Awhile ago I fixed two of such irons for my wife, too. It was a known good German brand (AEG) and a discounter brand (from Lidl). They both had the same fault. The little waterpump had failed. Interestingly the more expensive AEG (about 150 €) and the discounter one (about 50 €) had the exactly same pump in it. The sparepart is about 45 €. So normaly it makes no sense to fix the Lidl one because of the price of the sparepart. Luckily I could fix both pumps and got both irons to work again (result! 😂). These moments are so satisfying. Carry on making such videos because they are so entertaining and educational (yes they are). Greetings from Germany. Thomas

Best Part? Mrs. Vince is using all the stuff Mr. Vince repaired. That's work sharing. I really enjoyed that video.

The main cause of failure in a resin potted coil like the one in the solenoid, is tiny air bubbles in the resin around the wire, the air trapped expands at a different rate than the epoxy resin, and that mechanical stress eventually causes the thin wire to break. The solenoid valves made in Italy are degassified, (the epoxi resin is briefly exposed to vacuum, actually lower than atmosphere pressure, to extract the air from it), and they never fail.

Vince, bloody hell the size of that adjustable spanner, not sure if you don't have the appropriate tools or its for comedic value. Either way, it makes for a giggle. Well done on the repair.

Another great repair video. Never seen irons like those in the USA. Best wishes from the USA!!

What you need is a bigger spanner Vince

You have a very kind and understanding wife, Vince.

This was one of your better videos, very good filming of such a complex device.

I’d rather watch a video on irons than England playing football.

Excellent video Vince! I really enjoyed it. You can tell that the white ones are far much better quality than the purple but it also goes to show that design and ergonomics are sometimes as important or even more important like in this case

The solenoid when energised undergoes a large magnetic field pulse which when it is deactivated causes a flash back of energy to the controller which has to be mitigated and that most likely failed and caused the coil in the relay to blow. Try using acetone to dissolve the potting compound.

Keep that failed solenoid, it's now a reel of wire for future PCB repairs 😉

That enamelled wire is perfect for your vids that need tiny traces fixing. Good to keep in parts bin.

Great video, Vince. And I love to see that your wife has a Dutch Brabantia ironing board! That really made my day

The solenoid may have a really bad duty cycle which is causing the wire to break inside due to overheating. That's my guess and great fix.

I almost skipped this episode as iron repairs didn't seem like they'd be very interesting. I was wrong. These irons have many more features than we have in the US. Thanks for taking the time to take us on your repair journey. Thought: You could probably repair the relay you cut open by cutting out the old wire and winding replacement wire on the bobbin. You already know the total ohms you need from the working relays. You can measure the gauge of the wire with your calipers. There are ohms/foot tables from most vendors that sell enameled wire, so you don't need to worry about how many turns are on the original relay. Just wind the calculated footage of wire to get the ohm value you need. You can use a drill to wind the new wire on the old bobbin. Maybe a project for a new video? Thanks again!

the red one might be a modified version, to prevent the them failing like the black ones have been

Well done, Vince! I'll admit, I know next to nothing about irons. But I was intrigued by the fact that all these had the water reservoir in a separate base unit. All the irons I've never used (or seen!) here in the US have been compact units with the water reservoir built right into the iron itself, with just a single power cord to the wall. I don't know if that's a locale thing, or if I am just naive in my iron knowledge 😂

Unfortunately Vince the water from your Brita filter will not stop scale build up. Brita filters are basically just carbon filters so they will remove elements like chlorine but you need to remove dissolved solids which includes calcium and lime to stop scaling. Distilled or deionised water is completely free of dissolved solids and it what I use in my steam iron and steamer and never get any scale.

While england is playing the eurocup i Was so impatient to see vince New episode!!!

Really enjoyed this video - the steam boilers seem very similar to an older Tefal unit I (successfully - much to my amazement) repaired a couple of years. Obtained for free, via a skip stored inside a storage place I was using, it worked but after 5 minutes the pressure built up and popped the relief valve (very noisily - got glares from my wife !). No control boards just a pressure sensor screwed into the boiler which was stuck closed hence never cutting the power to the element. Solenoid was fine (a CEME unit made in Italy) but found a replacement steam sensor (another CEME unit - via an Italian eBay seller) and replaced it using Flomasta Liquid PTFE thread sealant. It has been working fine for a couple of years so it is possible to replace these components although you do need to have a clue about what you are doing - getting high (ish) pressure steam and mains power wrong is a recipe for disaster if you don't take care. More please !

