Kiln not reaching temp

[Kim P]

Bartlett controller shows slow ramping - kiln sitter shut off kiln before controller reached cone temp! Why?

[Bill Kielb]

Are all your elements working? Are your elements worn? Elements are worn when their resistance exceeds 10% of when they are new when measured with an ohm meter. A broken element, a bad relay can keep an element from working. A simple check is the paper test or heat  your kiln to about 600-700 degrees, shut off and see if all the elements are glowingred. If the Bartlett controller is giving an error then your heating speed at the end of the firing is likely in the 25-40 degree per hour range which is too low for it to compensate and figure out what the final cone temperature should be, hence the error.

The sittter doesn’t care how slow and will just shut it off as the heatwork continues to accumulate. As long as the cone in the sitter and the setting in the control match and your controller used to work this way, then troubleshooting is likely in order. Controllers can be offset and sitters can be adjusted so either or both could need recalibration. The question is how slow is slow in your case?

Post your kiln model #, make, electrical info from the equipment tag on the kiln and what cone you fire to as well as how long your firings usually take and if this has worked prior, etc…for more specific direction.

[neilestrick]

A cone in the Sitter and a controller won't necessarily shut off at the same time. Was this done the way you usually do and it's running slower than usual?

What cone was in the Sitter, and what cone was the controller programmed for?

Did the cone bend or did the timer on the Sitter reach zero?

Is this a wall mount controller or are the controller and Sitter both built into the kiln?