jengood008 Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 I am looking at buying an older kiln off Craigslist, but no one can seem to figure out what cone this thing can fire to. The specifics: Cress Electric Kiln, Model EB-23, 240 Volts, 27 Amps. I tried contacting Cress but the entire company seems to be out of office until next month. The seller does not know anything about ceramics, and the model number doesn't come up on the Cress manual page. Can anyone offer any insight? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 Call them on a weekday-west coast time-they are in Nevada Mark Tel: 775-884-2777 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Sheep Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 Hi, buying a used kiln is exciting. You never know what you are getting, but lets keep things in perspective. A kiln is nothing more than a pile of bricks with some method of introducing heat. If the bricks are in good shape (small cracks are ok - all kilns have small cracks) and the lid fits. (and the price is right) Go for it. Everything else can be replaced. Now lets talk about the heating elements. You have 240 Volts --- 27 Amps. That's a lot of amps. , but it is obvious that it runs off of a dryer outlet. So this will have a cone 8 max temp, (anything hotter needs a 3-phase commercial hookups), but I would not fire it any higher than a Cone 6. The other question you need to ask is now hard was this kiln used. Electric elements burn out. A good electric Cone 6-8 kiln can only be fired 40- 60 times before the elements will need replacing, sooner if you do reduction firings. If you are firing at earthenware or slip casting temperatures, say cones 06 or thereabouts, he elements can last almost forever. If you want to get really technical, get an ohm meter. and some tools. undo each end of the elements and do an OHM test on each individual element. They should read the same. if not....well, you need to replace them. Oh one more thing. after you get it home. Load it with kiln furniture, a couple of sacrificial pots, turn it on and record the temperature every 15 minutes and graph it. That is the only way you will know how your pile of bricks actually works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucille Oka Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 What do you mean just a pile of bricks? It is a Pile of Bricks!! It is the most important piece of equipment in the studio. It must be cared for and treated well. hmmph, just a pile of bricks.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAY Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 "All parts are replaceable". True, but where do you get them if the mfr no longer is in business, or does not stock parts for a 30 year old kiln? (L&L does!) Realize, too, that elements are about $40-$50 each. Times 6 and you suddenly have a $300 "pile of bricks." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 That's a lot of amps. , but it is obvious that it runs off of a dryer outlet. I would be VERY careful simply installing any electric kiln on a "dryer outlet" based solely on the "amperage" of the existing breaker alone without having the existing installation carefully checked out by an electrician that actually understands the difference in the duty factor demands of a ceramic kiln versus a domestic clothes dryer. The gauge of wire used (or the nature of the wire............. aluminum...etc.) MIGHT not be suited to the long term continuous draw that the top end of a firing to ANY temperature causes. The manufacturer will have specific recommendations about the gauge and nature of the wire used based upon the length of run from the main panel. .....................(anything hotter needs a 3-phase commercial hookups), I believe that single phase installtions of higher amperage ratings are also easily possible. They should read the same. if not....well, you need to replace them. Some types of electric kilns have "tuned elements". TThis is done to "even out" the heat distribution in the kiln. The internal Ohms resistance (inductive resistance isn't measured by a standard "Ohm" meter") or some of the elements will then differ in those different elements. In THIS case, usually middle elements are different than top and bottom elements. See the other "electric kiln installtion" threads her for more extensive discussion of a lot of this stuff. best, .........................john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJR Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 What do you mean just a pile of bricks? It is a Pile of Bricks!! It is the most important piece of equipment in the studio. It must be cared for and treated well. hmmph, just a pile of bricks.. Made me laugh! I don't think he was saying PILE OF BRICKS in the pejorative sense. What is the most important piece of equipment in the studio? I AM! TJR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hi, buying a used kiln is exciting. You never know what you are getting, but lets keep things in perspective. A kiln is nothing more than a pile of bricks with some method of introducing heat. If the bricks are in good shape (small cracks are ok - all kilns have small cracks) and the lid fits. (and the price is right) Go for it. Everything else can be replaced. Now lets talk about the heating elements. You have 240 Volts --- 27 Amps. That's a lot of amps. , but it is obvious that it runs off of a dryer outlet. So this will have a cone 8 max temp, (anything hotter needs a 3-phase commercial hookups), but I would not fire it any higher than a Cone 6. The other question you need to ask is now hard was this kiln used. Electric elements burn out. A good electric Cone 6-8 kiln can only be fired 40- 60 times before the elements will need replacing, sooner if you do reduction firings. If you are firing at earthenware or slip casting temperatures, say cones 06 or thereabouts, he elements can last almost forever. If you want to get really technical, get an ohm meter. and some tools. undo each end of the elements and do an OHM test on each individual element. They should read the same. if not....well, you need to replace them. Oh one more thing. after you get it home. Load it with kiln furniture, a couple of sacrificial pots, turn it on and record the temperature every 15 minutes and graph it. That is the only way you will know how your pile of bricks actually works. Why can't a 27 amp kiln go to cone 10? Many small kilns that run on 240V and only 24 amps can go to cone 10. L&L E18S or Skutt 818 for example. And your kiln probably needs a 40 amp breaker, not a 30 amp dryer outlet. You'll have to contact the manufacturer to find out for sure. 27 amps is probably too close to 30 to run on a breaker that size without tripping it. Not all elements in a kiln should read the same resistance. Many brands, like Skutt and Paragon, use graded elements, where certain elements are meant to run hotter than the rest. These are usually the very top and very bottom elements. They do this to compensate for heat loss from the floor and lid. Some brands will even have 3 or 4 different elements in them. So you can't really test the elements resistance until you know what the resistance should be. Plus, even if they're all the same, it could be that all of them are worn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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