neilestrick

In the off-chance that any needs to replace the infinite switch - I just replaced mine with this and it works a treat. Very easy to fit, just take out one plug at a time and match it up to the new one. 
 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141185298305?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4uGYTVfwQOK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=iC-XyCNQT4W&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 
And very cheap, cost me £8. 

You can get bat pins in any length at Ace Hardware or any store that carries a decent selection of nuts and bolts. They're called hex cap screws or socket head cap screws. You need 1/4-20 size in whatever length.

I picked up a little Evenheat test kiln last Fall and finally got around to getting it up and running this week. It was in brand new condition, only fired a handful of times to low fire temps, but it was a cone 8 kiln, not ideal for all the cone 6 firings I'll be doing in it. So I talked with Euclids and had them make me some custom elements that bumped it up from 2000 watts to 2700 watts, a 35% increase in power. It should have great element life now. It was originally set up for 120V service at 17 amps, and with the new elements it's set up for 208V 1P service at 13 amps (wired in series). I gutted the control box, removing the Kiln Sitter and wiring, and installed a terminal block that connects the elements directly to the power cord. I don't need the sitter since I'm using a wall mounted digital controller. The controller has a Genesis Mini controller and a solid state relay- you can see the heat sink on the left side of the control box. I've been using this box for a few years now and it works great. It was originally an Orton Auto-Fire, but I modified it a couple of years ago to work with the SSR. I also put the thermocouple in a protection tube.
I had a successful bisque firing yesterday, and I'm running a cone 6 glaze firing today. I don't expect any problems, but it's still a bit stressful since it's a new setup. Fingers crossed!

I picked up a little Evenheat test kiln last Fall and finally got around to getting it up and running this week. It was in brand new condition, only fired a handful of times to low fire temps, but it was a cone 8 kiln, not ideal for all the cone 6 firings I'll be doing in it. So I talked with Euclids and had them make me some custom elements that bumped it up from 2000 watts to 2700 watts, a 35% increase in power. It should have great element life now. It was originally set up for 120V service at 17 amps, and with the new elements it's set up for 208V 1P service at 13 amps (wired in series). I gutted the control box, removing the Kiln Sitter and wiring, and installed a terminal block that connects the elements directly to the power cord. I don't need the sitter since I'm using a wall mounted digital controller. The controller has a Genesis Mini controller and a solid state relay- you can see the heat sink on the left side of the control box. I've been using this box for a few years now and it works great. It was originally an Orton Auto-Fire, but I modified it a couple of years ago to work with the SSR. I also put the thermocouple in a protection tube.
I had a successful bisque firing yesterday, and I'm running a cone 6 glaze firing today. I don't expect any problems, but it's still a bit stressful since it's a new setup. Fingers crossed!

You can get bat pins in any length at Ace Hardware or any store that carries a decent selection of nuts and bolts. They're called hex cap screws or socket head cap screws. You need 1/4-20 size in whatever length.

Thanks for the link! I can't remember where I got the heat sink I'm using. I've got a 50 amp SSR and 10 gauge wiring in the box so nothing is having to work very hard to run the 13 amps. It's been a nice little system.
Yeah, this kiln replaced a little Paragon that I'd been using for years. The element life wasn't great, plus the bricks were getting pretty worn out or I would have just rewired it. I was lucky to get the Evenheat at an estate sale where I was buying a 7 cubic foot Evenheat. The big kiln was in the basement, which was a little bit of a hoarder situation but they had already cleaned out a lot of it. While digging through all the kiln stuff I found a couple of small kiln shelves that would fit a test kiln. I asked if there were any other kilns in the house and they guy said no, but while I was moving stuff out to my truck he found the little one buried in a corner. I offered him $100 and he took it!
I just took a peek at the firing, and at 2000F degrees and a rate of 325F/hr the kiln was at 71% duty cycle. Plenty of power!

