Roberta12 Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 1 hour ago, neilestrick said: Kill the breaker and inspect all the wiring connections where the power cord meets the wall. Feel your power cord during the next firing and see that it's not heating up. it is direct wired and in an articulated conduit.....is there something else I can check? It has it's own circuit breaker on the wall to cut the power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, Roberta12 said: it is direct wired and in an articulated conduit.....is there something else I can check? It has it's own circuit breaker on the wall to cut the power. If they used a flexible conduit you can probably still feel if it's getting hot. The only other way to check would be to use a laser thermometer to measure the temp of the wires, or feel the actual wires in the box (not safe!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 I did not see 2 wires going to the ground. But I am not certain what the Center tap is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 23, 2021 Report Share Posted November 23, 2021 2 hours ago, Roberta12 said: And mostly that #3 relay is staying on. A nice way to keep an eye on these things is with an economical non contact thermometer. You can scan each relay and often the one that is failing will be significantly hotter than the others. Electrical safety is an issue here though so appropriate caution is in order. I used to use it on occasion to try and predict before failure. I would occasionally scan all the relays and spot the connections or relay itself that was beginning to overheat and earmark for change before the next firing. It does reveal where power is being wasted so instead of that power going to your elements to do work, the relay heats up. If you have spares I would change it and see if things are better. You can always save that relay for reuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 36 minutes ago, Bill Kielb said: A nice way to keep an eye on these things is with an economical non contact thermometer. You can scan each relay and often the one that is failing will be significantly hotter than the others. Electrical safety is an issue here though so appropriate caution is in order. I used to use it on occasion to try and predict before failure. I would occasionally scan all the relays and spot the connections or relay itself that was beginning to overheat and earmark for change before the next firing. It does reveal where power is being wasted so instead of that power going to your elements to do work, the relay heats up. If you have spares I would change it and see if things are better. You can always save that relay for reuse. Can you direct me to a non contact thermometer? I have looked on Amazon but those digital thermometers do not go to a very high temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 41 minutes ago, Roberta12 said: Can you direct me to a non contact thermometer I don’t have a presference actually. Going too high not a problem, too low like a body temp thermometer probably not useful. Hot relays and heated connections are going to be 100 - 300 degrees or more anyway. A forehead thermometer probably would not cover it. The high temp ones likely can also be used while grilling or for those home made marshmallow recipes. Mine are 20 years old and cost 500.00 or more or they are new and came as an added feature to some other HVAC test equipment. I think I would pick one priced decently with four stars and lots of ratings. old bad video here https://youtu.be/c7HZlAn4nZw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 2 hours ago, Roberta12 said: I did not see 2 wires going to the ground. But I am not certain what the Center tap is. Center Tap is the green wire on the circuit board, second one up from the bottom. If you look closely at the board it says Center Tap or CT on it by that tab. Yours does not have the direct ground. They started adding it to all kilns after I ran into one that was having issues with electrical interference affecting the controller. You can add a ground wire that goes from that tab to the grounding screw by the power cord to rule out that problem. I've only seen it happen in a couple of 10 cubic foot models, but it wouldn't hurt to rule it out. You have to add a piggyback terminal adapter so you can put two wires on the CT tab. It's kind of a hassle to make up one wire like that if you don't have the parts already, so if you want to DM me with your address and I'll send one to you next week after the holiday. It's not likely the cause of your problems, but it wouldn't hurt to do it since this is a strange situation. Laser Thermometer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted November 24, 2021 Report Share Posted November 24, 2021 I own two these myself -same as Neils link Laser Thermometer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.