how to repair a kerr electromelt

The rest of the nichrome element will be brittle so you won't be able to splice it back together. You will need to shell out for a new element. Basically Nichrome, Kanthal etc. get brittle and oxidised once they have been heated up and are damn' near impossible to join reliably in that state.
Sorry :-(
Mark Rand RTFM

Aw.... that's not such a big deal! With an ohmmeter, a bit of fiddlin' with Ohm's Law, and just a FEW bucks, you can re-make the element easily.
McMaster and (I think) MSC both sell various gauges of nichrome wire, fairly inexpensively. I use it to built permanent ignitors for pyrotechnics. But I've also built coil elements for propane flame effect rigs, and replaced the element in my little Cerro-tru pot that we use for dip-casting copies of a master mold for epoxy encapsulation.
It basically just involves finding out and duplicating the resistance of the old element with the new wire. Then you coil the (annealed) nichrome wire around a suitable rod former as snug as you can get it. Then stretch the whole coil out to the correct 'reach' for the job. (careful! don't over-stretch it)
LLoyd

Seattle Pottery Supply will also make up an element pretty cheap. They will need info about the existing element, such as voltage and wattage. But if you have the length, voltage, and desired temperature they can make one up with that info too. ERS

Thank you all for your responses. I have since tested the unit and found it to melt small quantities of silver, which is all I really wanted. I will keep your responses in case the unit does become unworkable.
Many thanks!
The Eternal Squire
Eric R Snow wrote: