Element prong repair question

[jekeane]

As I was cleaning yesterday I noticed a loose prong on my element. It looks to be the ground can I solder it back on do I have to attach it another way? I bought a replacement but would like to salvage this one if possible.

 

[IslandLizard]

They're spot welded. Bad weld there, that spade should not come off.

IMO, soldering may not hold up to the locally high temps involved during use.

 

[doug293cz]

Depending on what metal the wire on the base is, it may not solder well, or at all. It will also be very difficult to get the spade positioned correctly without some kind of jigging.

Brew on

 

[tellyho]

Given the relative low price of a new element, that's probably the way I'd go.

 

[IslandLizard]

It looks to be the ground...

Just saw that. That connection may not get that hot, it's not on the heating wire, or carrying power/amperage.

But it's equally important to provide a solid galvanic connection to the receptacle plug unless you have a separate ground wire attached.

You could probably try to solder it on, or connect the spade to the TC base by replacing the stud with a piece of solid copper core. But placement and orientation of the spade is critical to match the receptacle.

 

[processhead]

The problem is this needs to be a solid mechanical connection AND an electrical connection.
This presents some real challenges for a soldered repair, as the other guys pointed out. If its not correctly aligned, the connector will not couple to it properly.
I hate to throw away anything salvageable, but I would probably pass on this one.

 

[IslandLizard]

Back in my electronics hobby days (tubes era) I've unintentionally spot welded quite few things...

I'm quite sure you can find a Youtube vid on building a small spot welder.

 

[jekeane]

Thanks guys.

I ordered replacements and will offer this one up to the recycle bin.

 

[processhead]

Back in my electronics hobby days (tubes era) I've unintentionally spot welded quite few things...

I'm quite sure you can find a Youtube vid on building a small spot welder.

Get across the B+ supply and ground in a piece of tube gear and it will definitely get your attention!