Just a FYI for future reference, but the solder in those sleeves did not melt. When it does, it completely loses its shape and flows into the wires. I've used those types of sleeves thousands of times in the avionics world. Right now, those wires are just squeezed together by the slightly deformed solder ring. The heat has to be applied consistently until you see the ring fully melt. The cool thing in the video is seeing how insanely well bonded the tile with the Ditra.

@Miguel.Garcia

9 ай бұрын

Damn, can you forsee it failing in the future because of this?

@thegrimreaper7777

6 ай бұрын

Yeah, those air heated solder splices are rubbish, and I very much doubt they are approved for avionics repairs which normally stipulate a crimped, non soldered connection. There's not enough solder in them to flow through the joint at the best of times, plus the solder isn't the best either. I can see this failing again at some point, high resistance, and because the original joint wasn't done correctly, there'll be no coverage for the costs of redoing it again.

@kenhoward127

6 ай бұрын

They are not used for avionics repairs. There is a specific type used to solder a lead from the ground of shielded cable. Some even come with the wire already in place. You are correct regarding repairs... a high quality crimp connecter is used that has a heat shrink sleeve melted over it, which completely shields the crimp connection from the environment.@@thegrimreaper7777

You do a better job at being electricians, than electricians would do at tiling! We JUST put our ditra heat and sensors in so I’m glad I saw this repair video, just in case. Everything is testing good, just need to grout. DIY but your videos were super helpful on what to do and more importantly NOT do. Thanks for the vids

Cutting the wires different lengths so the two splice/crimps are staggered and don't align can help reduce the overall bulk of the repair (if you have sufficient length of course).

When the student becomes a master 😊 beautiful work

You should have tested if the sensor was reading well before trying to melt the solder, which I don't think actually melted. So I have used those in the past and what I have done was actually twist the wired together, test the connectivity, then pull the solder tube over, test again, and then shrink wrap it. Maybe it's just me being stupidly cautious.

I've found your videos really helpful as a DIY guy. I just wanted to say thank you.

Had the same issue with bad readings from both of the sensors we installed. One was reading too high and didn’t heat up and the other too low and was constantly trying to heat the floor. Schluter reached back out to me and will do a diagnosis in 2 weeks. Said I’d be reimbursed for my time for demo and replacing the tile. I was told there was a known issue with some sensors being faulty.

@TileCoach

Жыл бұрын

That’s exactly what happened with ours

@begalbrew5572

Жыл бұрын

@@TileCoach I posted a separate comment with the list of effected wire kits, to my understanding the major tell is if the sensors are packaged with red tape tabs instead of the usual black wire ties (schluter bought a run from a dif supplier I would guess?) I think their hope was that most got pulled from distribution before it became a widespread issue.

For people that say he should have known, or should have tested prior…Schluter has a known problem with the red and black wire sensors failing at a much higher rate than the black/black sensors. Great work as always.

That's amazing. You guys do such excellent work.

FYI...during the covid shutdowns, schluter outsiurced the manufacturer for all their sensors for a limited time. During that time period a lot of the sensors being manufactured were faulty from the new factory. I heard something along the lines of 75,000-100,000 job are projected to fail in the future. All of which they will warranty

That so great that you pinned pointed where the sensor located. 👍🏽

Now that’s great thinset coverage 👍🏻

Happened to me too. I didn’t want to install it because I knew this was a possibility. But my wife wanted the mud room floor warm so we did it. Not a cheap system either which is so annoying. I did all the work myself. I’m a builder though. So hopefully they pay me to fix it. It worked great for a year maybe. But it’s been a few years and I never looked into it until now. Grrrr

every tradesman should have a ballpeen hammer. There are so many situations where it's a much better choice because of how it delivers a more concentrated impact without also having a sharp point.

@jwd215

Жыл бұрын

That's a great idea, I've been a contractor for 27 years and never thought I needed a ball peen hammer.

This happened to a me recently, and Schluter stepped up and did the repair. I was even offered remuneration for reinstalling the tile. Yes, I tested everything three times as per warranty protocol.

The tile work is a amazing 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

I believe I will be installing an extra sensor wire to prevent this when I do my next heated floor system..

Thanks for the detailed video!

I love your demeanor!

This happened to my boss. They fail after a few weeks. Schluter paid for all replacements.

Great job Spencer

Thank you for sharing. Very enlightening and disturbing at the same time, as an electric engineer. Planning a dual zone Ditra heat system in a master bathroom model in our home. Planning to use your paid consulting service as well. Thank you for everything you do from the Hoosier state, IN.

nice repair you guys

Wow.. that's too bad. Beautiful work from the best! Had to redue.. ugh I have one question. Did you make the edging around the niches? Or did that color tile come with matching edging? I'm presuming it came with the matching

Thank you for sharing!

