Hi stevenal, unlike light bulbs (which increase their operating resistance up to 10 times the cold value) heating elements increase only slightly higher in operation. Carbon decreases its resistive value with heat. A clamp on is a great trouble shooting aid however I rarely use them. Ohm's law and known values always worked better for me.
The two Dometic heating elements I know.
The original marked 120v 325w measured ohms 38
The newly purchased marked 120v 325w measured ohms 44
Both Dometic parts, as in previous posts the part numbers are even more confusing as Dometic parts sheets state # 0173742180 to be 120v 325w and 44 ohms +/- 10% tolerance. No Matter what! we certainly have two different elements, obviously one of them is marked incorrectly or as suggested previously, a bunch of heaters with a resistance of less than the lower tolerance (39.6 ohms) were installed in a bunch of refrigerators during the period in question.
Dometic papers state refrigerators manufactured during the period in question had 354 Watt elements installed in them. It certainly begs to be asked why the 354w heater in my recalled fridge is marked 120v 325w Using Ohm's law my original heater of 38 ohms resistance can be calculated to be 348w at 115v or 379w at 120v calculating current at 120v gives us 3.16 amps, not to think of what it is at 125v
A value of 40.7 ohms will give us close the 354w value at 120v, mine was a lot worse than that.
In summation Other than any damage done by the original heating element, my refrigerator now with the new element is now similar to those not on recall.
Consider,if it were not for the recall we'd all still be using our reefers without question, as those who will never be notified will continue using theirs. Considering there is a low instance of failure due to the underrated heater, and a visual inspection of the boiler area which looks good, with this in mind and the fact that I have the the correct heating element, I'll have the modification done when called. I will feel safe and intend to continue using the reefer as if this recall never happened.
Cheers Willis
PS:f it's any use to anyone the element I removed has a part # 173742-28 that's the same number that's in my Dometic book.
