In an electrical resistance heater having an elongate wire heating element of generally helical coil construction, said coil having a coil axis and a plurality of convolutions spaced at substantially equal intervals along said coil axis, said heater having a frame and a plurality of electrical insulators supporting said heating element on said frame, wherein the improvement comprises:
- each of said insulators having a unitary body of a suitable electrical insulative material, said body having a first and a second side facing in generally opposite direction, means for mounting said insulator body with respect to said frame such that said first and second sides of said insulator body are generally in line with said coil axis, said insulator body having a side notch in each of its said first and second sides, each of said side notches extending generally inwardly toward the center of said insulator body and having in inner end, at least a portion of said first and second sides of said insulator body being substantially planar and spaced outwardly with respect to said frame from said mounting means and angling inwardly so as to constitute a pair of planar, angled outer faces converging toward one another, said insulator body having an outer end between said angled outer faces, said outer end having a pair of inwardly converging, planar center notch faces defining a center notch extending inwardly toward said mounting means, means for wedgingly expanding said coil upon installation of said coil on said insulator, this last said means comprising a pair of body end portions or tips between the outer ends of each of said planar, angled outer faces and the outer end of its adjacent said planar center notch face with the distance between said center notch and each of said tips being less than the axial spacing of said convolutions along said coil axis when said coil is substantially unstretched so as to permit said insulator body and said coil to be assembled by disposing said insulator body relative to said coil with said first and second sides of said insulator body facing in opposite directions with respect to said coil axis, with one convolution of said coil substantially in register with said center notch, and with adjacent convolutions of said coil on opposite sides of said one convolution being disposed for wedging engagement by respective said planar angled outer faces of said insulator body such that said one convolution is received within said center notch and such that each of said tips is disposed between said one convolution and a next adjacent convolution so that said next adjacent convolutions are wedgingly spread outwardly away from said one convolution by engagement with a respective said planar angled outer face until said next adjacent convolutions are in register with and are received in said side notches, and means for positively retaining said coil in position on said insulator including said center notch having a base which is offset relative to said coil axis with respect to a line established by the inner ends of said side notches, and further including each of said side notches having a first or entry portion extending generally inwardly of the insulator from the respective first or second side thereof and a second or end portion at an angle with respect to said entry portion and extending toward said outer end of said insulator thereby defining a retaining shoulder between said entry and end portion of said slot so as to positively prevent said coil convolutions received in said side slots from exiting said side slots.