Well... I thought the Schluter temperature sensor issue was resolved in the past, however, I purchased my heat tracing kit in April this year. After 4 weeks of service, I got the same issue, thermostat reading is at 82F, while the floor is at 70F. In the process of speaking the Schluter, lets see if the price premium has me covered.... To be continued...

You have good luck with the repair quickly find

Looking hella ripped on that thumbnail! 💪👏

Nice job!

Might be a stupid question, but why didn't you have pictures of where the sensor wires were pre tile? Prevent the need to search for it later

@larrys5733

7 ай бұрын

Hindsight my friend. Always 20\20

Great video

That’s a heck of a pain in the rear, it’s like I barely wanted to install it the first time, lol

I would have changed both sensors because the other one may fail as well.

I take a picture of every single ditra heat install i do , prior to tile installation. And also send it off to the customer.

Great vid.

We have the same problem here in Oakland,CA, both sensors failed over time, though ours indicated temps much lower than real, so heat stayed on. How much did your repair cost, and did Schluter fully reimburse you? Thank you for posting this video!

in the future look into buying Marine heat shrink, it is same as regular but with hot stick glue inside to make it water proof

@EliteGeeks

Жыл бұрын

22g is thick if it is for CAT5 lol cheaper stuff uses 23 and 24

ohh nice i have the same system but i havnt started in a year. Im still laying tile. How can i ask you more questions. I already have power and layed all lines but havnt did a full test because the tile wasnt all the way down

I didn't realize you're in Sacramento.

Yikes... I'm a week away from purchasing a Ditra Heat system now I'm freaked out. I'm can only assume there's a boat load of the old style problematic sensors in the market place and my luck I'd get one of them. Hopefully there's a way to quickly tell (i.e part number?) if its the old or the new style sensor without having to split the shielding to check the wire colors.

nerve racking to watch this kind of work nick a heating cable look out lol

Our schluter distributor showed me a bulletin a couple months ago about a specific serial range of kits that have a known bad batch of sensors, sadly i cant find it posted anywhere publicly.

@Alex.smiffy

Жыл бұрын

I installed my ditra heat about a year ago and submitted the warranty sheet as needed. It is working well but I wonder if the company will notify me if the serial number of my kit is one of the ones with problems?

@begalbrew5572

Жыл бұрын

@@Alex.smiffy years ago I would expect a company to notify about a registered product, though these days unless it's a federal recall or safety recall I doubt they would. In this case I think they are just paying the claims as they pop up and hope that most were pulled from distribution stock.

@begalbrew5572

Жыл бұрын

These are the wire kits affected, haven't managed to get ahold of the more detailed info again yet. drive.google.com/file/d/1Y88SmeuO47UxrRmUPMqWEIOFfKtJ1ZzN/view?usp=drivesdk

@Alex.smiffy

Жыл бұрын

@@begalbrew5572 thank you!

@biblgrl6563

8 ай бұрын

​@@begalbrew5572thanks for the info. I have 2 systems to install. Both are on the list. I'll be contacting schluter tomorrow.

Which thinset did you use for the reinstall of the tile? Did you go back to the all set?

I've always been a little sketch about the reliability of these small sensors. Maybe for the time being it would be better to place them under a tile that's not permanently set, somewhere in a corner that doesn't see much traffic. S caulk instead of grout and no thinset.

@manuelbolis1527

6 ай бұрын

That's a good idea

It does not appear that you actually melted the solder ring (21:26). If the solder melted properly it would have blended in with the wires just as if you used a soldering iron. But given that this application will be set in mortar and not subject to movement, and that the two wires are touching, the circuit will likely work as expected. If this was done for a harsher environment (aircraft or marine) where there would be a lot of vibration, you would have a problem.

After having a floor tile heat system fail after a few years I would never use one again. I noticed a comment saying you installed the splice wrong. How many times will you have to back to this job? Just say no to this heat system.

Is this why we get two sensors in the wire spool and on in the thermostat package?

Did both sensor wires pass the test that should have been performed before install ?

@mikeo8890

Жыл бұрын

Or an old fashioned ohms test.

@bills1995vette

10 ай бұрын

The videos I watch he checks them….twice.

Glad I live in Florida and don’t deal with heated floor systems

@Alex.smiffy

Жыл бұрын

lol

question. What if you cannot locate the sensor? or is there a tool that can help?

You can test the heat before it’s tiled in.

