Bill Kielb

I wouldn’t over think it. Refires are hard on pots as virtually all fluxed reactions have already occurred in the first firing, except for the new applied glaze of course. My expectations for refires are low and if I can downfire then my chances of survival are better in my experience.

Although not easier, real quality pin stripe tape is my go to for a super high quality edge. 1/8” gets me any radius / shape I want as well. Costly and time consuming, but old habits are ……… proven for when I want it perfect.

Sorry to hear about the difficulty but it does sound like your thermocouple setting / type/ polarity may not match the controller. Also there may be default settings that could be an issue. Why doesn’t your new thermocouple match, is t the right one, right type? Before all is lost, I would suggest looking at ALL the factory settings and making sure they match your kiln, your thermocouple, it’s polarity, etc….. Relays can change form over time, so ensuring the coil is still the coil, the no and nc contacts are still functioning as intended also important. The relay in this kiln is super standard, are you sure yours matches electrically? The voltage for this kiln is 240 v 3 wire so L1, L2 and a ground in North America (No Neutral). The kiln needs to be on a 2 pole breaker, 20 amps. Do you have the wiring diagram and are sure the new parts are installed and match the function of the diagram. The new elements have to be installed in series as shown in the diagram. Your kiln is fairly small so easy to trace these faults logically. Still the DTC 100:is fairly old, things don’t last forever. some documents that might help Tnf 66 diagram https://eadn-wc04-7751283.nxedge.io/wp-content/uploads/WTNF66.pdf DTC 100 manual https://eadn-wc04-7751283.nxedge.io/wp-content/uploads/DTC100.pdf Can you post pictures of old / new thermocouple and relay as well as the kiln equipment tag.

How much of that is water? Maybe not a bunch…..

If I read the Mayco literature it seems to say cone 10 performance may be noted on the bottle. Also as I go through the website and chips they seem to be noted as fired cone 6 oxidation. Cones definitely would help. A 30 minute soak at the end likely drives things to the next one or two cones higher. Check the labels on the bottle for special notes on cone 10 firing.

You should be able to call or order from Paragon https://www.paragonkilns.com/

Have only seen remaining in a handful of old houses — all fabric and rubber covered and interestingly only left in the attic and not replaced. Asbestos was used for a bit with the fabric covering for sure. Another great feature. Growing up, I think I remember seeing a can of this or two. Heck when I was eighteen I can remember tearing off a big piece of asbestos paper to protect against welding splatter.

While true, the thermal rating of the wire cloth covering was rated considerably less than todays thermoplastic covered wiring. Also probably helped make ungrounded circuits acceptable or the norm in a way. Not much good about it other than it could be cooled in free air but also free to start a fire under fault.

I agree, if they talk about SCCR Short circuit current ratings then they have a better understanding how things are ultimately rated. If the manufactures design has been certified, then their engineering has established it. It’s a 48 amp load so a 50 amp cord seems perfectly logical and the default short circuit current rating of the cord / plug is likely very much higher than 50 or even 60 amps at 240 volts dead short. UL 508A table SB 4.1 for power outlets is partially what you are looking for, except the ratings are in ka or thousands of amps over a time period. It’s far more complicated to get everything approved and to work safely so the engineering and certifications are the best values. some fun reading page 14: https://www.overcurrentprotection.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Review-of-SCCR-and-NEC-2020-Presentation.pdf Still sometimes folks just have their own idea. I have been waiting for two months for a part time electrical inspector of one of our local villages to allow tandem breakers in the panel I have shown above. I was trying to add 1 circuit actually.I finally said the delay is getting so costly I will just change all the panels to newer with more positions. Approve the drawings already! 20 new 100 amp panels, drywall retrofit, labor, lots of extra money paid ……. By the end user.

I think the simple answer is the breaker is sized per code which treats continuous loads differently than non continuous because of the potential for extra heating produced in the breaker. Most breakers under NEC are designed for max loading of 80% for the same reason. The cords are sized and derated appropriately for corded conductors that also produce more heat because they are molded into a cord. The next size up rule often influences the materials to build things and stay safely conservative. Electricians in the states should be used to using 80% breakers, yet often when it comes to kilns they want to put a 30 amp breaker on a 30 amp kiln. Go figure, you would think they would be looking not to exceed 80% of the value of the breaker they just purchased or 37.5 amps. (125% of 30 amps btw) Is it a weak point? I view it as a design criteria. In North America breakers are generally produced and sized at 80% for continuous loads but will trip at there published amperage. The sizing is very much about the heat produced and the life and safety of the breaker. 100% breakers can be purchased, they need to meet very stringent testing standards before they are designated 100%.and usually have to be enclosed in a minimum size enclosure for cooling. There are many skilled electricians who deal with this daily, still there are probably many more line electricians that likely don’t so for kilns it is often a challenge. So virtually any retail breaker one buys for the home is an 80% breaker meaning it was designed to be loaded at 80% capacity for a continuous load.

The rule actually is in place to protect the breaker from overheating. It’s actually pretty common for resistive loads that could draw maximum amperage for a certain period of time. 3 hours here - I think. Anyway, the practice is to oversize the breaker by a fixed amount to minimize the heating on it. The kiln still draws 48 amps so many electricians are just not familiar with a kiln load which is considered a continuous load and has a specific heating effect on circuit breakers. Most electricians are used to loading a breaker with no more than 80% of its rated load, which by the way 125% is the reciropcal of 0.80. The rules just make things a bit more goof proof …….. if you know them. A 50 amp plug on a 48 amp load is really not an issue. The confusing thing is it’s designed to protect a typical breaker in a typical enclosure from overheating and degrading over time for a very specific type of load. An electric kiln.

