Roger Peryer Posted April 27, 2022 Report Share Posted April 27, 2022 I have an Evenheat RMII 2329 kiln. It was recently involved in a fire (wall behind kiln caught). I have replaced the RMII controller, the 3 relays and transformer. I believe the elements are all good. When the power is turned on the controller wakes up and all looks correct. However once the lid switch is set there is a loud noise (humming/rattleing) coming from the control panel, this appears to be below the RMII controller in the area of the relays, transformer and main power connection. Once the kiln is turned on it starts heating and the relays start switching between the elements the noise becomes intermittent. One cycle it is there next cycle it goes away. At the same time the controller temperature indicator jumps up and down around 5 degrees. I am an electrician and this has got me compleatly beaten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted April 27, 2022 Report Share Posted April 27, 2022 So it has a kill switch on the lid, and when you close the lid the humming starts, before the firing is started? How is the lid switch connected into the system? We don't see that setup very often in the US because lid switches are not required here. The hum is typically power flow, but there shouldn't be any power going through the relays until you hit start. Have you put a meter on the relays to make sure there's no power going through them? If the thermocouple reading is jumping, then there's some sort of interference there. Is the controller grounded? Is the thermocouple too close to any metal? Did you replace the thermocouple wires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Peryer Posted April 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2022 The lid switch is connected from the RMII controller through to the relays - all 3 are looped together. So when the lid switch is closed the signal is sent to the relays. I had disconnected the neutral from the relays and the same problem exists. Havent replaced the thermocouple, but the clearence from any metal is good. The controller does not have it's own earth connection but is fixed directly to the cover which is grounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted April 28, 2022 Report Share Posted April 28, 2022 Moved kiln away from Wall I am hoping...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted April 28, 2022 Report Share Posted April 28, 2022 Check to see if there's power going through to the elements even when the controller has not been started. There shouldn't be any humming unless power is flowing through the relays. And relays of that size shouldn't really be humming much at all. The big 50 amp ones do, but not the little 25-30 amp ones. The fluttery temp reading is probably a separate issue, most likely a bad connection somewhere in the line. 22 hours ago, Roger Peryer said: I had disconnected the neutral from the relays and the same problem exists. Do you mean the ground from the control side of the relay? 22 hours ago, Roger Peryer said: The controller does not have its own earth connection but is fixed directly to the cover which is grounded. Is there a wire coming off the Center Tap terminal on the controller? That's the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted April 29, 2022 Report Share Posted April 29, 2022 1 hour ago, neilestrick said: Do you mean the ground from the control side of the relay? He is in New Zealand, good chance (speculation) it’s 230v single phase. One 230v hot, 1 neutral and for them an earth ground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted April 29, 2022 Report Share Posted April 29, 2022 14 hours ago, Bill Kielb said: He is in New Zealand, good chance (speculation) it’s 230v single phase. One 230v hot, 1 neutral and for them an earth ground Yep, I was thinking 2 pole 208/240, not single and neutral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STONEWARECAFE Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 Pretty sure Evenheat is like Aim kilns,they are made to be glassblowing furnaces. The shutoff switch is to prevent you from electrocuting yourself because molten glass will carry a charge if it arcs with an element through your blowpipe and fry you. you can just disable the switch since you are using it for firing ceramics and see if it is a problem with that switch.It might not be giving you a good connection because it would be tripped many times a day and get worn out over time. i had to change them out in our glass studio back when I worked in glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Peryer Posted May 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 Hi everyone many thanks for your replies. It appears that the issue was caused by an incorrectly connected RMII controller. The schematic I was using was for an earlier model. New controller on it's way. Expensive mistake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted May 4, 2022 Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 10 hours ago, STONEWARECAFE said: Pretty sure Evenheat is like Aim kilns,they are made to be glassblowing furnaces. The shutoff switch is to prevent you from electrocuting yourself because molten glass will carry a charge if it arcs with an element through your blowpipe and fry you. Evenheat makes pottery kilns, too. They do not have the lid switch on kilns sold in the US because they are not required here. In Europe and Australia and other places they are required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STONEWARECAFE Posted May 8, 2022 Report Share Posted May 8, 2022 Thanks for the info didn't know it was a requirement in other countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyewackette Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 5/4/2022 at 10:56 AM, neilestrick said: Evenheat makes pottery kilns, too. They do not have the lid switch on kilns sold in the US because they are not required here. In Europe and Australia and other places they are required. Seems like a good thing to have ... I may be a nervous Nellie, but I'd like to have that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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