Ksmith

That’s true. I’ll have it changed to a 25. Thank you for taking the time to explain.

Thank you. This is all a new language for me. Guessing a 20 amp breaker would be the option I need to have installed.

Thank you. Here is my kiln’s chart. I was told by Cress that I need a 20 amp breaker. We installed a 30 amp.

Thank you. I’m guessing my thumbwheel was probably at 1, so that might be the reason it took so long.

Great. Thank you.

Thank you for the advice. I didn’t warm anything up first. I just unplugged and tested. My last test of the coils (2 months ago) took 30-40 minutes to glowing and each paper on each coil had burn marks. You mentioned “doing the math” after I accurately measure the voltage and current. Will you share the formula?

Hello. I have a Cress kiln- model fx1814 P, 220 volts, 19 amps. Over the years it’s struggled to reach cone 6. I haven’t used it for 2 years. Did 2 bisque firings 2 months ago and they worked. For the last 2 cone 6 firings I fired it 2-3 hours longer and it still didn’t reach temp. My thumbwheel (% power) reaches 9 but doesn’t go to 10 ( I was told it shouldn’t go past 9). In the past I’ve manually pushed it past 9 and that has allowed it to reach cone 6. New 220, with 30 amp breaker (which means it struggled with the 220 at my old and new location). Checked the coils and the cord. Ohms are supposed to be 9.6, 18.36, 18.36 and 10. 28. Mine are 11.5, 18.4, 18.4 and 12.4. Is that difference big enough to matter? The power cord tested .2 on all 3 wires. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Kelly in AK, I paper tested the elements a couple of weeks ago and the coils never turned orange and it was on for 30+ minutes (with me checking every few minutes). Each coil did burn the paper though. The speed control was on normal but the % power was at 1 so maybe that’s why- it has a thumb wheel.

There was nothing new or different except that I was firing 2 plates upright tilted against the kiln walls. I’ve done that before. I’m confused that it was such a strong electrical smell and not a “normal” burning smell. The kiln is in my garage. The back door was open. The kiln was open off and on between firings. It was a couple of days from my previous bisque firing. I will recheck the wiring and retry- watching, smelling and feeling wires. Thank you so much.

Hi Neil. I don’t have any idea how hot the kiln got. It had run for about 3 hours. I had cone 04 cones and there was no sign of them melting. There was no paper, debris or wax resist. Kiln is not vented but top hole was open. No sign of melting, faulty wires or fire of any kind. Just electrical fire smell and smoke damage on pieces.

This is very helpful. Thank you Bill. Haven’t figured how to shrink photo size so I can’t post, but here’s what the plate lists: Also, we have a new 30 amp breaker, with 8# wire. Cress Model:FX1814 P Ser 9407, volts 220AC, amps 19. The man at Cress said a 20 amp breaker is what was recommended 20 years ago (with 8# wire) but because it’s older, he says it may now be different. He also said he wasn’t a qualified electrician and couldn’t give me any additional advice. From what you said above, maybe the 30 amp breaker is too much. Would that cause electrical problems inside the kiln only and not the non kiln wiring and breaker on the outside? To note- the smoke damage was only on the inside of the kiln- pottery and shelves. I can try harder to shrink photos and post if that helps.

I have a Cress FX1814 P- 19 amps. Question: I tried to bisque fire a kiln full of pottery this week. I just had 220 installed at my new place. The first bisque fire worked pretty good, but when I walked outside to check on the kiln after 4-5 hours of the 2nd bisque firing, the whole garage smelled like an electrical fire. It was a strong smell. No smoke though. I turned off the kiln and the next day when I opened and unloaded the kiln, each piece had smoke damage. The shelves had smoke damage too. No evidence from where though- I opened the control box and nothing seemed amiss. The wire, electrical box and outlet seemed fine too. Any suggestions as to what may have caused the smoke/electrical smell in the kiln? For some extra info- I bought it “new” on Craigslist in 2018, but it was built in 1994- when I bought it it was still in its original packaging and had never been used. Over time it’s had a hard time reaching cone temp and has taken a lot longer to reach temperature (cone6). It wasn’t used for the past year and a half. The newly installed 220 has a 30 amp breaker (20 is recommended by Cress (20 years ago) but my electrician suggested 30) . My kiln is 19 amps.