My Bonavita variable temperature kettle just stopped working - Page 2

#11: Post by **Marcelnl** » October 22nd, 2018, 3:18 am

ira wrote:Don't understand that, been soldering SMD since at least 2001. The first board was scary to think about, but I've never used a through hole part since.
Tweezers and a good fine point soldering iron is all I used for the first number of years. Now I have an oven and a hot air gun which makes it much easier, but I've hand soldered down to 0402 with just a tweezers and an iron.

it's doable but for a beginner it can be daunting to start soldering and not being able to see what you're doing very good, and on top of that...I tend to dislike the sonic fingerprint of most SMD components (I know, not relevant for a water kettle

) In this case the power rating for the through hole component may be better than for the SMD component which somehow cooked.

#12: Post by **drgary** » October 24th, 2018, 8:54 am

I have a Bonavita kettle with temp controls going wonky and it's similarly aged. I just wrote to them asking the cost of a replacement base. Meanwhile I found a NPET brand 1.0 L PID gooseneck kettle on eBay new for under $21 shipped in the US, and it works. Added: But it doesn't work as well as the Bonavita. Temperature is only adjustable with granularity of Celsius, not to the degree in Fahrenheit. Also the temperature maintenance button only works once and needs to be reset each time the kettle is removed and returned during pourover. Also a replacement Bonavita base is available at the moderate cost of $29.99 plus tax and reasonable shipping.

#13: Post by **jbviau** » October 24th, 2018, 9:38 am

^^^ Gary, I'd be amazed if they offered you a replacement base. My experience with Bonavita has been that no [kettle] parts are available even for purchase--they either replace the whole shebang or you're out of luck.

edit: I see they do sell replacement *lids* though.

#14: Post by **drgary** » October 24th, 2018, 1:12 pm

I just got an email from their customer service pointing me to Espresso Supply at 800-782-6671 where the base (part number 29605) costs $29.99 plus shipping. I'm in the same state, so shipping wasn't much and tax was charged, so the total was a little over $39. The customer service person at Espresso Supply answered right away and was very nice. I may have it as soon as tomorrow.

#15: Post by **jbviau** » October 24th, 2018, 11:24 pm

^^^ Happy to hear it! A lot has changed since Jan. 2017, I see, when this wasn't a possibility. Maybe the OP will be able to take advantage.

#16: Post by **Engstrom** » April 12th, 2019, 1:52 pm

Did you have any luck with repairing your kettle?
Mine is also dead and it looks like it could be the same issue with the zener diode.
I contacted Bonavita and asked if they could provide schematics or sell spare parts. A firm no on both unfortunately, they showed no interest in helping me whatsoever.

If the issue is the zener diod I could replace it myself, but I don't know how to find the right replacement. Anybody that can give any advice?

#17: Post by **MacTeine** » September 28th, 2019, 8:23 am

I have this same issue!!

Kettle stopped working this morning - when opened, the zener diode was burned all over. This is weak spot for sure! I'm very upset, it's TWO MONTHS after warranty!!

I found one local guy near-by who is repairing PCB stuff. I called him and he told me, that when the capacitor next to the zener diode drys out, it could cause this diode to fail. Also this diode is constantly under voltage (when plugged in) and it gets very hot - so maybe when you keep the base constantly plugged in (as I did - NOT with the kettle on top, just the base under voltage), it is constantly over-heated.

I thought that bonavita is better designed than this! It is very cheap electronics inside, definitely most expensive part is the stainless steel body, other is disappointingly low-cost

I'm sending him the kettle base on Monday - I hope it is repairable. The kettle is definitely not cheap in the place I live and two bloody months after end of warranty

If this can't be repaired, I will buy definitely something else.

#18: Post by **klajkor** » January 1st, 2020, 6:31 am

Hi there,
Yesterday my Bonavita kettle also stopped working, symptoms are the same, no lights, no reaction to pressing any of the buttons.
Since I am well over the warranty period I disassembled it to check at least if the fuse is intact.
Which it was of course, but I already saw that I had the same issue like other forum members here - the ZD1 zener diode was fried.
I checked with my multimeter and it showed short circuit, so I went ahead and replaced it.
But that was not enough to make it work again.
Then I searched the web and found this forum post, where I saw that MacTeine mentioned that the capacitors near to the zener diode could go wrong also.
So I replaced those caps (C2 and C4) as well and now my Bonavita kettle works again.

On the attached picture I marked the replaced parts with a red arrow.
I hope this will help to other people having the same issue.

#19: Post by **ira** » January 1st, 2020, 12:57 pm

Would you be kind enough to list the part numbers of the replacement parts for those who follow behind you?

Ira

January 1st, 2020, 1:46 pm

Hi Ira,

Do you mean the original Bonavita part numbers?
If so, then I don't know them. I just replaced the fried parts with good ones having the same value.

Zener diode: IN4749A (24V zener)
C2: 470uF/16V
C4: 100uF/35V

Actually I didn't have 24V zener at home, so I used 2 pieces of 12V ones in series, and they do the job pretty well.

Regards,
Robi