jim pendley on mon 20 sep 04
I have a Duncan EA-820 Teacher Plus Energy Saver
Kiln also and have written to Paragon previously about
basically what the different settings meant. The reply
I received from the nice lady that answered didn't
really give me much help. I went to paragon& I found
that the downloads and I did download all, including
the maintenance manuals didn't really explain the
"automatic" or "energy saver" logos. I am very happy
that paragon took the time and effort to put these on
the web.
Anyway , this is my current opinion and if anyone
"really" knows it is wrong, please let us know, but it
seems to work out.
I used an ohm meter to measure the resistance
which was the same for all settings, except for the
"ceramic"( bisque) setting, where the resistance was
doubled. Since the wiring diagram for similar duncan
kilns seemed to indicate that the elements were in
parallel in upper section of the kiln and lower
section
of the kiln, and the higher resistance indicated that
maybe only 2 of the 4 elements were on in the bisque
(ceramics) setting. Maybe this is the "energy saving"
feature? When I peeped into the peephole in this
setting , sure enough, only half of the elements were
on , but in anyother setting from off to overglaze,
and hi fire, all elements were on. Since Arnold
mentioned the 2 in one switch, things popped into
a theory. ( of course based on just one Kiln, it
could easily be faulty ( both argument and kiln :)
I suspect from off to overglaze (
counterclockwise)
the infinite switch controls the amount of time the
current flows on and off. low percentage of on time
near the off position, and higher percentage near the
overglaze position.This checked out as I could watch
the electric meter a few feet away start to zoom when
the kiln was drawing current and the slow down when
the
infinite switch clicked off. the off time was much
slower at the "overglaze position".
Then when the knob is turned more counterclockwise
to the 'ceramics' position, half of the elements are
on all of the time, and when turned to hi-fire, all of
the elements seem to be on 100% of the time. it did go
to cone 8 as advertised on high fire.
I just got a pyrometer I can attach to the kiln,
so
I can watch the temperature and chart the ramp.
Jim Pendley
Jim Pendley on wed 22 sep 04
Hi Arnold,
I don't like to contradict your comments knowing
that you are with paragon, but, I have this kiln right
here staring me in the face. It says "EA-820 Duncan
Automatic Teacher Plus energy saver" on
the name plate and is a non digital "automatic" and it
does NOT have a manual override switch. I had read
that only the EA-1229 had the override switch. The
ES-820 Wiring diagram in the duncan kiln service
manual
pg. 58 on paragon's webpage shows that there are 2
infinite switches, one for top 2 elements and one for
the bottom 2 elements whereas the EA-820 only has one
switch ( infinite? or 2 in 1 you mentioned in earlier
email to sincultura13) which somehow controls all 4
elements. I have never seen a ES820, so I accept that
wiring diagram for it is accurate, but I can't find an
actual wiring diagram for the Duncan EA-820 nor the
DA-820, only the ES/DK 820. If you do have a wiring
diagram for either of these 2 models, I would be very
happy.
Thanks
Jim Pendley
--- Arnold Howard wrote:
> The Duncan EA-820 is the same as the DA-820, except
> that the EA-series have
> a ceramic fiber lid and bottom. That is why the
> EA-series are labeled
> "energy saver." The fiber lid and bottom save a
> small amount of energy
> compared to the firebrick lid and bottom.
>
> The Duncan non-digital automatic kilns have a manual
> override switch. To
> quote the Duncan catalog, "This gives the operator
> more control over how
> long the kiln stays on Low, how fast the temperature
> rises, or how quick you
> want to fire."
>
> To use manual override, move the override switch to
> either Manual Low or
> Manual High. Using the manual override cancels the
> automatic cycling.
>
> Good luck with your kiln.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Arnold Howard
> Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
> arnoldhoward@att.net / www.paragonweb.com
>
>
>
Arnold Howard on wed 22 sep 04
The Duncan EA-820 is the same as the DA-820, except that the EA-series have
a ceramic fiber lid and bottom. That is why the EA-series are labeled
"energy saver." The fiber lid and bottom save a small amount of energy
compared to the firebrick lid and bottom.