I guessing this is under warranty, did schluter pay for the whole repair or just the cable?

Bjorn from Norway! Not Bjorn Nyland the EV bloke by any chance? Matt black fittings everywhere!! Must be soft water everywhere. Imagine how long they'd look good in parts of the UK where the water is vey hard.

I wish my tile guy could hammer that fast.

What tile is that?

The importance of keeping a few extra tiles!

Improperly installed.

That's a auto body man hammer.

Could you have used a voltmeter to test sensors prior to installation?

@coreynelson1275

Жыл бұрын

You have to test it three times during the install process in order to have your warranty honored

@SgtZima

Жыл бұрын

I'm sure they did.

Do both sensors died. U changed one

My floor is having the same issue , the thermostat won’t allow me to lower it beneath 135.

@TileCoach

Жыл бұрын

Yep. Sensors bad.

I can’t seem to get a hold of ANYone from Schluter. What’s the number ? For Canada if anyone has that works ? Thnx

So did Schluter pay the labour and materials for you 2 guys. NOT just the 2 new sensors

@TileCoach

Жыл бұрын

Labor and materials

@krehbein

Жыл бұрын

That’s good. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be motivated to have better sensors made.

Does Schluter warranty cover this repair?

@Therealphantomzero

Жыл бұрын

yes

Maybe you did but your supposed to run both sensors in the event one fails. It is super unlikely that both failed. If there was a failure of one sensor then it's easy peasy to open the electrical box and swap in the other sensor and no redo of the tile.

@TileCoach

Жыл бұрын

Maybe you should watch the video?

@samspade5648

Жыл бұрын

​@@TileCoachMy bad...I missed that explanation.

go tigers. class of 2004 here

Hope that shower floor had epoxy grout, cuz white grout on shower floor only looks good for a couple months..

You switched sensors and both were bad ?

@TileCoach

Жыл бұрын

Yep

I just got around to installing my Schluter DITRA-HEAT-E and I start it up and E2 failure, cant get a signal from the floor temp sensor. I installed both of them and they both dont work. This is all tiled right in. What a shit product to have two temp sensors that you know get permanently installed and still have such bad QC that they both are bad.

how often do you need to replace sensors?

Will never use Shlutter in my life .they fail the time. Why not use Mapei all systems? Way better.

Couldn’t you just add a resistor to where the sensor wires connect to the thermostat and offset the bad readings?

Didn’t you check the resistance of the wires before tiling over them? I guess you missed that step! This repair is on you …..

Bro just set the thermostat to tale ambient temp instead of floor Temp and you would not have had to do this. Smfh. Also always put “2” sensors in floor for this reason.

You might want to be careful as a general contractor you can only do two trades on the job. Unless you have an electrician or ( diff trade)on your payroll that has his own license.

"Promo sm" 😑

That butt joint isn't complete. The ring of solder MUST MELT. This will fail again because the heat wasn't high enough. These type of connectors need a heat gun with a curved shield on the nozzle to direct heat back toward the gun heating the connector from both sides, and you need to get it to close to 1,000 degrees F so the solder melts. You might have a connection since both wires fill the connector most of the way, but over time there could be corrosion buildup between the wires causing increased resistance and another failure. You might get lucky, we'll see over time, but next time watch someone on KZread demonstrate how to use these solder connectors! Really poor connection and you need to post another video explaining how this isn't right, and show the right way to do this. Again, the SOLDER MUST MELT, if it doesn't it isn't doing anything at all.

@TileCoach

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for your concern but the solder did melt.

@CitEnthusiast

Жыл бұрын

@@TileCoach Hard to tell from the video quality, but it looked like the ring was intact. I've used this type of connector a lot, it takes my gun set to 1,200F more time than. you showed to melt the solder. But if you are confident it melted that's good, you were there. Sharper, steadier video next time please. LOL

Lol ALWAYS install two sensors in the heat mat, ALWAYS. And facing the heat gun straight down at the ditra instead of across.not a huge deal but odd. Don’t do that

Schlüter sensors are probably made in PR of C.

To bad you didn’t video and explain the tile going back in.

These are the wire kits affected, haven't managed to get ahold of the more detailed info again yet. drive.google.com/file/d/1Y88SmeuO47UxrRmUPMqWEIOFfKtJ1ZzN/view?usp=drivesdk

@tomthompson6412

Жыл бұрын

Is first time posting. Thank you for sharing this as I'm considering a dual zone. Ditraheay for my master bath model. I expect to reach out to you for your paid consulting service. Thank you for everything you do. From the hoosier state, Indiana. Retired Electrical Engineer. Disturbing the see both sensors fail.