Futurmat Ariete Heater - How to Test?

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fishll
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Joined: 11 years ago

#1: Post by fishll »

The other week my Futurmat Ariete stopped heating water. The machine worked as normal though the water out of the group was room temp and there was no steam. I just got around to looking at it, and checked all the usual suspects for blockages going to the boiler, thinking that it wouldn't heat because water wasn't in the boiler. All of these passages checked out. I also checked the pressure stat and it seems to be working.

So my next logical step is to test the heater. This is where I need some help. I have removed a small plastic cover from the side of the boiler where Im assuming the heater is attached and there are two prongs shown below. One prong goes to the pressure stat and the other routes back to the main on/off switch and later to the computer. Can anyone help guide me on how to test the heater to see if it has failed?

Thank you, Jon

You can see the two prongs, blue leading the the pressure stat. Also what are the four connections above what I think is the heater? Some have discoloration as if they have over heated/blown. Please excuse the upside down photo, not sure why HB has flipped it.

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2StrokeBloke
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#2: Post by 2StrokeBloke »

edit: be sure to do the following measuring with the machine UNPLUGGED from electrical source!

You can remove the terminals feeding your heating element. Once the wires are off, hook a multimeter (one lead to one post and the other lead to the other post) to the posts of the heater. Make sure the leads of your multimeter are inserted in the Ohms(R) inputs of your meter.
Select Ohms and see what it reads. If your multimeter isn't autoranging, you may have to select a reading range in the 100-300 ohms range. Not knowing what wattage your machine is spec'd at, that is just a guess. If you select every range on your meter and it just shows 'OL' or 'OPEN', then your heating element is toast.

The two items above the heating element look like over temperature safety switches. These are designed to open the heating circuit if the temperature in the boiler got too high (low water level for instance) If they 'open' the circuit, your heater will loose power. If they are 'opened' by high temp, once it cools down, you can usually reset the switch by pressing in the little red button in the middle of the switch. My guess is this is what you will find.

A one time issue would give me only a little cause for concern. If it happens again, or regularly, then you need to investigate why they are being set off. The discoloration of the plastic on the wire terminals can be from high heat caused by high current thru the wires. It's something to keep an eye on.

Let us know what you find out.

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fishll (original poster)
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#3: Post by fishll (original poster) »

Thank you 2StrokeBloke. I looked into the over temp switches and tried to press in the red button though either they are already pressed in, or they don't move. I tried pressing very firmly to the point where the plastic nearly bent but the button doesn't seem to move. Any other ideas while I track down a multimeter?

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cannonfodder
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#4: Post by cannonfodder »

Nope. You need a meter to check that. You can check 2 things, first being the ohms of the element with the wires disconnected. If that tests good then you can check for power to the terminals buy measuring the voltage at the terminals but take care to not electrocute yourself. If there is no power at the terminals chances are you have a broken pressurestat, it has stuck in the open position.
Dave Stephens

2StrokeBloke
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#5: Post by 2StrokeBloke »

Ps. When installing the terminal rings back onto your heater prongs, don't crank them down very hard. Just tight is fine. As you can see, the prongs are pretty spindly and will break if you try to really torque those nuts on.

Have you done any searching for a Futurmat Ariete wiring diagram? That would be helpful if it comes down to chasing electrons.

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fishll (original poster)
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#6: Post by fishll (original poster) »

Thank you guys. Im asking around for a multimeter before I bite the bullet. Im fairly certain the pressure stat works, though I have had to switch contacts in the past, luckily this model has three contacts. Ive used a screwdriver, I know this probably is dangerous, to press on the spring forcing the pressure stat to open and I get no boiling sounds. Im pretty sure its the heater. At this point Im ready to invest in something else rather than throw a hundred or so into a heater. Ive got my eye on a Domobar, but I will press on to see for sure. Update coming soon.


-Update-
So I removed the contacts on the heater and tested in all of the Ohm sections on the meter, all numbers jumped around, as in this photo.


I then proceeded to test as CannonFodder recommended. I think what he is saying is to touch the pressure stat terminals with the meter under the volt setting. This is what I did, in all settings on the meter and the red and black contacts in every combination I got no numbers on the meter. Is this the correct way to test?

Does this mean that the heater could be working but the pressure stat isn't? Would my method of opening the spring not force the pressure stat to tell the heater to turn on, or is this not a proper way to test?

Thank for the help everyone.

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cannonfodder
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#7: Post by cannonfodder »

The pressurestat should be closed (heat position). Put the meter on AC volts, put one meter lead on each wire that goes to the heater, turn on the power. You should get 120 (or there about) volts. If you get nothing, you are not getting power to the heater. Then you have to do some electrical work to figure out where the power stops. Or the pressure stat is stuck open (no heat/power).
Dave Stephens

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fishll (original poster)
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#8: Post by fishll (original poster) »

Thank you Dave, I tested as you suggested. The pressure stat is snapped shut, and I get zero readings on any volt settings. So I am lead to believe the pressure stat is no longer working. Is this correct? Also is there any way to bypass the pressure stat to temporarily run the heater as a test?

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fishll (original poster)
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#9: Post by fishll (original poster) »

Just back form vacation. Any ideas on bypassing the pressure stat to truly test the heater?