Janet Moe on tue 26 may 09
I have been rebuilding an electric kiln that I had totally dismantled a few
years ago to move. It has been a great learning experience but now that it
is rebuilt I have hit a snag. It is a manual McLennan Kiln built in Maple
Ridge, B.C. with a Dawson Kiln Sitter and Timer. I replaced all the wires
from the switches to the elements, cleaning up the contacts. I reused my ol=
d
elements as they were fairly new. I also had to rebuild the kiln sitter. Th=
e
kiln was hard wired by the electricians when they wired the studio last
year. There is a 60 amp breaker in the box and a switch on the wall by the
kiln. Now that I finally have it all together I turned on the electricity
and there seems to be no power. There is none of the usual buzzing that
happens when switches are turned on or the little noise that the timer
usually makes. It just seems like there is no power going through. Now,
before I call the electrician back, I am wondering if there is anything els=
e
I can check. How do I know if there is power coming in? Suggestions are
gratefully welcomed, now that I've gotten over procrastinating I want it to
work now!!
Janet, enjoying a beautiful spring on Vancouver Island
Arnold Howard on thu 28 may 09
From: "Janet Moe"
> I'm just wondering if there is anything to check at the
> kiln end before I
> call the electrician.
Janet, I would use a voltmeter to check the power going to
the kiln. You should be able to do that at the electrical
cut-off box.
If the kiln is getting power at the cut-off box, check for
power at the Kiln Sitter contact block. First, disconnect
the power to the kiln and open the kiln switch box. Have the
back of the box facing you. Then turn the power back on.
Place the voltmeter leads on the two contact block screws
that hold the wires from the cord set.
Before you perform the tests, read the instructions that
came with the voltmeter. Be very careful around live wires.
You can easily get shocked. I do not let my mind wander when
I am working with live wires. If you are not confident about
testing the kiln, let your electrician do it.
The voltmeter is a wonderful tool that saves a lot of time
and guesswork.
Before you put the kiln switch box back in place, disconnect
the power again. Then arrange
the wires so that they do not touch the case or an element
connector.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
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