neilestrick

Lots of great discussion here, but we still don't know what the blowouts look like, where they were on the piece, etc. OP has abandoned us. Personally, I've never considered compression to be the cause for blowouts. They are typically caused by foreign bodies in the clay or moisture. I don't see why compression, platelets alignment, etc, would cause a section to violently separate from the piece.

GFCI outlets are not recommended for use with kilns. See HERE. 

Cool, will check. Not sure on the resistance part yet, need to measure. 
 
I'mcone step away from ordering a new kiln anyway so if there's any drama at all then it's getting used as a bisque or raku kiln in future! 

Aha ! Better pictures. So it has terminal extensions. If it’s just not working then check the fuse between PIN number 11 of the power switch and pin 4 of the relay. Also check the lid switch if you have one, this kiln will not start without the lid down. There should be an adjustable lid switch that connects when the lid is closed. It may have bent or be slightly out of adjustment.
And not to forget to mention, ( not likely but….) the new crimp has to be crimped around bare wire, not just the outer plastic of the wire. A nice tight connection that cannot be pulled out of the connector.

@THW Aha! It's not an 8 tab, it's a 6 tab with a double connector. Okay, so that all good then. We just couldn't tell from the photo. In that case double check all the crimps and see if that helps. A bad crimp could definitely cause the relay to overheat and fail.

Talk to Brent to confirm before buying anything.

Facebook Martketplace is a good place to sell, too.

I think it's just not the right glaze for that situation. You either need to do a wipeback to expose the texture better, or use a glaze that is more fluid/breaks better. I'm also not a big fan of having texture like that on the eating surface. It's going to be difficult to clean unless it fills completely with glaze.

I think it's just not the right glaze for that situation. You either need to do a wipeback to expose the texture better, or use a glaze that is more fluid/breaks better. I'm also not a big fan of having texture like that on the eating surface. It's going to be difficult to clean unless it fills completely with glaze.

A little ceramics in 7th grade and 9th grade, like one or two projects, but then I didn't touch clay until my junior year of college. I jumped headfirst into it though, and made up for lost time. I was a math major before going into art, so it was a difficult transition in some ways. From my bio on my web page:
I was very concerned about my future, as there aren't a lot of jobs for potters (shocking, I know), and was even more troubled about the mental health of my parents, who were already reeling from my decision to abandon my actuarial ambitions. After several long conversations with my ceramics professor during which he tried to ease my fears about earning potential and financial stability, he finally said the words that would seal the deal:

"If you are passionate about it, you'll make it work. Boom."

Okay, he didn't say 'Boom',  but I definitely heard it in my head and felt it in my soul.
And here we are now. He was right. His name was Dick Luster, and he was one of the most influential people I've ever had in my life. He died a couple of years ago, and I was surprised at how hard it hit me, considering that we hand't talked for a number of years (cause life and distance and all those excuses). I hadn't really given him enough credit for the path my life has taken.

A little ceramics in 7th grade and 9th grade, like one or two projects, but then I didn't touch clay until my junior year of college. I jumped headfirst into it though, and made up for lost time. I was a math major before going into art, so it was a difficult transition in some ways. From my bio on my web page:
I was very concerned about my future, as there aren't a lot of jobs for potters (shocking, I know), and was even more troubled about the mental health of my parents, who were already reeling from my decision to abandon my actuarial ambitions. After several long conversations with my ceramics professor during which he tried to ease my fears about earning potential and financial stability, he finally said the words that would seal the deal:

"If you are passionate about it, you'll make it work. Boom."

Okay, he didn't say 'Boom',  but I definitely heard it in my head and felt it in my soul.
And here we are now. He was right. His name was Dick Luster, and he was one of the most influential people I've ever had in my life. He died a couple of years ago, and I was surprised at how hard it hit me, considering that we hand't talked for a number of years (cause life and distance and all those excuses). I hadn't really given him enough credit for the path my life has taken.

A little ceramics in 7th grade and 9th grade, like one or two projects, but then I didn't touch clay until my junior year of college. I jumped headfirst into it though, and made up for lost time. I was a math major before going into art, so it was a difficult transition in some ways. From my bio on my web page:
I was very concerned about my future, as there aren't a lot of jobs for potters (shocking, I know), and was even more troubled about the mental health of my parents, who were already reeling from my decision to abandon my actuarial ambitions. After several long conversations with my ceramics professor during which he tried to ease my fears about earning potential and financial stability, he finally said the words that would seal the deal:

"If you are passionate about it, you'll make it work. Boom."

