neilestrick

Yes, kilns smell when they've sat for a long time. Make sure the control boxes don't have dust and crud and spiderwebs and moues poop in them from sitting. Periodically feel the power cord and plug and make sure they're not heating up too much during the firing. Slightly warm is normal.

Many kiln companies use 50 amp power cords on their kilns because that is the largest size cord that is used on kilns, and they only want to stock one size of power cord. Being larger than  is needed isn't a big deal.
Electrical code requires that kilns are on a breaker that is 25% greater than the actual amperage draw of the kiln. So you 24 amp kiln should be on a 30 amp breaker. The 6 gauge wire that was run may or may not fit in a 30 amp breaker, though. If it won't fit, code also says that it can be a breaker that is up to 50% greater, so it could be on a 40 amp breaker and still be up to code, and that should fit the 6 gauge wire no problem.
As long as the power cord, plug, and outlet are are rated for at least the size of the breaker then you're safe. It's all about the amperage. Your cord has wires that can handle 50 amps. The 6 gauge wire in the wall can handle 60 amps. You just need a breaker that is the correct size for the kiln (30 amp ideally, 40 if the wires won't fit), and a plug and outlet that are rated for at least as much as the breaker.
Your electrician probably looked at the Kiln Sitter instead of the serial plate. Sitters are rated for up to 50 amps, so they say '50 amps' on them, but that has nothing to do with the actual amperage draw of the kiln.
The kiln is is beautiful condition. Blue Diamond made nice kilns. If you need elements, go to Euclids.com

Hi High Bridge and everyone! I am back with good news! last week I did firing with the new elements we made and my kiln reached cone 6 temperature in 4.5 hr, yay...
I didn't buy 12 g wire, it was too expensive, instead, I bought 14 g, cut enough wire to make 8 ohms for each element, winded it, then stretched it to the length we needed, and installed it. Accidentally, the rod I was winding the wire on had a perfect size and fit perfectly. Later I realized that if the rod was bigger I would not be able to insert the elements in the grooves.
Changing the elements was so much simpler than I feared. I probably was reading  F.Olsen's book too much, lol. But after all the self-doubt I made my kiln work, and thank you for your support!
Elena

As insane as it sounds the difference in bulk freight on a a pallet from the west cost vs tons of 50lb flat rate boxes is not that substantially different price wise. I have gone back and forth debating on getting 2 tons of frost at a time freight from laguna and honestly it is not even that big of a difference. I still may do it (made another thread about Frost) It is slightly cheaper, but not as much as you may think. It is still costly no matter how ya slice it and part of what makes being a potter out here hard, but it is what it is. That said, I have the luxury of endless tourists, fantastic artisan/farmers markets daily and a clientele that do not even bother looking at price tags as well, so there's that.

I don't think that 'work' in itself is the issue. Rather, it's the type of work. Some people can work for hours and hours with spreadsheets on a computer and have no problem with it. Some folks install shingles all day or frame houses. Some teach kids. I can work hard all day in the studio but I would hate other jobs. It's a matter of finding the work that you enjoy, and if you're not totally into clay then it's not going to be work you want to do all day.

Maybe you've got a Frankenkiln and that control box isn't original to the kiln. How many bricks are in each row of the kiln? A 1227 should have 12 bricks. A 1027 will have 10 bricks. In your photo the angle of the bricks looks more like 10. And if that's the case, you'll need to double check your setup to make sure you actually have 208 volt 3 phase service.

I would get the larger kiln. 8 sided kilns are fairly limiting in what you can fit in them.
You can get a wall mounted digital controller from Skutt or others, which basically turns your kiln into a digital kiln. You'll still have to turn on the Sitter, but the firing will be controlled by the digital system. They're not cheap, but you'll still be saving about $1500 vs the cost of a brand new kiln.
With a used kiln, make sure the bricks are in good condition- only small chips, no large breaks. Also check the lid and floor for cracks that go all the way through. Hairline cracks are normal. Also, if the bricks are very yellow in color then that's a sign that they've been fired a lot and are near the end of their life. White/cream colored bricks are what you want.

If you're sure it's 2.5" brick, then are you sure it's a KM1227? Skutt doesn't make the 1227 with 2.5" brick. Is it a 1027?

So here’s the new plug, you can see how they shaved off the cord exterior. The original plug was obviously the same color as the cord, not black. Talked to the business I bought the kiln from and they agreed the electricians had no reason to do this and should take responsibility for it. The owner of the electrician business bought me a new skutt kiln power cord and is ordering the correct receptacle and will install both on Monday. Thank you for your insights, very much appreciated!! Still can’t believe they cut my plug off lol!!

I'd be mad. They should have installed the outlet to match your kiln, not modify your kiln without asking you. It's pure laziness, and because they modified it, they may have voided the warranty and/or UL listing. Make them replace the outlet with a 6-50 and make them buy and install a new power cord.

