fridge heating element glowing red hot

[deprived]

Our fridge quit working on electric last week so we switched over to propane while I waited for a new element to arrive from Amazon.

I installed the new element and switched over to electric. I checked on it a few hours later and the plastic insulation around the element wires was melted and the element itself was glowing red.

I switched back to gas and unplugged the fridge from AC.

This can't be normal, right? What could this possibly mean?

[deprived]

I just double-checked to make sure it is the correct wattage and it is correct - 325 watts, which is what the old one had printed on it as well as the new one.

[8.3Oilbuner]

Hi Deprived; I am going to say you are correct! The heating element should not be glowing red hot. I am going here by theory not experience. Seems to me the heating element works almost the same as the heating element in an electric oven. Current supplied and a certain amount of resistance causes the element to get hot. Not sure you would find the specs for the heating element, but I would try to check the resistance on the element. Too much resistance would cause it to get real hot like you are experiencing. Would check the old element also. This is where I would start. After that I would check the input voltage to the element and go from there. As you mentioned, the element should not glow red.

[bigb56]

Can you measure resistance across the terminals with the wires disconnected? You should see about 44 ohms of resistance. It should also be drawing about 2.7 amps at 120 volts if you have a way to measure current.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by 8.3Oilbuner

Too much resistance would cause it to get real hot like you are experiencing. Would check the old element also.

Higher resistance in the element would allow less current to flow and it would run cooler and produce less heat, lower resistance would allow more current to flow and it will get hotter (up to a point before the circuit overloads). It is possible to have a high resistance connection heat up but in this case the element is glowing so we know the current is not being restricted.

[Old-Biscuit]

No it should NOT be glowing RED

Better responses if you would post Brand/model of fridge
*over the production run some brand/models changed components

[deprived]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

No it should NOT be glowing RED

Better responses if you would post Brand/model of fridge

you are correct!

It is a Dometic DM2862 "Americana". I swapped out the cooling unit for a Dutch Aire a few years back and at the same time I switched the Dometic control board for a Dinosaur one.

Overall, the fridge has worked pretty much flawlessly. But then the 120v stopped working last week, thus the new element.

I'm hoping I just got a bad element from Amazon. Somewhere I have the old, old original element that was pulled (working) from the fridge when we did the upgrades.

But, you know, since I've never actually looked at the element when it is powered up, I wasn't sure if they should glow or what.

[Mudfrog]

I shop Amazon a bunch but know that there are a lot of items listed on it that aren't up to par. The aftermarket "compatible" items can sometimes be problematic. Even if the item is listed as genuine, it's still possible it could be counterfeit.

Even if the board is bad, the element should not glow ret hot. There's really nothing else that can cause this except for the element itself. I would clean up any burnt wiring/connectors and replace the element with one from JC.

[Mark_K5LXP]

Just an observer here but why would a defrost heater prevent the unit from working on 120V? Or is it just the defrost cycle wasn't working? I've had thermostats and timers fail on residential fridges that stopped the defrost cycle but the fridge still got cold, until the evaporator coils choked up with ice.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

[Old-Biscuit]

Dometic 3850644422 120VAC 325W 90* heater element
2.7A Draw 44 ohms

Used in numerous Dometic Fridge Models

[deprived]

Originally Posted by Mark_K5LXP

Just an observer here but why would a defrost heater prevent the unit from working on 120V?

Hey, Mark - a fellow New Mexican! We are in T or C.

The element that was glowing red hot was the actual boiler heating element.