Kiln elements

[Richard lyon]

My wife has a duncan 1029-6A kiln, bought second hand. It's been working fine but has recently been struggling to reach temperature on glaze firings(1060 C I think). I assume the elements are in need of replacement. 

I've found wiring diagrams that show resistance values for the elements,  but none specifically for the 1029-6A. The  one I've found showing element values have top, middle and bottom rated at 4, 6.3 and 11 ohms. This was a wiring diagram for the 1029-N model.

Would these be the correct rating for both models?

 

Thanks

[Piedmont Pottery]

Euclids usually can fabricate the correct elements for your kiln just by providing the model number and serial number.  I've found their prices on elements to be competitive in the past.

[cadenrank]

I also agree with @Piedmont Pottery's recommendation for Euclids. Duralite also makes good aftermarket elements. 

Paragon also makes Duncan kiln elements from my understanding, and The Ceramic shop sells elements for the 1029 models here. 

You can use their live chat to ask about compatibility if need be, as well. 

[neilestrick]

14 hours ago, Richard lyon said:

I've found wiring diagrams that show resistance values for the elements,  but none specifically for the 1029-6A. The  one I've found showing element values have top, middle and bottom rated at 4, 6.3 and 11 ohms. This was a wiring diagram for the 1029-N model.

The 6A and the N are not wired the same. If you look at the wiring diagrams for each, you can see that on the 6A all 3 sections have the 4 elements wired in series. On the N, the top two sections are wired in series, but the bottom section is wired in a combination of series and parallel.

I would call Euclids. They can make elements based on the required voltage, amperage, and wiring setup, and they'll likely be a lot cheaper than anywhere else.

One of the many downsides of these old Duncan kilns is that they're expensive to maintain. They take 12 elements instead of 6, and the elements costs as much as other elements.

2 hours ago, cadenrank said:

Paragon also makes Duncan kiln elements from my understanding, and The Ceramic shop sells elements for the 1029 models here. 

Thanks for posting the link. I can't believe they're charging that much. $90 for that element is ridiculous when you consider that the kiln needs 12 of them. $1100 for a set of elements! Similarly, I ordered an element from Paragon last week for a repair job on a TNF24  that was $175. Insane. @Richard lyon if you call Euclids please let us know what they say.