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Hello folks,

I was about to change the heating element on my old Ibex. It seems like it can't get pass 250F+- anymore, and so I bought a new 300W element (Original is 150W).

I followed this post by SteveSmith http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=37310 - but when I removed the iron I discovered something quite different:
In Steven's post- you can see two wires connected to the element. There's another ground wire that is not connected to the heating element - but it sits on the gasket itself. I'm uploading two of Stevens pictures (hope that's ok Steven!). You can see it very clearly.

Apparently, on my bending iron, there's *3* wires coming out of the heating elemnt, one is the ground.
Now, the new element has only two wires (as you can see in the picture).

How should I go about it? what should I do with the ground wire?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Establish a new grounding system. You might have to use a new 3-prong cord to replace the old two prong. There is probably a ground connection on the switch too. This will make the unit safer.

You are welcome to reuse the photos, anything that helps. Electrically, for safety, you want to ground the metal casing of the iron. Connect the grounding wire in your plug to the aluminum casing the same way mine was connected. Be aware that it gets hot down there so don't use plastic wires, just cut off your old ground wire (white with green stripes) at the old heating element and crimp on a ring terminal. When you're done use an ohmmeter to verify that the resistance between the aluminum casing and the ground connector on your plug is less than 1 ohm.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thanks a lot Steve,
Sorry in advance for having so many questions!

I admit that I have little to no expereince with wiring, and I was hoping it would be a bit more straight forward like wiring a guitar pickup.
Because of a lock down situation I'll have to order some parts online and I was wondering about the names/size of these parts:
1. What's the name of these connectors at the end of the wires? that little sockets that connects the different wires into the switch. and, is it kind of a standard size or should I look for something more specific?
The current ones are made out of plastic, and I don't think I'll be able to use them again. as I said, I don't have past experience with it, and so I guess you can't use them after they got crimped?
2. The ring terminal: does it need to have a specific size of opening? ofc it should be at least as wide as the diameter of the bolt, but does it have to be a "good fit", or it could be quite loose as well? I mean, I assume it just need to touch the base of the iron in some way - right?
Now, I'm seeing mostly ring terminals that comes with a plastic tube. I guess that's for crimping the wire in. As I understand from you, I should avoid anthing plastic - so what did you do in your case? how do you connect the wire to the terminal ring? maye just by soldering it?

Again, sorry for so many questions. Hope you could find the time to assist.
Thanks again!

The connectors for the switch are female spade connectors. Probably 1/4" but measure the width of the terminal on the switch to be sure. The plastic tube is an insulator, ok for the switch but you don't want it on the ring terminal due to the heat there.

Yes the ring terminal could be a bit larger as long as it makes good contact with the aluminum body.

Terminals should be crimped using a crimping tool and they can also be soldered.

Given the bender operates off 120VAC and your unfamiliarity with wiring I have to recommend that get help from a pro so you can be sure everything is done safely.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"