Does anyone know a source for thermostat wax elements?
If there are others of a like mind on this board that love to take things apart and see how they work, read on.
Its seems my thermostat has failed and I'll have to get a new one. I've got the Westerbeke 140 degree version and $140 price tag that goes with it. The thermostat mechanically is fine, but the copper cylinder that contains the expanding/contracting wax element seems to have failed. I took apart the simply constructed thermostat and it looks like I can just press this bad element out and put a new one in. Internet searches turned up a company in China, but I'm not quite ready to put in an order for 100,000 of them.
This part looks like it costs about $.14 and I'm having a hard time swallowing the $140 replacement cost. The rest of the thermostat is fine. I know about the other kits available with spacers and shoulder nuts, but it seems like something us handy A4 types are able to tackle. It might come in handy down the road when manufacturers no longer make our current thermostat options too.
I'll see if WM has some on display that look right and I might pirate its parts for an experiment, but if anyone happens to know where these things are made, that would be a huge help.
For those that are interested, the copper cylinder has a special wax that expands and contracts under temperature changes, causing the thermostat to open and close. I might even be able to replace just the wax if I can get the cylinder apart, then I can pirate any 140 degree thermostat. With the exception of a C-clip, I took the thermostat apart by hand.
I'll keep the board posted on anything I can find out.
Thanks,
Micah
If there are others of a like mind on this board that love to take things apart and see how they work, read on.
Its seems my thermostat has failed and I'll have to get a new one. I've got the Westerbeke 140 degree version and $140 price tag that goes with it. The thermostat mechanically is fine, but the copper cylinder that contains the expanding/contracting wax element seems to have failed. I took apart the simply constructed thermostat and it looks like I can just press this bad element out and put a new one in. Internet searches turned up a company in China, but I'm not quite ready to put in an order for 100,000 of them.
This part looks like it costs about $.14 and I'm having a hard time swallowing the $140 replacement cost. The rest of the thermostat is fine. I know about the other kits available with spacers and shoulder nuts, but it seems like something us handy A4 types are able to tackle. It might come in handy down the road when manufacturers no longer make our current thermostat options too.
I'll see if WM has some on display that look right and I might pirate its parts for an experiment, but if anyone happens to know where these things are made, that would be a huge help.
For those that are interested, the copper cylinder has a special wax that expands and contracts under temperature changes, causing the thermostat to open and close. I might even be able to replace just the wax if I can get the cylinder apart, then I can pirate any 140 degree thermostat. With the exception of a C-clip, I took the thermostat apart by hand.
I'll keep the board posted on anything I can find out.
Thanks,
Micah
Comment