Okay, he didn't say 'Boom',  but I definitely heard it in my head and felt it in my soul.
And here we are now. He was right. His name was Dick Luster, and he was one of the most influential people I've ever had in my life. He died a couple of years ago, and I was surprised at how hard it hit me, considering that we hand't talked for a number of years (cause life and distance and all those excuses). I hadn't really given him enough credit for the path my life has taken.

A little ceramics in 7th grade and 9th grade, like one or two projects, but then I didn't touch clay until my junior year of college. I jumped headfirst into it though, and made up for lost time. I was a math major before going into art, so it was a difficult transition in some ways. From my bio on my web page:
I was very concerned about my future, as there aren't a lot of jobs for potters (shocking, I know), and was even more troubled about the mental health of my parents, who were already reeling from my decision to abandon my actuarial ambitions. After several long conversations with my ceramics professor during which he tried to ease my fears about earning potential and financial stability, he finally said the words that would seal the deal:

"If you are passionate about it, you'll make it work. Boom."

Okay, he didn't say 'Boom',  but I definitely heard it in my head and felt it in my soul.
And here we are now. He was right. His name was Dick Luster, and he was one of the most influential people I've ever had in my life. He died a couple of years ago, and I was surprised at how hard it hit me, considering that we hand't talked for a number of years (cause life and distance and all those excuses). I hadn't really given him enough credit for the path my life has taken.

Yes, grounded.

It was the old wiring. I've literally seen it dozens of times. Even Skutt recommends replacing the harness if relays are burning out prematurely.

Hot spots at the elements connections don't cause the relays to fail, they just cause that connection to fail. There's no safe way to get access to a Skutt relay while it's under load, due to the way the box is constructed. You just track the number of firings you have on a set of relays, and if they're burning out under 150 firings then you replace the wiring harness and it's good to go.

Hot spots at the elements connections don't cause the relays to fail, they just cause that connection to fail. There's no safe way to get access to a Skutt relay while it's under load, due to the way the box is constructed. You just track the number of firings you have on a set of relays, and if they're burning out under 150 firings then you replace the wiring harness and it's good to go.

It was the old wiring. I've literally seen it dozens of times. Even Skutt recommends replacing the harness if relays are burning out prematurely.

I have 9 Skutt wheels, and love them. Their 1/3hp models can handle just about anything you would want to make.

Skutt rewiring was delayed a bit due to deadlines to finish other work, holiday decorating, packages to ship, and so much more.  BUT I finally finished up all of the rewiring yesterday, with new elements, new relays, new transmitter, everything except the motherboard changed out for new in the controller.  Test fired last night to cone 04 to oxidize the new elements and it performed beautifully!   I'll work on gutting and rewiring my Olympic sometime after the holidays. 
Thanks everyone.  Good to have my larger kiln back online!

@MIsty Can you post a picture of it? What brand is it?

The controller cycles the SSR's twice per second (500ms). When I put a meter on mine it gives a fluttery reading.
@Lilith Rockett This is a long shot, but 3 times in the last 20 years I had kilns similar in size to yours have a very strange stalling problem. It turned out to be an electrical interference issue (there are a lot of magnetic fields and whatnot created by the elements and bricks), and the solution was to make sure the controller was directly grounded, not just through the transformer. It's an easy fix and worth trying if yours isn't already grounded that way. Take a look at the backside of your controller, there needs to be a wire that goes directly from the Center Tap terminal to the grounding stud. Not to the transformer or anywhere else first. You may need to get a terminal doubler so you can add another wire.

I always liked that type of connection. Simple and solid. It was fairly common a long time ago, but nobody uses it anymore.

All good to hear, Neil. The original connections were screws, nuts and washers through a loop on the element and a crimp connector on the feed wire. Euclids provided me heavy brass couplings with stainless steel clamp screws. As for the feeders, I cut the loop off the crimp connector leaving the crimped portion on the end of the wire. The connections are solid and the feeders stick out away from the connectors. Ther is plenty of room in the well-ventilated box cover for the wires. On the next firing, I'll check the connectors to see if there are any problems.

Some more info on non-twisted ends HERE. I'll have more info on this later today. I'm going to see if there's something about the L&L element connection system that makes non-twisted ends more viable than other element connection types (crimp, screw). There is no difference in element life between the twisted and non-twisted in L&L kilns. They are not more likely to burn out at the element connections or through-hole or anything like that.