mel jacobson on sun 17 dec 00
it is very important for people with electric kilns to make
an electrical tester. or buy one, continuity is critical.
i just make mine from an old christmas set of lights.
take the plug in your hand.
move up to the first light bulb. (i use an old outdoor set.)
pass it.
cut off both wires and expose the copper end leads.
leave a quarter inch of wire.
tape them solid for about two inches back.
now, the hard part.
plug in the socket.
touch the two ends together...and bingo, the light will come on.
now touch one end to one end of an element, the touch the other
lead to the other end of element...the light should come on.
if not....broken coil.
you can test all sorts of things.
now, all the electrical engineers will write posts telling us
how to really do it.
but, i have used that damn thing for twenty years...can spot
a bad coil in a heart beat. same red bulb.
often however , you have to test the switch.
they blow often.
all the coils can be fine, and the switch will not turn them to high.
damn...makes us crazy.
perry pierre from skutt (tech genius) is a former student.
i love it. great young man...i think i taught him everything he
knows.
take one christmas tree light set...cut it off.
and so on and so on and so on.
fleece....what a concept.
going to send a pair to australia. south...you know who can
wear them while tending his kiln at 100f.
great idea.
mel
FROM MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA, USA
http://www.pclink.com/melpots (website)
Jonathan Kaplan on mon 18 dec 00
>it is very important for people with electric kilns to make
>an electrical tester. or buy one, continuity is critical.
>
>i just make mine from an old christmas set of lights.
>
>take the plug in your hand.
>move up to the first light bulb. (i use an old outdoor set.)
>pass it.
>cut off both wires and expose the copper end leads.
>
>leave a quarter inch of wire.
>
>tape them solid for about two inches back.
>
>now, the hard part.
>
>plug in the socket.
>touch the two ends together...and bingo, the light will come on.
Well Mel....
I'm not an electrical engineer but I would just offer the point that this
is really quite an unsafe way to do this. Sure it works and it is cerainly
low tech, but remember that there are many on the list who would balk at
plugging this device in and leaving 2 bare ends for testing the elements.
I might suggest, and this is a bit more tech, is to purchase a simple Fluke
digital multimeter. Its a simple defvice, reads ohms, volts, continuity,
its digital, no switches to use, not needles to watch, just a digital
readout. Automatically tests ohms, volts, etc. Graingers has tyhem and the
most simple one is about $50 bucks, and alot less costly then having a kiln
guy come out and charge by the hour.
Some elements in many kilns are wired together in a series, or use a
"jumper" to connect 2 coils together. You will need to disconnect the
jumper to get a reading. If the meter senses resistance, you get a reading
and it means the coil is ok if it is in the same range as what the
manufacturer says the resistance needs to be. If you get no reading, no
resistance, the coil is broken.
You can also purchase a simple continuity tester for about 5 bucks that
uses a 1.5volt battery and a small bulb that will light if there is
continuity or not.
To test relays, they are always12 volts, and if you wire 2 six volt
batteries together in a series, you can test if the relay is working.
The infinite switches either work, or they don't. The bimetal strip and/or
contacts usually wear out. The 3 position switches, low med and high are
easy to test with a multimeter.
Sometimes a power transformer in the computer controlled kilns goes out.
This device is simple to replace and takes the 240 volts and drops it to
the necessary volts for the controller. A multimeter can test the output
taps.
There are some simple tests to run on the controller boards. You can test
if it is putting out the necessary signals to the relays, and most of the
thermocouple leads are color coded. If the thermocouple reads on a
descending scale, the leads are reversed.
There are a series of error codes that the controller boards have, and they
are listed in whatever manual came with the specific kiln.
Its a good idea to keep a few spare elements on hand remembering that on
most kilns the top and bottom elements are the same and the middle ones are
different in terms of resistance. Also, a spare relay, some switches, an
inline fuse, and if you have extra money, a spare controller board.
Most electrical kiln problems are easily solved, but polease remember to
UNPLUG the kiln or SHUT OFF the breaker before doing any testing or work on
the kiln.
Work safe.
Jonathan
Jonathan Kaplan, president
Ceramic Design Group
PO Box 775112
Steamboat Springs CO 80477
voice and fax 970 879-9139
jonathan@csn,net
http://www.sni.net/ceramicdesign
Plant Location:
1280 13th Street Unit 13
Steamboat Springs CO 80487
(please use this address for all deliveries via UPS, comman carrier, FEd
Ex, etc.)
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