I'd be mad. They should have installed the outlet to match your kiln, not modify your kiln without asking you. It's pure laziness, and because they modified it, they may have voided the warranty and/or UL listing. Make them replace the outlet with a 6-50 and make them buy and install a new power cord.

I'd be mad. They should have installed the outlet to match your kiln, not modify your kiln without asking you. It's pure laziness, and because they modified it, they may have voided the warranty and/or UL listing. Make them replace the outlet with a 6-50 and make them buy and install a new power cord.

Update: Fred Olsen came over and reworked the entire gas line setup properly. It was NOT set up right and could have blown up. It works beautifully now and we are having fun firing cone 6. Thank you all so much!

I finally got a couple of pieces made with the new 630 glaze fired, and they look great! The new formula is a little warmer in color than the old. A little more creamy rather than gray. The glazes look great, I really have no complaints at all. In fact, overall I'd say the new formula is wonderful, possibly even better than the old one.

Element life should be similar between the two, but if the Paragon elements are worn then it can't get to temp. The Skutt elements are probably still in good condition. The soak at the low end will have little effect on element life.

Element life should be similar between the two, but if the Paragon elements are worn then it can't get to temp. The Skutt elements are probably still in good condition. The soak at the low end will have little effect on element life.

I agree with Neil, lots of your measurements add up perfectly but the amperage doesn’t lie. So at 27.4 amps best case at 240 volts solid - it is 6576 watts. This kiln needs 7200 watts to just make cone 6 a hand full of times in new condition. So, the only conclusion can be: while hot, the element resistance goes up a bunch leaving not enough power to make temp.  I added a drawing below detailing where I would make measurements. The key - 30 amps going back to the panel. You don’t have it, you have 10% less, you won’t make temperature that way. 2021 is a bit of time, all firings wear the elements a bit, especially the high temperatures, so the elements ought to be worn by now.
As far as ratings go, I wish they designed kilns with more spare power but maybe think of it as you have a car, absolute best case, the engine at its very highest RPM can just get you to 140 MPH. Top speed is officially 140 MPH! How many times do you think you can do that without damaging the engine? It’s just not designed for sustained service there.
 

It looks to me like it fired about how I would expect a single zone to fire when empty- the middle ran a little hotter than the top and bottom. There's nothing you can do in the controller to even that out because all the elements cycle at the same time and there's only one thermocouple. You can try firing to a lower cone and using a hold to achieve your target cone because sometimes things will even out a little when holding,  but what I would do is pay attention to how you load the kiln. Load the middle really tight- lots of small pieces, plates on short shelves, lots of mass- and load the top and bottom lighter- bowls, tall pieces, things that take up a lot of space but don't have much mass.

You could try some paperclay as a patch.

I can lose a day working in my studio,  even recycling clay and cleaning  time fly's by.   My husbands loves to work on cars but hates lawn work.  We hire a man to help us with outdoor work,  last summer the front end on his car broke.  My husband  agrees to fix his car instead of paying him for his work that day.    The hired man comments later  that he has never seen someone so happy to be working on a car.  My husband spent his life writing technical books on amusement rides, plane, trains and construction  equipment.   But is happiest when he is working with his hands.  Denice

It looks to me like it fired about how I would expect a single zone to fire when empty- the middle ran a little hotter than the top and bottom. There's nothing you can do in the controller to even that out because all the elements cycle at the same time and there's only one thermocouple. You can try firing to a lower cone and using a hold to achieve your target cone because sometimes things will even out a little when holding,  but what I would do is pay attention to how you load the kiln. Load the middle really tight- lots of small pieces, plates on short shelves, lots of mass- and load the top and bottom lighter- bowls, tall pieces, things that take up a lot of space but don't have much mass.

I've run into 4 Brent wheels in the last month that all have bad controllers. All are the black flat-panel controller that doesn't have toggles and switches- see pic below. It was a problem controller from day one and it can't be repaired, only replaced. If you have that controller there's a good chance it's the problem.
Have you brought the wheel indoors? I'm wondering if humidity is affecting the controller from being outdoors. Open up the control box and let it dry out for a couple of days and see if it works any better.
Unfortunately, all of your symptoms could be caused by a problem with the controller, motor, or pedal. The motor would be at the bottom of my list. The pedal potentiometer is $100 so not cheap to replace just for testing, but it is the most common problem.

Which controller does it have? Post a pic of it.

I agree with Callie, I'd be really surprised if it didn't warp. 14" is a long slab and needs more support to keep it from moving. I don't think a different clay body is going to help much nearly as much as improving the engineering of the piece. Add more feet, curve the sides, make it thicker, add a lip to the walls, etc. 

Put some Deep Creep or other penetrating oil on the shaft /wheelhead and let soak a few days before the rubber mallet hitting in center