neilestrick
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Posts posted by neilestrick
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2 hours ago, akilpots said:
it looks like this is definitely the case. zone 2 lagged the entire firing and the gap only increased as it reached temp. measuring the resistance when it had cooled only confirmed things... elements in zone 1 = 12.6 omhs elements in zone 2 = 25.9 omhs
Looks like you've got a dead element. Maybe some glaze splatter got on it?
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Quad elements should last you 200+ firings. It's possible that one fried out for some reason, though. You'll find that when you test the resistance.
Do you have a Genesis controller? If so, download the firings logs and see if one section is lagging behind the others and causing the slowdown.
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At 60 firings it shouldn't need elements yet, however it's possible if most of those were cone 6/7, and if you're doing any holds or slow cooling that can increase the rate of wear. Is the kiln vented? I would measure the element resistance and inspect the thermocouples for wear.
Type S are not needed for cone 6 work, and are terribly expensive. If you were firing to cone 10 they would be good to have, but at cone 6 the type K are accurate enough and have a decent lifespan.
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@iffetorbay I would not use cement board. Those may be some sort of phenolic board, or given the age of the kiln they may even be asbestos board. Call Amaco, as they use a similar board material in the control boxes of their square top loading kilns and I believe they still sell it.
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Switches used on kilns are not made specifically for kilns. They are typically off-the-shelf oven switches that happen to work on kilns. Robert Shaw switches were probably used on just about every brand of kilns at some point.
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@sal.349 What color wires are the power cord?
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Sponge holders were my biggest sellers, often more than mugs. They were probably the most profitable, too. I only had about 5-6 minutes of work in them and sold them for $22. They always covered all my booth fees.
- Kelly in AK, Pres and Roberta12
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9 minutes ago, kristinanoel said:
this is great information and totally new to me. I have used wasters in the past for other pieces, but never put anything between the waster and the kiln-washed shelf or the waster and the ware. And as you say, the waster still serves the purpose when it breaks!
I haven't had issues yet, do you find that's more important for porcelain?
If you have kiln wash on your shelf you don't need necessarily need to put anything additional under the waster, but if you want to be 100% sure then I'd do some silica sand under it. Definitely something on top of the waster for porcelain, but good practice for stoneware, too.
- Kelly in AK and Rae Reich
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@Bill Kielb Paragon shows the elements as 9.25 ohms each.
@sal.349 If this is true for your elements, you'll need to wire each pair of elements (top pair, bottom pair) in series and wire each pair to a switch at 240 volts, or wire them in parallel at 120 volts. Does the kiln have a 4 prong plug? Measure the element resistance so we can be sure what we're dealing with here.
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1 hour ago, Bill Kielb said:
When it cracked it stuck which means when it cracked it moved independent of its normal rate. It’s often still much smoother than a shelf so most often fine and the only way but if the ware sticks to the waster and the waster cracks, same issue. A bit more rare, but same result. Alumina both sides works wonders for things that just can’t break. And yes I have seen it happen, especially clock faces.
You should always have something on the waster to prevent the piece from sticking to it, whether alumina, silica, or kiln wash. Otherwise there's no reason to be using the waster at all. When the waster sticks, it's not like the entire bottom surface of the slab is fused to the shelf. It just catches in a few spots, preventing it from expanding/contracting and it cracks. But then the broken pieces can still expand and contract as needed.
- Rae Reich and kristinanoel
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11 hours ago, Bill Kielb said:
Waster slabs in theory expand and contract same as parent clay, except …… if they stick on the shelf, same issue.
If the waster sticks to the shelf it will crack, but it will still do the job just fine as the pieces expand and contract and move. I often use broken wasters without any problem.
Kiln wash or alumina wax on wasters works great.
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I agree, rolling a table with work on it is dangerous.
If money doesn't matter, buy one if you can find one that fits your needs. Otherwise building one is pretty simple- 4x4 legs, 2x4 rails, 3/4" top, 1/2" or 3/4" lower shelves, depending on span. A 4' deep table is difficult to reach across. I wouldn't go any deeper than 2 1/2 or 3 feet if unless you want to work from both sides. I've got tops made from 3/4" MDF soaked with linseed oil, and others made with particle board sealed with poly. I only used the particle board because I had some laying around. I don't work directly on those tops with moist clay, so it doesn't have to be totally smooth. The MDF tables you just have to be careful about leaving puddles on, as it will make the surface rough. The linseed oil makes them a bit more durable, but still porous enough for moist clay work. A few days after application there is about a week where the oil stinks. Tung oil or others would probably work just as well and not stink. If you don't work wet clay on it, I'd do MDF sealed with poly. Super smooth and durable.
- Pres, Rae Reich and HenryBurlingame
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43 minutes ago, sal.349 said:
Check RobertShaw’s website and call the technicians they are very helpful
they have every thing you might need for appliances and they also own paragon
Robert Shaw owns Paragon?