I picked up a little Evenheat test kiln last Fall and finally got around to getting it up and running this week. It was in brand new condition, only fired a handful of times to low fire temps, but it was a cone 8 kiln, not ideal for all the cone 6 firings I'll be doing in it. So I talked with Euclids and had them make me some custom elements that bumped it up from 2000 watts to 2700 watts, a 35% increase in power. It should have great element life now. It was originally set up for 120V service at 17 amps, and with the new elements it's set up for 208V 1P service at 13 amps (wired in series). I gutted the control box, removing the Kiln Sitter and wiring, and installed a terminal block that connects the elements directly to the power cord. I don't need the sitter since I'm using a wall mounted digital controller. The controller has a Genesis Mini controller and a solid state relay- you can see the heat sink on the left side of the control box. I've been using this box for a few years now and it works great. It was originally an Orton Auto-Fire, but I modified it a couple of years ago to work with the SSR. I also put the thermocouple in a protection tube.
I had a successful bisque firing yesterday, and I'm running a cone 6 glaze firing today. I don't expect any problems, but it's still a bit stressful since it's a new setup. Fingers crossed!

Throwing direction is not a matter of being left or right handed. Western cultures typically throw counter-clockwise, and eastern cultures typically work clockwise. I recommend she learn to work counter-clockwise as she may encounter wheels that only go that direction if she attends workshops. Plus most instructional videos will be done that way.

Every decision the controller makes is based on information from the thermocouple. If it's not reading correctly then the firing can't progress normally. I would change it, it's cheap and easy.
Typically when kilns stall out at 1850-1950 degrees it's because an element is out or a relay has died or is sticking. I know you said you replaced the relays, but did you replace the wiring in the control box? If the power wires going into and out of the relays are worn then they can cause a relay to overheat and stick or fail. I've seen brand new relays die on their first firing due to the wiring.

You can get bat pins in any length at Ace Hardware or any store that carries a decent selection of nuts and bolts. They're called hex cap screws or socket head cap screws. You need 1/4-20 size in whatever length.

Thanks for the link! I can't remember where I got the heat sink I'm using. I've got a 50 amp SSR and 10 gauge wiring in the box so nothing is having to work very hard to run the 13 amps. It's been a nice little system.
Yeah, this kiln replaced a little Paragon that I'd been using for years. The element life wasn't great, plus the bricks were getting pretty worn out or I would have just rewired it. I was lucky to get the Evenheat at an estate sale where I was buying a 7 cubic foot Evenheat. The big kiln was in the basement, which was a little bit of a hoarder situation but they had already cleaned out a lot of it. While digging through all the kiln stuff I found a couple of small kiln shelves that would fit a test kiln. I asked if there were any other kilns in the house and they guy said no, but while I was moving stuff out to my truck he found the little one buried in a corner. I offered him $100 and he took it!
I just took a peek at the firing, and at 2000F degrees and a rate of 325F/hr the kiln was at 71% duty cycle. Plenty of power!

I picked up a little Evenheat test kiln last Fall and finally got around to getting it up and running this week. It was in brand new condition, only fired a handful of times to low fire temps, but it was a cone 8 kiln, not ideal for all the cone 6 firings I'll be doing in it. So I talked with Euclids and had them make me some custom elements that bumped it up from 2000 watts to 2700 watts, a 35% increase in power. It should have great element life now. It was originally set up for 120V service at 17 amps, and with the new elements it's set up for 208V 1P service at 13 amps (wired in series). I gutted the control box, removing the Kiln Sitter and wiring, and installed a terminal block that connects the elements directly to the power cord. I don't need the sitter since I'm using a wall mounted digital controller. The controller has a Genesis Mini controller and a solid state relay- you can see the heat sink on the left side of the control box. I've been using this box for a few years now and it works great. It was originally an Orton Auto-Fire, but I modified it a couple of years ago to work with the SSR. I also put the thermocouple in a protection tube.
I had a successful bisque firing yesterday, and I'm running a cone 6 glaze firing today. I don't expect any problems, but it's still a bit stressful since it's a new setup. Fingers crossed!

Nice job, been there done that too. Some years ago I acquired a little Paragon 1193 of about the same size, and also 120V, 19 amps. I thought it would be a nice test kiln. Not so, the elements kept wearing too fast at cone 6, despite it nominally being a cone 10-capable kiln. It had a 3-button Sentry controller. So, I did the math, changed the plug to a 20 amp 240 plug, swapped in a double breaker, but didn't need to change the wiring through the wall as it was already 12 ga. Bought a pair a generic 12 amp elements from Kreuger, wired them in series, and swapped out the Sentry controller for a Genesis Mini. Also sprang for an S thermocouple. 30% more power and 100% more accuracy. No space for the SSR stuff, so keeping the standard relay.

