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Can you read Mandarin? ..or maybe you can tell what this is by looking.

Jeff Sutton

Sep 25, 2014
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The part in the accompanying pic came out of a basement dehumidifier. From what I understand it cuts off the circuit when temperature exceeds a certain threshold. An explanation of what it is is written in Mandarin Chinese.

I want to buy the part but I need an English description.

Can anyone help?

Thanks!component from dehumidifier.jpg
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
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Who wrote the description?
If it cuts out at a temperature threshold, it could be a thermal fuse.
I can't say for certain though, as I do not know what part of the circuit it was taken from either.
 

Jeff Sutton

Sep 25, 2014
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Thermal fuse seems like a good description. It it is connected to the circuit powering the main fan. Bypassing this, causes everything to work fine.

The man who wrote this is a house-guest of my friend who is Chinese-American. The house-guest repairs things like this for a living in China but does not know the English words for electronics components. My friend speaks limited Mandarin and does not understand Chinese names for the components.
 

Gryd3

Jun 25, 2014
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Thermal fuse seems like a good description. It it is connected to the circuit powering the main fan. Bypassing this, causes everything to work fine.

The man who wrote this is a house-guest of my friend who is Chinese-American. The house-guest repairs things like this for a living in China but does not know the English words for electronics components. My friend speaks limited Mandarin and does not understand Chinese names for the components.
If it is only connected to the fan, it is a poor design, but if it cuts power to the whole unit, it is in there for protection. It would be a thermal fuse.

Similar devices are used in waffle irons. They look a little different, and have the ability to turn back on once the temperature drops. This does not sound like the intended behavior here.
Thermal fuses are generally used in devices that *may* generate excessive heat if something misbehaves. Once they trip, they are garbage and must be replaced, but it is a good idea to buy a spare and keep a close eye on the device to make sure it operates properly.
That part may have expired due to stress and age, or the device you are repairing could have another problem causing it to overheat.
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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It looks a little like a fusible resistor. It's a bit hard to say with the resolution of your image.

edit: I agree with KJ6EAD below. (2 reasons - 1 the ones I've seen before were only pointed at one end, 2 with a rating of 130C it wouldn't be a fuseable resistor)
 
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chopnhack

Apr 28, 2014
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You nailed it:

温度保险丝
Wēndù bǎoxiǎnsī

thermal cutoff, the characters look spot on ;-)
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Great, now I even know how to pronounce it :-D

温度 = Wēn dù = temperature (more literally temperature limit)
保险丝 = bǎo xiǎn sī = fuse (more literally a protecting insurance wire)

The real trick with Chinese characters is to look them up in a dictionary. They are ordered by the number of strokes in the symbol, however that is pretty tricky because what might appear to us as a square could be 2, or more strokes (remembering that they are intended to be drawn with a brush). When I say it's a real trick... it's a trick I have not mastered.

Even knowing all of this, if you're faced with a hand drawn symbol (say the name of a train station) and you are looking at the same thing in print or on a digital display, it can be *really* hard to match them up (ask me how I know!). I congratulate you on recognising the match -- and probably your Mandarin speaking friend for writing clearly.
 
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