Seal Drymount Repair

I picked up a Seal 360M drymount press last week. It is a beast, 26" x 34" and weighs about 200 lbs. I knew it didn't work, it had been neglected, but was too good to pass up. First off I disassembled everything except the top platen / heater assembly. Scrubbed all the parts, drilled & tapped holes for "real" feet (it had some puny feet at one time) made sure all the parts worked smooth and re-assembled. I added a new cord, replacing a burnt connector. I powered it up and the darn thing worked... until at about 200F there was a pzzzzt, and the temperature started dropping slowly. I removed the control cover and discovered that one of the heating element connections had been going for quite some time, and finally burnt thru.

So it looks like I will need to replace the heating element. I will probably replace the switch & thermostat while I am at it. I was wondering if anyone knows if heating elements are available, and where.

I would first check and see if you can gently, and I do mean gently, re-wire with the existing element. It is possible that the wire just parted at the connector and is still sound, in which case you would be able to pull it slightly, open a loop and then carefully loop it around the connector, and refasten the screw. Be careful if the inside of the coil area is lined with asbestos. If so, work outside and wear a mask.

My old seal worked and did exactly the same thing. It worked initially and then did the buzz, pssst, zap and no heat. It needed to have all connectors tightened and then a new toggle switch from a hardware store to replace the old one. Good as new now. I wouldn't replace any parts you don't have to.

If you have to replace the heating element, try to find the specs for your original one with respect to resistance. An appliance supply store which sells parts for electric stoves will have coils in various lengths. You need to match the resistance (watts), coil diameter, length and wire gauge size as closely as possible. Someone may have a manual with the correct information on one of the forums.

Check google for Seal repair parts. Someone is probably sitting on a pile of the heating elements and just needs a person to sell to. Good luck. tim