repairing a West Bend electric tea kettle

I have a copper bottomed whistling West Bend electric tea kettle from a past era. It has stopped heating up, staying cool even after plugged in for ten minutes. When I pull the it's plug from the wall socket I can see a flash of electric spark, so it must be drawing some electricity.

It looks like an enclosed unit and I don't see any way to open it up. Does anyone know if there is a way to repair this electric kettle.

John

 

Look for breaks, in the AC cable.

 

There is a thermostat inside that controls the boiling element. That stat may be bad.

Is there a model number anywhere on it ?
Some of those appliances I recognize on sight for assembly.

If there are rubber feet on the bottom than more than likely they are pressed into a hole or are self stuck on and the screws are behind them.

 

I ohm tested the electric cable but didn't find any sign of a break.The kettle has a pressed on/crimped on copper bottom with no feet. I looked inside the spout and can see the heating element around the inside bottom, and both ends go up on side and end right at the plug site. There's no sign of a thermostat, or even room for one, it just looks like a heating element that connects directly to two male pins in the plug area. And it's never acted like there was a thermostat, it boils water and just keeps boiling it away until I unplug it. The only number on the bottom is "cat. no, 4525E". I tested the heating element for continuity and it shows 10 ohms, and the buzzer test shows continuity. Does 10 ohms (that's 10, not 10,000) indicate anything, it seems like a heating element would show some more serious resistance.

If that's normal for a heating element, then the AC cable is all that's left. This is a simple but well built device, probably from the '50s when things were still made to last.

Any ideas?

Here's a link to an eBay auction for the same unit:

West Bend Speedmaster Whisting Tea Kettle 2 5 Quart Copper Bottom Stainless | eBay

 

10 ohms is about right for that type of appliance, 1500 watts give or take. Sometimes they don't open up until they get hot. Plug it in and let it sit a bit, then disconnect the cord and quickly test the element resistance again. If it's infinite or nearly so, then it's opened up.

Also, try wiggling the cord connector at the kettle end. Sometimes the contacts lose their springiness and you may just have to replace the kettle end of the cord.

 

Wow.... that is from a past era. Right.. there aren't any thermostat in that kettle. Not sure if there is even a safety thermal heat fuse in there.

Like Carbide mentioned.... the resistance is about right.
If yours has the removable cable then the problem is most likely in that connector.
There are appliance parts stores that still have those cords available.

 

I just realized that I had some new power cords I'd bought for my old time metal Farberware 12 cup percolators. They were a perfect fit, and replacing the cord fixed the problem.

Sorry to bother everyone for such a simple thing...but I learned a few things about the West Bend so it was worth it. And what originally threw me off, my DVOM giving erratic readings because it had a low battery, also got fixed.

BTW, the Farberware percolators aren't as basic as this West Bend. They have two heating circuits, a fusible link, a thermostat. But also a weak spot, the bakelite piece that locates the 2 electric posts/pins...which when cracked or broken will cause a nice short if you push the power cord plug in with too much force. Whereas this West Bend whistling kettle is near bulletproof, the 2 pins are located in metal and solid as a rock. So as long as they don't short out to the body, the cord is probably the only thing that can go wrong.

Thanks for all the help...

John

 

Another thing I just realized, the new power cord isn't heating up at all. The old cord was getting very hot, and since I'd only had the device for two months I thought this was normal for what looked like a skimpy electric cord. I realize now that was a clue that something was going wrong with the cord...the new cord actually feels cool even when the water is boiling.

 

Anytime you have a loose connection you get heat.

Most of the newer appliances have safeties in them to prevent overheating and they open routinely.