Nice work! Just to pass along if you ever find the need, heatsink USA was always a good resource for low cost heatsinks of decent size. Always have been able to design these to run in 90 degree ambient - no fan but takes a bit of heatsink to do it while not breaking the bank.
 

I picked up a little Evenheat test kiln last Fall and finally got around to getting it up and running this week. It was in brand new condition, only fired a handful of times to low fire temps, but it was a cone 8 kiln, not ideal for all the cone 6 firings I'll be doing in it. So I talked with Euclids and had them make me some custom elements that bumped it up from 2000 watts to 2700 watts, a 35% increase in power. It should have great element life now. It was originally set up for 120V service at 17 amps, and with the new elements it's set up for 208V 1P service at 13 amps (wired in series). I gutted the control box, removing the Kiln Sitter and wiring, and installed a terminal block that connects the elements directly to the power cord. I don't need the sitter since I'm using a wall mounted digital controller. The controller has a Genesis Mini controller and a solid state relay- you can see the heat sink on the left side of the control box. I've been using this box for a few years now and it works great. It was originally an Orton Auto-Fire, but I modified it a couple of years ago to work with the SSR. I also put the thermocouple in a protection tube.
I had a successful bisque firing yesterday, and I'm running a cone 6 glaze firing today. I don't expect any problems, but it's still a bit stressful since it's a new setup. Fingers crossed!

I use Medex bats. They've lasted for 20 years and they're still going strong. Medex is an exterior grade MDF, absorbent but wont' degrade like masonite. I got mine from Northstar, but there are others on the market now.

Have you tried throwing while standing? Is the wheel on blocks for that reason?
My Brent is on a Brent stand because the standard height (or, lowness)  is hard on my back. I don’t stand to throw, though. I have a bar stool that puts my butt at the right height and two crates for my feet and the pedal. I didn’t come to this arrangement right away - took some years of testing, using other wheels, watching other potters, and listening to my body 
Good luck on your quest - maybe the studio would be willing to sell that old thing to you! Organize a pottery sale to fund them a new one?

There's a reversing switch somewhere on the motor. It's a 3 position toggle, clockwise-off-counterclockwise. Make sure the power is off when you switch it.

That old Amaco is a cone drive. Under the wheelhead there's a large metal cone, and a small rubber wheel runs along the outside of the cone. The speed of the wheelhead is determined by the location of the wheel on the cone. Pretty simple design, and yes, they are heavy and noisy. The old Shimpo wheels were made the same way. They last forever, but if you get a flat spot on the rubber wheel it'll thunk every rotation, which is super annoying. If you want a heavy modern wheel get a Skutt with the built-in splashpan. They weight a ton and will run a lot smoother than the old Amaco, and they have a much larger splashpan and better speed control than Brent wheels.

Coil spacing varies greatly from kiln to kiln, and yet they all work. There's a lot of leeway in the math. If you're using the same thickness wire and the same size winding mandrel as the original element then you're good to go. Wind it up and stretch it till it fits. Easiest way to do it is to lay out a length of wire on the floor that gives you the correct resistance (measure from ends with a meter) and just wind that up.

Solid would be a bad choice. There's a limit to how thick the clay can be before you get cracking and explosion problems.

Where specifically is the sound coming from? There are lots of places for a wheel to make noise, so you may need to turn it over and remove the cover (if there is one) to pinpoint where the noise is coming from.

Firing to cone 10 is really the worst thing you can do to your kiln in terms of longevity. Elements in the US are currently about $350 a set (6 elements, sale price) so you could save $3-4 per firing on element costs. Relays will last longer since they'll cycle less and be exposed to a lot less heat. The bricks will definitely last longer since you won't be firing them past their actual temp rating (2300F).

No, it won't hurt anything. It's so far below the peak temp that you won't get any additional heatwork from it.

There are other cost savings with firing to lower temps besides just the cost of electricity, big time if you're firing to cone 10 in the electric kiln.
- Extended element life. Firing just 04 will give you 2-3x the element life versus glazing at 5/6, double that vs cone 10.
- Longer kiln life
- Longer kiln furniture life
- Less energy removing excess heat from the studio (if you're running AC or fans)
Plus you can increase output with shorter firing schedules, and it's better for the planet.