broken ground/earth wire on element

[Croweater]

Hello everyone i was hoping someone could give me some advice on a little snag ive hit.
while cleaning my keg boiler i accidentally snapped the ground wire off the heater element, it was a clean break from the element and i dont think i can join it up again.

Will the element still work?
Should i earth/ground the case of the boiler instead?
i really dont want to spent another 60 bucks on a new element as this one is pretty new.
thanks in advance.

[JethroBodine]

Sorry Croweater, I think you need to invest another $60. Where safety is an issue, err on the side of caution. Who knows, you might find one cheaper than that. Good luck

[Croweater]

well i dont know what to do, i went to the place i got the last one from and looked at the new elements they had there and some didnt even have an earth on them.

[JethroBodine]

If you are in the US and are running a 120 volt element, one of the two posts that are left is Neutral which, more often than not, is bonded to ground. Now, that being said, I don't know how the house wiring you have is set up. I've seen some houses that still have insulated posts and open wires in their basements. The element that you have that origionally had a ground/ earth was using a ground for a specific purpose. A new element, whether it's been designed with or without a ground lead, will be safer in your application than using a broken one that may or may not be safe. If it's designed to have a ground stud, please use it as such. If it's broken and you have to ask, replace it, please.

[Dnderhead]

do yo have 3 wire set up? two on element and ground.

[Croweater]

the element has a blue, brown and green/white wire coming off of it.

I contacted a electrician, i told him it was a ss boiler with a internal heater element with a broken green wire he said the ground wire is basically for safety in case of a short. and to check to see if there was continuity between the broken ground wire and the case, there was so i just bolted the broken ground wire to the top of the boiler.
i fired it up this morning and its working like normal.
the house has a safety switch but i was more worried about burning out my heater control.

[Dnderhead]

in a 3 wire circuit the earth ground is for your safety. if for some reason it becomes shorted you wont be electrocuted.
in some older circuits with 2 wire the neutral was used as a ground also.this was not as safe.

[maker]

Hey guys
While we are on the subject of heating element ground wires I have a 2200w unit in my keg that has a 3 pin plug going into it. same as this one

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-2200-WATT-HE ... 45f62e1c20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

the thing i am a little worried about is that it has no earth take off. does it earth threw the side of the boiler
or shoule i be running a seperate wire

cheers in advance

[rad14701]

maker, when in doubt you can always run an auxiliary ground wire from your boiler to a known ground, like a water pipe or other known earth ground... I've been known to use heavy duty automotive jumper cables between the boiler and a water pipe coming up through a concrete floor...

[maker]

thanks for your reply rad
i might have to get a cable made