laurasaurus

Thank you Neil! I think I'm going to end up having kiln repair professional do this for me, I'm terrified of putting the wrong wires to the wrong connector and potentially shorting out the new controller before I even get a chance to use it. Looks like a nifty controller and I'm excited to have a controller with numbers and the ability to customize firing programs!

Hi there! I'm upgrading my kiln's controller, I naively thought it'd be a simple switch but when I opened up the Autofire the circuit board is different to the Bartlett V6-CF and I'm stumped. The wires that go to my relays aren't in the spade connectors like I'd need them in order to connect to the Bartlett. I can pick up some connectors but I'm stumped on which wires I need to match up to a spade connector and I'm wondering if someone can provide some guidance on how to check. I'll attach some photos, if they're in the order that I drag and dropped them it's 1) existing controller circuit board 2) new controller circuit board 3) and 4) wires from the relays before the lead into my controller (sorry I don't know what this piece is called) 5) the existing wires from the old controller and 6) the relays (just in case). Thank you!

Aaaaah this is great advice, I have been in touch with Jay, he is so patient and helpful! I am also jealous that yours is attached to the kiln and not separated, I will ask him about that too. Right now I just have the one thermocouple, but it makes sense to have three (or even two). Thank you for sharing, I was beginning to think that no one had this kiln!

Also, great call on telling me to check the temperature deviation! It was weird that it was set to 56F instead of 100F. I am also going to change the controller over to Celsius because Farenheit confuses me!

Ah right, I remember you telling me now when I asked what "the yellow box" was! Sorry about that, it's been information overload, thank you!

I am not a fan of touch screen either, definitely prefer buttons. The upgrade would be for a number pad and dedicated buttons. The install seems easy enough I just need to open up the controller again and look if the transformer goes in there or in the kiln itself. I don't remember seeing one. This is the one I am looking at getting one day, but not for a while: Transformer: https://psh.ca/products/controller-transformer?_pos=1&_psq=transform&_ss=e&_v=1.0 Controller: https://psh.ca/collections/kiln-controllers/products/bartlett-v6-cf-control

You know, part of me wants to open it up and try and find out but I am just going to leave it alone for now until I upgrade the controller. Like Bill said, it was so corroded that it had probably been that way for ages.

Everyone, we (because you all helped me so much) finally had a successful firing! I am so relieved. The kiln hit cone 6 like a champ and my test pieces turned out beautifully ❤️ I cannot thank you enough for all the help, guidance and knowledge that you shared with me!

I checked that too, I have a type K and the controller is set for a K as well What I can't find in the manual is the 9999 program and how to do it.

Fingers crossed, I think I will actually cry from happiness if it makes it! I can't thank everyone enough for helping me. This has definitely been a learning experience and I can confidently say that I am no longer scared of opening up the control box and getting my hands in there! Eventually I want to upgrade the controller and hopefully it will be relatively easy!

Do you think maybe I should set it higher at like 300 or would that be crazy?

I just saw your edit, do you think I should switch the wire in the controller (mine is the plus)? I don't think the previous owner opened it up and changed anything.

Thanks. Here is the tag. I also contacted my electrician who installed the kiln just to confirm that yes he confirmed that everything is good for 240V. I will call Euclid, I have been in touch with them via email but it hasn't been too too helpful I will also try again and call a local kiln repair person, I have been trying to reach him but no luck. You had asked my ramp speed before. I got errors when I did just the straight cone 6 and also when I selected F-20, I followed the steps in the manual but did not add a hold. It's frustrating. The former owner said that she used it and everything was fine and it then sat unused for about a year or so.

Thank you! No dot is there and I just changed it to 100. It's a big kiln, it's meant to be 42A, it's on a 60 breaker. Edit: confirmed that everything is in F.

Got my multimeter and did a check,.from top to bottom: 1) 19.9 2) 12.8 3) 11.9 4) 11.6 5) 11.9 6) 19.6 The kiln is set for F, I will change it to 100F. I don't know why that would be the only number that is in C.

Do you think I should replace or even clean these connectors maybe? I don't know if that would make a difference.

Just checked, it's set to 56F. Thanks. Will also grab my multimeter and check the elements.

Ugh so frustrating, I got FtH again but at 1901F. Will test the elements with the paper test now.

Perhaps I spoke too soon, at A About 900F the middle elements started to glow. Definitely not as orange as the top and bottom but definitely better than the previous time.

I don't know this is going to be a success, I took a peak inside and it still looks like just the bottom and top elements are on again. So frustrating! I don't know if I should stop this firing or let it go and see the error code again.

Hi Bill, changed out the relays tonight, as requested here is a close up of the snubber with the part number. Test fire happening now, relays are clicking normally, wish me luck!

In the end when I left the kiln yesterday it was at 970F and the elements looked the same. I can check the amps for each element with a multimeter tomorrow but since the relays were clicking a little erratically I will change them both out, they aren't too expensive to replace. I do need to get an idea from PSH/Euclid on what the amps should be for the elements though. I will also do the paper test again tomorrow as well.

I woke up to so much information this morning, thank you all for your help! I am learning so much. I knew with owning a kiln, especially an older one, I would have to do some maintenance but I had no idea it was going to be right from the start! Relays purchased, thank you all for sharing links, I ordered from Newark because they have a Canadian equivalent. I couldn't figure out the 9999 rate so I just selected a fast fire option and waited. I didn't see anything in the manual about a 9999 rate but perhaps I was too flustered and missed it. The previous owner did the paper test before she sold it to me but it doesn't hurt to do it again. I will do that this week. As for the orange snubbers, I can take a photo with the part number when I change out the relays but have attached one I took last night. As well, what is the yellow box below? For the blue wire, do you mean the thick one at the bottom? If so, it definitely looks aluminum. What would be the benefit to changing it over to copper?

I managed to snap a photo of the insides.

The kiln is at 875F now and I just see the top and bottom elements on, the whole middle appears to be out. I did notice that it's taken ages to get up to this temperature, about two hours. Also when starting out in the 100s the relays would click very quickly but more far apart, it also was ridiculously slow today move up a degree but it sorted itself out as it got hotter. Good news though, the controller didn't do anything off this time around. It just have been the loose connection on the circuit board.