Somehow I knew Mrs. Vince would want the purple and black one given the choice. It has the auto descaling, which is a plus, just seems like a chincy housing.

Mrs Vince . It's like the Claw in Danger Mouse you just see the hands. Brilliant.

Interesting video Plus enter the Ironing Queen 😁

Hi Vince. Great video as usual. I can confirm that the brass fitting that goes into the boiler from the solenoid is threaded. That red compound is probably thread sealant (available at toolstation, screwfix) so even that should be possible to rerpair

To seal threaded pipes from leaks, most people use a thread sealant like locktite or pipe thread compound. As pressure build's up the thread's arent enough to hold pressure

I can't believe anyone could make irons so interesting! I almost went out and bought one, although we don't do a lot of ironing and our ordinary steam iron will probably outlast us. Thanks, Vince.

Solenoids are large coils, when they are energized the coil receives a large current, if the plunger doesn't close the high-current continues and that causes the coil to overheat and burn out.

Very nice fault finding and fixes 👍 As I get older, I too seem to accidentally stab and cut myself with sharp tools and things more than when I was younger :P Today managaed to get a cut in my finger from manual lawn mower blade. It wasn't cutting the grass very well, so looked at it, I guess a bit too careless way, and the darn thing was still sharp enough to make a cut on my finger.

My guess is the red relays are a modified version of the original black version due to consistent faller highlighted by manufacturers same specification but modified version. Red so manufacturers can tell on returns.

Using spanner as a mirror genius 😎

Hey Vince, great video as always. Let's start with the solenoid. I think it was under spec and thus a design flaw. If you notice it was rated 230V, this is borderline of line voltage. The actual specs for UK voltage are 215-253. This means if there is any condition which raises the voltage significantly for any period of time, that solenoid could blow if enabled at the time. They really should provide overvoltage protection or over spec the operating range. As for why the iron didn't work when the relay was bad, likely because the iron never came up to temperature and there is probably an inhibit to prevent steam until that temp is reached. You can test this theory by quickly raising the set point and immediately trying the steam.

Hi Vince that solenoid is more common fault by every steam generat , philips , seb, rowenta , calor and . Also pump goes defect for descale the iron put water in boiler turn it op side down. Put water in l sink bodem put the iron floating on water push the steam button. That gets the brown /scale out the iron.

Ive got an iron from the 1920s and it still works , just put it on the stove for 10min and off you go💨💨 👍

Many years ago working in a factory making solenoids for (mainly) audi - they were all black until they brought out a new car and decided they wanted them grey (which required running loads of batches of grey ones fit for the bin as they'd still contain some specks of black and that was apparently unacceptable) - not sure it's relevant in this case but it brought back some of that annoyance it caused 😂

I repair two ones like those, one was the steam switch, the other one was the steam electrovalve. It's the most used part, the steam injection is always being used intensely.

BigClive usually have around 245 volt in the grid. If that is common in UK it might be too much for those 230V solenoids. 230V +5%/-10% gives 207-241V. 240V +5%/-10% gives 216-252V.

I got an ex-Guardsman's 3Kw steam iron, tames just about anything needing an iron in seconds, wrinkled shirts just give up and I always do my shirts with spray starch and razor sharp creases. Can blow through the water in the tank very quickly it gets that hot and its an iron you pay attention to the ironing instructions a lot because it will burn through the wrong material in seconds and spoil the soleplate with molten materials lol

"How can I show you it's getting warm?" I think that a large blister on a finger would be satisfactory proof - if indeed proof is needed. Or we could simply take your word for it! 🙂

i think you hit the nail on the head with it being on a hot source i think the heat is weakening the joints/wires or maybe there is/was something causing the power to go through the wires constantly which is burning them out

Nice of them to at least make the coil replaceable with no need to deal with the high pressure part.

When a solenoid is first energized, its coil receives a high inrush current that decreases as the plunger closes. If the plunger does not close/open, the high inrush current continues, causing the coil to overheat and potentially burn out. This is the most common cause of solenoid failure. Overheating can also occur if the ambient temperature is too high, reducing the coil's ability to dissipate heat, or if the solenoid cycles too fast, allowing heat to build up faster than it can be dissipated.