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I believe you'll need to wire the elements in series, and wire the switches using the two hots, no neutral.
To measure the element resistance, set your meter to ohms (the little horseshoe symbol). If you have multiple ohm settings, use 200. Unhook the elements from any switches, and put the probes at the ends of an element. They should read about 9.25.
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It would also be good if you could measure the resistance of the elements so we can make sure everything's wired correctly. Also post a picture of the serial plate.
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14 hours ago, Sandbox Arts said:
I have the same Gare Model 1818 kiln mentioned in this thread. It's in great shape and I've got my house wired to be able to operate it safely in my garage. I am interested in your comment regarding it being a good candidate for a wall mounted digital controller. Can you point me to a type of controller that would be compatible? Thank you in advance for your response.
https://www.clay-king.com/kilns/kiln_parts/kiln_controllers.html The Olympic Electro Sitter, or the Orton or Evenheat wall mount controllers would work. You just have to get the model that can handle the amperage draw of your kiln. The Electro Sitter replaces the Kiln Sitter, so it's a smaller package that mounts right on the kiln. For the wall mounts, the kiln plugs into the controller box, the controller box plugs into the wall. You turn all the kiln switches on high and the controller takes over. The Sitter is used as a safety backup. The nice thing about the wall mount is that the system runs cooler since it's further from the wall, so the relays should last longer. Any of them will likely cost much more than the kiln is worth, but it's still cheaper than buying a new digital kiln.
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If you have the space then go big with the roller, but a 6 foot table is really big and takes up a lot of room. I have a 30" that I picked up used for cheap and I really like it, but the 6' table was much too large for my space so I cut it down by about a foot and it still functions very well. The huge outfeed and small infeed on the 69 inch don't really make a lot of sense unless you want to use the outfeed side as a work space. That said, my shorter table still functions very well as a working surface- I do all my cutting there after rolling the slab.
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Don't wrap a kiln in fiber. You'll destroy the metal that way, and fiber is not friendly to your lungs. If a kiln is working properly, then there's no need for additional insulation. Different kilns are made for different applications. If your kiln doesn't get hot enough for what you're doing, you need a different kiln or you need to swap out the elements for ones that will produce more heat. However comes with other potential issues such as needing to upgrade all the kiln wiring and service wiring to accommodate the increased amperage. If you aren't familiar with electrical circuits then you shouldn't attempt any changes like that.
Top loading kilns are a series of compromises. They can easily build kilns with 4.5" thick walls, but that greatly increases the weight of the kiln, making it more difficult to move and increasing shipping costs. Thicker walls also slow down cooling times which give you less control over the firing, and it requires more bricks which means higher costs. 3" bricks are a simple change from 2.5" bricks, though. The weight and cost increase isn't enough to have a big effect, and the increased efficiency is worthwhile. We've had this conversation several times over the years, but I'm not convinced that adding fiber insulation behind the bricks on round kilns is worth the effort. Firing costs are pretty darn low when you break it down to cost per pot, so the cost benefit is minimal and there are downsides when it comes to repairs.
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10 hours ago, Hulk said:
Added: on t'other hand, J.J. Cress and Cress may be separate and unrelated (excepting the name) companies, per archived (this) Forum threads
Cress swears that they are not related to JJ Cress in any way, even though all the kiln model numbers and construction appear to be the same. So I don't know what the real story is there, probably some legal issue, but the current Cress company does not or will not have nay information on JJ Cress kilns.
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I've never seen a kiln like that. Not sure what that part on the top is, but I'm betting it's not made for ceramics. Can you post some pictures of the interior and the lid open? Based on the size of the kiln and it being wired for 115 volts, most likely it is not going to get hot enough for ceramics. Chances are this is for glasswork or metalworking or something like that.
Also, as repair tech I will not work on kilns that have old cloth wrapped wiring. Paying me to rewire the kiln with new wiring is part of the deal if they want me to work on it. While the wiring may be okay, typically the wires and sheathing are pretty brittle when they're that old, and I'm not going to fix another part of the kiln and leave that bad wiring in place.
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8 minutes ago, Denice said:
What kind of alerts do they send? Denice
You can get push or text notifications any time there's a change to the kiln status- start of firing, end of firing, or error. Super handy of you aren't around your kilns all day while they're firing.
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As Dick said, the logs show the status every 30 seconds. The set point is the temperature the kiln is trying to achieve. It is always changing unless it's in a hold, and typically the thermocouple readings are a couple of degrees behind the set point. The logs are most handy when looking at kilns with multiple zones, as you can then see if a zone is lagging behind the others and/or causing problems.
ERR 1
in Equipment Use and Repair
Posted
Do a paper test:
https://hotkilns.com/support/pottery-kiln-trouble-shooting-actions/paper-troubleshooting-test
Check all your thermocouple connections.