Skutt element feeder wires

[alaphair]

I am currently in the process of converting my skutt ks818 to a km818 and nearly done (hopefully) but I just went to connect the last feeder wire to the tab inside the control box, and I had cut the wire too short. I don't have any more, and I really want to finish this project asap. I have been trying to research what kind of wire the feeder wire is so I can just order some on amazon and have it tomorrow, but I have no idea what the normal feeder wires heat rating is and the one I am looking at is an appliance wire and has an upper limit of 500c. Would this work? Is it a hacky solution that won't last long? Do I need to just buy more kiln wire? I would like to avoid that as it won't arrive til close to the end of the week (and normal shipping would be $7 which is annoying), and I wanted to start firing soon. I live near the ceramic shop but they don't have the correct gauge of kiln wire and it feels stupid to buy premade feeder wires for $40 when I can get kiln wire for under $3 and use the connectors I already have. I have some 12 awg kiln wire lying around but it won't fit into the element butt connector and the guy at skutt said not to use it. Is there another type of connector that is legit and would fit the larger wire and the element tail correctly? Open to any suggestions. My best case scenario would be to get a non janky wire by monday or tuesday (it is currently saturday night).

[neilestrick]

@alaphair The 500C wire will work, assuming the listing is legit and that's what you'll actually get. It's one of those random Chinese brands which sometimes have iffy quality. It's a plenty high temp rating, though. SRML wire is pretty standard stuff for most kilns, so look at that, too. You'll need 12 gauge wire. Regular house wire is not appropriate for this application, it must be high temp wire.

Is the existing short wire already connected to the element with the crimp barrel connector?

The barrel connector at the element has to be a high temp connector. The slip on terminal at the other end of the wire can be a standard connector.

[alaphair]

On 2/10/2024 at 7:22 PM, neilestrick said:

@alaphair The 500C wire will work, assuming the listing is legit and that's what you'll actually get. It's one of those random Chinese brands which sometimes have iffy quality. It's a plenty high temp rating, though. SRML wire is pretty standard stuff for most kilns, so look at that, too. You'll need 12 gauge wire. Regular house wire is not appropriate for this application, it must be high temp wire.

Is the existing short wire already connected to the element with the crimp barrel connector?

The barrel connector at the element has to be a high temp connector. The slip on terminal at the other end of the wire can be a standard connector.

I thought I was supposed to have 12 gauge wire too but the guy at skutt was adamant that it was 14 and that 12 was too big to fit in the connector properly. I had already connected the element to the short wire and had to cut it off, and luckily I had some extra element crimp connectors laying around. I ended up ordering that wire and installing it, doing a test fire right now, I'll update afterwards  thanks for your advice!

[Mark C.]

High temp wire is spendy so are the high temp crimps and clamps. You can get your own from other outlets but they need to be the real stuff. I like to keep some handy in stock. I also hate crimps  and switched to Euclids connectors on my skutt-stainless and brass

https://euclids.com/collections/connectors-lead-outs/products/element-connector-large-2-screw

Since you are in a hurry order these  for next time-same with the wire -most of that china wire is junk (the insulation). With kilns get the good stuff.