At the start of the video you said Tefal was 20 years old. My first Tefal lasted 20 years. I was replaced it with another Tefal. They look better built than the Morphy Richards you repaired.

Excellent lol! A reminder too that I need to do my ironing =/

Nice session thanks Vince I really enjoyed the long video, great trouble shooting so weird about the solenoids, maybe the red ones are the upgraded ones like you said… solenoids normally work for years on end 🤔

Yes! Stranger Things! 1:09:44 that iron sound is kind of reminiscent of a Pip Boy sound in Fallout when you change a radio station.

Haha, Vince suddenly pushing the steam-button was hilarious! Nice fix once again!

Maybe there's a red coil in their because they noticed the black ones kept dying, so they switched to the red. Great job on analysing the faults.

Ok 2 minutes in, I had a similar iron and one of the wires failed where it entered the body of steam unit. I ordered a new cable and modded the case to accept the old strain relief. Been good so far.

good fixes. Saved the 3 from a landfill

52:40 the pipe for the big coil thing looks like it is removable without screwing it out of the tank

Perhaps the coils fail due to the repetitive heating and cooling, causing the metal tabs to expand and contact, weakening the tiny solder point where the coil wire attaches the tabs.

Interestingly (to me, anyway) is that the steam solenoid looks to be less robust, and probably smaller wire, than the descale one. I assume (maybe wrongly) that the steam solenoid operates for much longer and more frequently. That, along with the many other things that may cause a solenoid to fail, is probably not helping.

Always quids in with a Joblot Vince, fair play!

51:03 It looks like it’s the same coil on the descaling valve. You could use one of those extra coils from another unit to get one of the purple ones running with two working solenoids.

The solenoids get very hot when in use. Ive had 2 12v solenoids fail because they got stuck on in the circuit and just over heated and burnt out.

Little surprised that when they got to temperature at the start, you didn't immediately beat the crap out of them all. I mean, I thought you would strike while the iron was hot.

If You haven't tossed the very obvious broken purple iron maybe those tubes and clips could be useful for something. Could part it out as much as possible then toss it. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Would love the audio of your videos to be a podcast as I listen to them only as well as watching.

hi i think there is a thermal fuse in the solenoids and i think the relay stops all power from the iron eg if it is descaling then it prevents the steam

I wonder if the red coil is a replacement coil to the older faulty black coils?

I don't iron t-shirts, i just put them on a hanger straight from the dryer. I have never irons like those ones with the big base unit.

The solenoids are probably failing due to a combination of getting hot then cooling down and the thickness of the wire. The metal pin/plunger of the solenoid will transfer heat to the coil. The larger solenoids probably have slightly thicker wire so are not as prone. A lot of companies especially these days only care about the parts lasting till the end of the equipment's warranty.

Please please Vince use an isolating transformer for all mains electrical devices! And I was horrified to see you using the Dremel without special gloves.A&E is very busy at the moment! If not mount the device in a vice🙁

Those solenoid valves also have a non resetable thermal fuse so maybe they got very hot or the temperature of the steam caused them to fail

Finally get my Vince repair fix. I am looking forward to watching this. ☕

Maybe the red electro magnet valve is an upgrade ? Also does that relay do more than one job ? Once the power goes through it further down the circuit to tells the element relay to work?

Solenoid not 'steam generator thingy' lol :) nice fix.....cheers. Edit :- maybe it's failing due to being overdriven or the quality of the build is poor lack of test or QA dunno

Prices of faulty Morphy Richards steam irons rising now it's an easy fix!

I think those solenoid valves are fitted with a one shot thermal fuse

If I were you Vince I'd put that 25 yr old Tefal in the cupboard, just in case these fancy dancy newish Morphy Richards pack it in after a months time.😉

Haven’t watched the whole video yet but have a question. All of these units are really big and purpose built for descaling. Is distilled water not readily available? That’s what you should use.

There is Christmas, anniversary, and birthday sorted! Lucky wife 😂

Solenoids might break if they are powered for a long time while the iron core does not move. In this case the AC current will be higher than normal. But honestly, you would expect they are not that poorly designed.

Having read a significant portion of the comments, i note the word obsolescence is appearing; especially so where i live, the water is extremely hard, I wonder how many of these will goto to Landfill just because they haven't been descaled properly? Or seemingly because the same component is seemingly the source of the failure? I haven't owned or used an iron for the majority of my adult life. A very interesting video, like always, a great repair. but I'm not at all tempted to acquire an iron, anytime soon, except maybe for use as a means flatten instruction manuals or box art covers, for my retro video games collection, and probably a dry iron would suffice, for that?

