this, for example! :laugh:

LOL @ some dumbass whose first instinct is to film his oven when it is on fire.

I'm pretty sure he made a little poopoo in his pants right around 36 seconds.