Yes, full electrification means removing all natural gas and still being able to heat, cool, cook, hot water, dry your clothes and not cost more than the combined prior gas and electric. So, the most common single family upgrade is 200 amps residential. We do add 15kw supplemental heat though (like a large kiln), just in case everything fails. That fits ok in 200 amps, not 100 amps though. Larger than that services are limited to commercial or farm use here. Single family generally tops out at 200 amps in the Midwest. I’ve done so many I can recite the kw loads in my sleep. Heat pump Water heater 4.5 kw element, 500 w heat pump , range, up to 10.6kw, heat pump 9.6 kw …….. yikes! I can say the new heat pumps are FAR more efficient than just 2-3 years ago. PS. Don’t forget the copper tracer to go along with the fiber so it can be found when it’s broken.

No worries, hope it works out for you. When your uncle looks at it, the top right relay can simply go away connecting the wire on 1 to 7 and 3 to 9. Just left it in untouched for simplicity. It could become a backup for relay on the left marked A should it ever wear out.

Adamah art studios puts on events. Been there - nice facility IMO https://www.adamahartstudio.org/

Thought I would add here re: tandem breakers. Just was out looking at some old 1970 panel installs and came across a panel that detailed in the diagram how many and where the tandem breakers could go. The answer for this panel - no more than 4 allowed and they need to be at the bottom of the panel. This is a 20 opening panel that can expand to 24 using tandem breakers. This is actually sort of common as manufactures try and place them in a spot with the most cooling (the bottom). In theory they could generate double the heat of a single breaker.

I hate to say this but my best idea would be shielded cable for the thermocouple lead. This is all very speculative as a relay is worn enough to create lots of arcing noise and the guess is the noise is getting into the thermocouple circuit. Almost all circuits have noise suppression built in on board to combat this. So if I had spare relays, I would swap them out just to see if I had a particularly noisy worn relay. (Even with a new controller) Even so, how to guard against our new relay contacts from wearing and causing issues in the future? Sort of a total random thing actually if true. The shielded cable is my lowest cost idea that all kilns could benefit from but are almost not necessary these days due to onboard filtering etc… This is really hard to figure out without some really good test equipment and as such is very speculative. If you have a spare relay, change it. Try and route your thermocouple leads as far away from high voltage wiring as possible to decouple potential noise sources. Good grounding always helpful, especially the circuit board ground, however that is developed. It might be one of the screws on the board that fastens the board to the metal case is corroded and is designed to be the ground but no longer is a good ground because of the corrosion.

Since they are sheathed, not really twistable but that definitely is a technique. Since a relay can wear to the point of generating obnoxious arc noise (No good way I can think of capturing without an oscilloscope or digitally some way) just pondering if there is an easy one stop sort of sure fire way to minimize for future likely occurrences.

Yes, the center tap of the 24 v side. Definitely NOT the 240 v side

I am a big fan of the V6cf so even if you have relay noise, newer controllers are built to suppress it. If you can find a good deal on a v6cf I really like the controller and it has performed for many many years.. to check you r service ground takes a bit of investigation on the actual wire run. It should terminate at a ground rod outside your service entrance and be tight and well connected. Good to always check, it is a safety component of your service. Typical method below, there are several common methods.

The cooler observation MIGHT be relay arcing and electrical noise generated by the relays. Watched your video makes this a real possibility. Need to ponder a bit to see if there is something relatively goof proof and easy to suggest. One thing for sure - Making sure the kiln ground is actually connected from the kiln to a good earth ground is something to check and grounding the center tap of that transformer can be be very helpful with noise generated. If you have a shielded thermocouple wire, make sure the shield is ONLY grounded at one end ( preferably the circuit board end) Sounds silly but both ends would be a no go for sure.

Neil’s got the right overall questions. The simple answer is the usual solution is to produce the design wattage of the kiln with YOUR voltage. My knowledge is limited but Australia and 230v nominal is what I remember. Queensland was being modernized to 240v. Anyway best to match the original design wattage (which is the amount of heat your kiln was designed to produce) at your voltage which might mean changing your resistance. If you put your wattage into an internet calculator and solve for resistance at your nominal voltage that’s probably the best way to get the kiln to perform as designed. So to answer your question, lower resistance means higher current and wattage and likely needs new mains electric to comply with code.

Yes it is! When I said: “If you search Glazy.org for Matte, you will find many recipes. The Katz — Burke has extensive color test and ought to be easily adjusted from its present matte to ……” …… Because I thought it had just that. If you scroll through the page there seems to be a nice variety of adjustments, tests, even a modification called buttercream! Thought it might be helpful. I have definitely made smooth buttery true mattes in more than one way though.

Interesting these recipes seem to be Si:Al in the 5:1 - 6:1 range - sort of a Stull observance for me. Some appear to have R2O:RO in the 0.1:0.9 range. Just asking - these have proven durable in your use?

The thing that might interest you would be for 3” brick at 2350 f losses through the kiln wall end up to be about 5.29 btu per sq inch or 1.55 watts per square inch and need 3.5 - 4 + watts per square inch to work effectively over a reasonable number of firings. So pretty easy to know How many watts it would take to supply for your kiln given heating is prox. 100% efficient. Translate that to gas by understanding your burner will probably operate in the 70-80% range and the whole kiln thermally will probably in the 50% range. At least you have a credible idea of what your burner size might need to be. Not sure all that helps but gives you credible idea of losses at 2350 f (cone 10)

Nice to see all working. Your kiln is set up as single zone in its wiring as well. Right now your top and bottom elements are on a relay and your center is on a second relay. To zone it, the element circuits will need to match the zoning.