Are you sure that the gurgling sounds are only coming from the irons (it's also you, in your element)? Multiple reasons solenoid valves and relays can fail, including poor manufacture, heat, coils continually energised (generating their own heat), little or no snubbing when deenergising, amongst others.

great Video Vice, you are now able to work on espresso machines ! Expect you to be wearing wrinkle free tee shirts from now on. !!!

The solenoids can be ordered relatively cheaply from China/Aliexpress. If only the coil failed - you can simply order the cheapest model and only take the coil. I've bought one for around 7€ with 8 day delivery. They are also used in coffee machines. I was a little big surprised that the earth terminal was not connected (the 3rd terminal) - since I've recently seen on that had developed a leak for earth and through another fault, gave someone a good shock.

32:35 that kink may have gotten stuck in the assembly stage after the test phase i think i see copper :)

Oh dear, cutting the solenoid open with a Dremel while holding it in hand without gloves 😰 Great fixes though 😃

The coil is 12 volts, check the voltage when you press the trigger. If the voltage is over 12 volts a simple resistor mod would increase the life of the coil. Also, there is two coils in each are they the same voltage? If so, you have another in your parts iron.

i would love to see more of your tips with consoles, i think u did get way more views doing that videos! God bless U

Lol I thought my screen was frozen at 21:53 Great video. Like to see how you work things out.

Hi Vince. Another excellent vidéo. I tried to fix our steam iron that had the same symptoms (iron heats, but no steam). I suspected a faulty solenoid valve, but after opening it up, I didn't find a solenoid. It was a cheap Philips, that doesn't even have a boiler. I tested several things but ended giving up. On the other hand, I already replaced a solenoid valve twice in 20 years in my espresso machine. Those coils seem to be wear items.

I,ve just bought a new beko fridge and separate freezer (the tall ones) no screens or wifi or any connectivity ! i'm still wondering how long (in months) they are going to last !? If they last 3 years i'll be f**king amazed !

more than likely the issue with the solenoid failed because people held them open - the coil overloaded with power and burnt out - they likely aren't meant to be run permanently on. As for the iron hotplate failing - its probably 2 separate faults. the hot plate failed - possibly due to the heat plate taking too much power through the relay. and then they used the solenoid of steam thinking that was why it wasn't staying hot, and that burnt out the solenoid

Another great upload per usual

Great fixes Vince! Have you not learned how to iron? 😉

Just wondering if your adjustable spanner was big enough there Vince? 😂😂

Using the yellow work pad: I am SO unsubscribing! :-) They use the same mystery silicone potting (grey) )stuff in LED bulbs, so I know what you mean about picking it out. WOW! getting to watch your wife ironing.. What is next, her bringing you a nice refreshing bevy? I love watching you think out loud sharing your troubleshooting path logic, and now you have wrinkle free underwear to boot.

Very interesting

Hmmm, bad run of parts. Maybe inferior varnished wire? As someone else noted, they might have switched to a red case in order to complete replacement of faulty coils in inventory.

Morphy Richards was started by two Bromley businessmen, Russell Hobbs who had their factory next door to the hospital in Croydon I was born in were founded by former employees of Morphy Richards. Both companies in the 70's had lively "back door bargains" going on where you spotted the "right" chap a "brown one" or £10 and said what you wanted and he would disappear and reappear with the thing you asked for. Peak Freans and Percy Dalton's in Deptford were also up for a bluey or £5 and get a bin bag full of broken biscuits or peanuts.

Do you think you could repair a job lot of England players then stick them on EBay for £36 plus postage?

Theory about the red solanoid. The blacks are prone to failure and the Red one is better quality

i am happy seeing that video

Some people are not very good when packaging things . Before I move to Ukraine I sold a huge amount of things but always made sure the packaging was good

Omg what size adjustable do you call that for a 13mm love it

I bet the solenoids are not rated for constant use, and they overheat. or burn out.

My guess why those solenoid valves have failed is because it's completely incased but through the heat of the steam in the pipe and cooling down, the metal and plastic move slightly and the wire can only break off where it's connected to the poles. The red one might be a later revision?