Here at Assembly Supplies we are an authorized service and sales center in San Diego, CA and Heely-Brown in Atlanta, GA. We sell a variety of Leister tools, accessories and heating elements.
Recently, we were asked how we test heating elements to confirm if they are good or bad in your Leister tool. You would want a professional to test and make sure your heating element is still properly working. For this blog post, we used the most common Leister hand tool the Triac ST.
How we know if a Leister heating element is good or bad!
First off when you are using your tools on the job, we suggest you keep them as clean as possible. We know it can be hard, but this will ensure that the inside working of your tool is free of dirt and dust which are common causes of a tool to not work.
Step 1: The first thing to do is to unscrew the heater tube and remove the mica tube.
Step 2: At this point we have the heating element out of the tool. We do a visual check if anything is clogged or mechanically damaged. To check if the heating element is still good or is bad and needs to be replaced, we measure the resistance of the heating element by using an ohmeter. An ohmmeter is an electrical instrument that measures electrical resistance, the opposition to an electric current.
When a heating element is bad and no longer works the ohmeter will read in double digits or won’t show a number on the screen at all. This is the point where we replace the heating element.
Step 3: Replace the heating element. A brand new or working heating element should read 9 for resistance on a 120V Leister tool. If we are replacing a 230V it would read 34 resistance.
Step 4: Once we are done and are ready to put the heating element back in the tool, we use an air compressor to get any dust or lint out. We add the mica tube back onto the heating element. insert the gasket and tighten the screws.
This is how we know if a heating element is good or bad. If you have any other questions, please reach out to us.
Unsure if you have an old or new style heating element? You can find an instructional image that identifies the labels on the bottom of the heating elements to purchase and replace.
If you are looking to buy heating elements you can purchase them right here.