The Duncan non-digital automatic kilns have a manual override switch. To
quote the Duncan catalog, "This gives the operator more control over how
long the kiln stays on Low, how fast the temperature rises, or how quick you
want to fire."
To use manual override, move the override switch to either Manual Low or
Manual High. Using the manual override cancels the automatic cycling.
Good luck with your kiln.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
arnoldhoward@att.net / www.paragonweb.com
From: "jim pendley"
> I have a Duncan EA-820 Teacher Plus Energy Saver
> Kiln also and have written to Paragon previously about
> basically what the different settings meant. The reply
> I received from the nice lady that answered didn't
> really give me much help. I went to paragon& I found
> that the downloads and I did download all, including
> the maintenance manuals didn't really explain the
> "automatic" or "energy saver" logos. I am very happy
> that paragon took the time and effort to put these on
> the web.
> Anyway , this is my current opinion and if anyone
> "really" knows it is wrong, please let us know, but it
> seems to work out.
> I used an ohm meter to measure the resistance
> which was the same for all settings, except for the
> "ceramic"( bisque) setting, where the resistance was
> doubled. Since the wiring diagram for similar duncan
> kilns seemed to indicate that the elements were in
> parallel in upper section of the kiln and lower
> section
> of the kiln, and the higher resistance indicated that
> maybe only 2 of the 4 elements were on in the bisque
> (ceramics) setting. Maybe this is the "energy saving"
> feature? When I peeped into the peephole in this
> setting , sure enough, only half of the elements were
> on , but in anyother setting from off to overglaze,
> and hi fire, all elements were on. Since Arnold
> mentioned the 2 in one switch, things popped into
> a theory. ( of course based on just one Kiln, it
> could easily be faulty ( both argument and kiln :)
>
> I suspect from off to overglaze (
> counterclockwise)
> the infinite switch controls the amount of time the
> current flows on and off. low percentage of on time
> near the off position, and higher percentage near the
> overglaze position.This checked out as I could watch
> the electric meter a few feet away start to zoom when
> the kiln was drawing current and the slow down when
> the
> infinite switch clicked off. the off time was much
> slower at the "overglaze position".
>
> Then when the knob is turned more counterclockwise
> to the 'ceramics' position, half of the elements are
> on all of the time, and when turned to hi-fire, all of
> the elements seem to be on 100% of the time. it did go
> to cone 8 as advertised on high fire.
Arnold Howard on fri 24 sep 04
Jim, I welcome corrections, because my knowledge is limited. I don't know
why your EA-820 has no override 3-way toggle switch. That's odd.
I will send you a paper copy of a wiring diagram if you forward your
address. (Many of the Duncan diagrams are easier to read from a paper copy
rather than a pdf image.)
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
arnoldhoward@att.net / www.paragonweb.com
From: "Jim Pendley"
> Hi Arnold,
> I don't like to contradict your comments knowing
> that you are with paragon, but, I have this kiln right
> here staring me in the face. It says "EA-820 Duncan
> Automatic Teacher Plus energy saver" on
> the name plate and is a non digital "automatic" and it
> does NOT have a manual override switch. I had read
> that only the EA-1229 had the override switch. The
> ES-820 Wiring diagram in the duncan kiln service
> manual
> pg. 58 on paragon's webpage shows that there are 2
> infinite switches, one for top 2 elements and one for
> the bottom 2 elements whereas the EA-820 only has one
> switch ( infinite? or 2 in 1 you mentioned in earlier
> email to sincultura13) which somehow controls all 4
> elements. I have never seen a ES820, so I accept that
> wiring diagram for it is accurate, but I can't find an
> actual wiring diagram for the Duncan EA-820 nor the
> DA-820, only the ES/DK 820. If you do have a wiring
> diagram for either of these 2 models, I would be very
> happy.
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