Brian O'Neill on thu 14 apr 05
Clayarters,
I've got a Crucible 30 (manufactured by Seattle Pottery Supply--suppose
to fire to cone 10) large oval electric kiln that refuses to get to
cone 6. I've done all the obvious fixes, replaced the elements, checked
everything with a voltage meter, etc. I'm not happy with this kiln, but
can't afford to replace it, so I'm looking at alternative ways to get
this thing to temperature.
I'm thinking of covering the top and possibly wrapping the outsides
with fiber insulation. Has anyone else had any luck with this approach,
or care to offer any other suggestions?
Much appreciated,
Brian
Brian Thomas O'Neill
Functional | Sculptural Ceramic Vessels
2985 Goshen Rd | Bellingham, WA | 98226 | 360 592 3164
brianoneill@cablespeed.com
Scott Harrison on thu 14 apr 05
I have a 3027 Olympic Oval 16.5 cu ft at my school. Took me several
years to get it to fire to cone 5 in under 30 hours. Mine is a 208 volt
version that I took all the controls off of after constantly blowing
switches and relays. It is a big kiln with materials and electrics at
the upper limits of their ratings. Comes with 2 coils of 13 amps and 4
of 10 amps. I changed it to 6 coils of 13 amps, separate toggle switch
operated solenoid switches for each coil, a direct line to the
transformer all hard wired, ceramiwool blanket on the inside bottom,
ITC 100 on the lid and walls, ITC 213 on the coils. Fires wonderfully
now in 10-12 hours. Draws about 78 amps though. Thought about a blanket
on the inside of the stainless skin against the brick but didn't get to
it. Maybe when I switch out the elements although since I did the work
two years ago, and it gets fired about twice a week during the school
year, there has been no increase in firing time and the elements test
out great! Another satisfied ITC user!
Scott Harrison
South Fork High School
Humboldt Redwoods CA
On Apr 14, 2005, at 8:11 AM, Brian O'Neill wrote:
>
> I've got a Crucible 30 (manufactured by Seattle Pottery Supply--suppose
> to fire to cone 10) large oval electric kiln that refuses to get to
> cone 6. I've done all the obvious fixes, replaced the elements, checked
> everything with a voltage meter, etc. I'm not happy with this kiln, but
> can't afford to replace it, so I'm looking at alternative ways to get
> this thing to temperature.
>
> I'm thinking of covering the top and possibly wrapping the outsides
> with fiber insulation. Has anyone else had any luck with this approach,
> or care to offer any other suggestions?
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Arnold Howard on fri 15 apr 05
Do you ever see water dripping from the kiln case? Sometimes firing moist
greenware can slow the kiln and make it appear that the elements are worn.
I suggest doing an ammeter test. You may have been given the wrong elements.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
arnoldhoward@att.net / www.paragonweb.com
From: "Brian O'Neill"
> I've got a Crucible 30 (manufactured by Seattle Pottery Supply--suppose
> to fire to cone 10) large oval electric kiln that refuses to get to
> cone 6. I've done all the obvious fixes, replaced the elements, checked
> everything with a voltage meter, etc. I'm not happy with this kiln, but
> can't afford to replace it, so I'm looking at alternative ways to get
> this thing to temperature.
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