Skutt KS-1018 has power but no buzz

[PotteryMonkHippie]

ISSUE SUMMARY:  Skutt KS-1018 has 250v, and the elements are charged, but they do not heat, and no humming can be heard.

WHAT'S BEEN DONE TODAY: The switch block with contact and plunger has been cleaned and has good contact. All switches to the elements were replaced a year ago and have no sign of corrosion today. I checked for loose wires and any corrosion; nothing. I consulted diagrams to ensure proper wiring, and I ended up rewiring a box (which is odd given I just used it two months ago).

CONTEXT: I recently bought and then restored my Skutt KS-1018 and used it about a dozen times. When I pushed the plunger, today, nothing happened. No timer and no indicator light. I ended up grounding them differently, and the timer and indicator light worked. It's been two months since I last fired. Elements were all replaced when I restored the kiln and they have no issues.

HELP! : What the heck is going on? I DID get a buzz from my upper box after rewiring but it stopped when I tried again. Oh, and my smaller model (KS 1227) next to the malfunctioning one (#1018) has also stopped working... the same issue!!!

Edited yesterday at 12:25 AM by PotteryMonkHippie

[neilestrick]

Make sure the timer is not at zero. Try resetting the breaker.

What do you mean by you grounded them differently? If it was working properly before then you shouldn't need to change any wiring, plus the ground wire doesn't have anything to do with the elements functioning, it's just there for safety in the event that a loose wire contacts the metal of the kiln.

Kilns don't always buzz, so that's not the best indicator. Run a paper test to see if the elements are actually heating. Put a small piece of paper on each element and turn the kiln on high, wait a few minutes, check to see if the paper has burned.

12 hours ago, PotteryMonkHippie said:

my smaller model (KS 1227)

KS1227 is much larger than a KS 1018. Did you get your numbers switched? If both kilns are not working then it could be a problem with your breaker box.

[PeterH]

Seems to be the same diagram for both kilns (perhaps differing in number of rings & element resistance).
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0272/1968/9606/files/KS1227_KS1027_And_KS1018_1PH_Wiring_Diagram.pdf?v=1593295124

 As Neil said the ground pin simply earths the chassis. Hard to see how changing this could modify the kiln's behavior.
 

[PotteryMonkHippie]

2 hours ago, neilestrick said:

Make sure the timer is not at zero. Try resetting the breaker.

What do you mean by you grounded them differently? If it was working properly before then you shouldn't need to change any wiring, plus the ground wire doesn't have anything to do with the elements functioning, it's just there for safety in the event that a loose wire contacts the metal of the kiln.

Kilns don't always buzz, so that's not the best indicator. Run a paper test to see if the elements are actually heating. Put a small piece of paper on each element and turn the kiln on high, wait a few minutes, check to see if the paper has burned.

KS1227 is much larger than a KS 1018. Did you get your numbers switched? If both kilns are not working then it could be a problem with your breaker box.

•Breaker box was the first thing I went too. 
•Timer has been reset. 
•Switches are fully powered. 
•Elements have proper resistance. 

[PotteryMonkHippie]

1 hour ago, PeterH said:

Seems to be the same diagram for both kilns (perhaps differing in number of rings & element resistance).
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0272/1968/9606/files/KS1227_KS1027_And_KS1018_1PH_Wiring_Diagram.pdf?v=1593295124

 As Neil said the ground pin simply earths the chassis. Hard to see how changing this could modify the kiln's behavior.
 

Thanks. I found that the control box is wired correctly.

[Dick White]

The likelihood of both kilns crapping out at the same time is near zero. If neither kiln works on the same receptacle, you have narrowed the problem to the receptacle. You say you have reset the breaker. Check again just to be sure, sometimes the breaker handle may appear to be on when it is not. When a breaker trips, you must switch it all the way off until it clicks and then switch it back on until it clicks. If the breaker is on and the kilns still do not work, there is a loose or burned connection in the receptacle. With a voltage meter, you should be getting 240V across both straight slots of the receptacle. If not, you should check for 120V from each straight slot to the round ground hole (there is no neutral in this configuration). If one of the straight slots is not giving you 120V to ground, that is where the problem is. The kiln elements need to be pulling power from both sides of the circuit. Turn the breaker off and take the receptacle out of the box to see what is wrong.

[PotteryMonkHippie]

30 minutes ago, Dick White said:

The likelihood of both kilns crapping out at the same time is near zero. If neither kiln works on the same receptacle, you have narrowed the problem to the receptacle. You say you have reset the breaker. Check again just to be sure, sometimes the breaker handle may appear to be on when it is not. When a breaker trips, you must switch it all the way off until it clicks and then switch it back on until it clicks. If the breaker is on and the kilns still do not work, there is a loose or burned connection in the receptacle. With a voltage meter, you should be getting 240V across both straight slots of the receptacle. If not, you should check for 120V from each straight slot to the round ground hole (there is no neutral in this configuration). If one of the straight slots is not giving you 120V to ground, that is where the problem is. The kiln elements need to be pulling power from both sides of the circuit. Turn the breaker off and take the receptacle out of the box to see what is wrong.

As a former electrician, I completely understand. Each straight slot has 120v, and 120v is present at each element as alluded to in my OP.

[Dick White]

The likelihood of both kilns crapping out at the same time is near zero. You are getting 120V to ground at each slot of the receptacle, are you getting  240V from slot to slot? The elements need 240V end to end to heat.

[Bill Kielb]

5 hours ago, PotteryMonkHippie said:

As a former electrician, I completely understand. Each straight slot has 120v, and 120v is present at each element as alluded to in my OP.

Just something that occurs to me
You should measure 240 v across the element else you are missing one leg. The ground is only a ground for safety to the shell, it is not a neutral so it absolutely has zero role in the operation of this kiln. So all trouble shooting should be centered on measuring 240 v. Measuring 120 v to ground could be feedback which can be deceiving when troubleshooting. Suggest: first confirm you measure 240 v across all powered loads. (Timer, Elements). Careful measuring, the elements become a voltage divider under three way switch operation but are always fed with 240v

[neilestrick]

It's possible that one side of your Kiln Sitter contact plate isn't making contact. I've seen that happen due to corrosion, a spider, and fluff that got into the box.