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Posted by David Sherman [24.32.202.83] on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 20:39:18 :
In Reply to: Integrated pump and motor is disposable. posted by Chriscase [76.201.16.74] on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 20:12:28 :
This might have ended up under the wrong topic, but what you're referring to is a "thermal fuse". They are inside of motors and transformers to keep them from catching fire if they overheat. I had to fix something that had one of them in it once, so I bought a dozen. They're not easy to find.
The poor man's "field expedient", definitely not "UL Listed" but better than bypassing it with a chunk of copper wire, is to bypass it with a piece of suitably thick solder. The solder will melt and open the circuit if the motor or transformer severely overheats. You have to arrange the solder so it doesn't short out against anything, or put a piece of loose-fitting tubing over it.
The actual thermal fuses work on the same principle. They have a spring inside that's stretched from one end to the other and held in place with solder. When the solder melts, the spring pulls back and opens the circuit.
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