I have a non-working baseboard heater in bedroom. Appliance is about 35-40 yeas old. A single pole thermostat 220v is mounted on wall. How do I determine if heater is burned out or if one side of the breaker is faulty?
Electric baseboard heater wiring.
This appliance is on a 220v dedicated circuit. Voltages appear 110v to gnd on each pole of tstat. 110v to gnd on each lead of heater. Tried to install a new single pole tstat in place of old but tripped one side of the breaker. At this point am stumped. Am getting cold and frustrated. Anybody out ther give me a hand?
I'm a little confused with your statment of "one side of breaker" tipping. 220v circuits should be connected to a double breaker with a bar that connects both breakers, so if one trips, they both trip. NOT 2 Individual single pole breakers, where one can tip and the other dosen't. Another thought in order for a 220v appliance to work, the breakers need to be on different phases. If you have 2 single pole breakers, on the same phase, each one will test as 120v, but not a 220v together. The breakers should be next to each other, not on different spots on the breaker panel. As far as the heater is concerned. Disconnect the heater and see if you get 220v at the heater, when the thermostat is turned on. If you have 220v, the circuit is ok. If your breaker trip when you reconnect the heater and turn on the thermostat, you have a defective heater, replace it.
Check the heater with an ohm meter or continuity meter. (With both sides of the breaker off !), disconnect the two hot wires coming into the heater. - one will go to each end of the element.
Check to see if there is continuity through the element. If there is continuity there, then put your meter between one element wire and the heater heater frame. (If it has been there that long, it isn't a grounded circuit). If you get continuity on either wire to ground, it means the element is shorted to ground and is defective at least and very dangerous and must go! If the element is ok and not shorted, then recheck the installation of the thermostat.
These heaters are wired hot to one leg of the 220, (actually 115 to ground, but there is no ground connection ) and the other 115 volt leg goes to the single pole thermostat and then to the other end of the element. When the thermostat closes it puts 230 volts on the ends of the elements.(the voltages are each 115 volts to ground but on the opposite side of the cycle.) I don't think it is a very good idea to have power on one side of the heater all the time, but my house 20 long skinny elements. If you are using a ohm meter and not just a light, the element should show some resistance.
