Lori Doty on sun 29 jan 06
I have always fired my electric kiln with an eye toward the dimming of
my house lights. As the kiln switches on and off the lights in my house
will dim when on and brighten when off. I have my kiln in a shed in the
back yard away from the house and I go to it physically every hour or
so. I noticed the lights were not doing the dim/bright routine and the
firing should not be done for another 3 hours or so, so I went to check
it earlier. Temp of kiln is rising (at 2150 when I looked) steadily
toward goal of 2300F (cone 10) but not with the normal relay clicking.
I do plan on going out again in another 20 minutes and stay at that
schedule until the kiln shuts off (SNF 2 electronic controller on a
Paragon Viking 28).
My only concern is that something has happened to my kiln to make the
relays stop turning off and on as per usual. Only changes I can think
of are:
1. it rained yesterday and more moisture in the air than the last time
I fired.
2. I have one of the shed doors cracked open since it was getting close
to 110F in the shed now at a more comfortable 104F and slowly dropping
since night is falling and so are outside temps but I do this with
bisque firings and have never had this happen.
Hope someone can allay my fears otherwise I'll be sitting out with the
kiln until I think its time to shut her down and do some investigation
of the wiring after turning the breaker off.
Lori Doty
Nurse/Potter
Slowly turning the tide
Rolla, Missouri
Bruce Lucas on mon 30 jan 06
Lori Doty wrote:
> Temp of kiln is rising (at 2150 when I looked) steadily
> toward goal of 2300F (cone 10) but not with the normal relay clicking.
> I do plan on going out again in another 20 minutes and stay at that
> schedule until the kiln shuts off (SNF 2 electronic controller on a
> Paragon Viking 28).
>
> My only concern is that something has happened to my kiln to make the
> relays stop turning off and on as per usual. Only changes I can think
> of are:
>
> 1. it rained yesterday and more moisture in the air than the last time
> I fired.
>
> 2. I have one of the shed doors cracked open since it was getting close
> to 110F in the shed now at a more comfortable 104F and slowly dropping
> since night is falling and so are outside temps but I do this with
> bisque firings and have never had this happen.
I wouldn't think either of the factors you mention would be an issue.
Another possibility is that the line voltage may be low for some
reason. Around here that happens more often in the summer when
everybody's running their AC, but I have seen the voltage a little low
during the winter on occasion. Do the lights seem dimmer than normal?
As the temperature of the kiln increases the elements will cycle on a
larger fraction of the time because heat is flowing out of the kiln at a
faster rate. Near the kiln's maximum rated temperature the elements
will be on nearly 100% of the time. If for some reason it reaches a
point where the elements need to be on 100% of the time, the relay will
no longer be clicking on and off but rather will just be constantly on.
This may not happen normally, but it's possible if the line voltage is
low that the kiln is struggling and the elements are on 100%. I know
with my kiln that I can't fire it to its maximum rated temperature in
the summer on a hot afternoon when everyone is running their AC and
dragging down the line voltage.
It's also possible as you fear that some problem with the kiln is
causing it to lose more heat than it's designed for, or for the elements
not to be producing as much heat as expected, but I don't have enough
experience personally to tell you more specifically what might cause
that or how likely it is.
Good luck!
Bruce Lucas
Arnold Howard on mon 30 jan 06
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lori Doty"
>I have always fired my electric kiln with an eye toward the dimming of
> my house lights. As the kiln switches on and off the lights in my house
> will dim when on and brighten when off. I have my kiln in a shed in the
> back yard away from the house and I go to it physically every hour or
> so. I noticed the lights were not doing the dim/bright routine and the
> firing should not be done for another 3 hours or so, so I went to check
> it earlier. Temp of kiln is rising (at 2150 when I looked) steadily
> toward goal of 2300F (cone 10) but not with the normal relay clicking.
Bruce sent a great answer about the relays clicking. Other reasons relays of
a digital kiln stop clicking:
1) An element burns out, causing the other elements to stay on continuously
in an attempt to maintain the firing schedule.
2) You are using a fast rate.
3) The elements are near the end of their wear cycle.
It's not a good sign that the house lights dim while the kiln relays turn
on. The kiln may be drawing more amperage than your electrical system is
designed for. You might have an electrician look at the system or turn off
other appliances while the kiln is firing.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
William & Susan Schran User on tue 31 jan 06
On 1/29/06 8:58 PM, "Lori Doty" wrote:
> I went to check
> it earlier. Temp of kiln is rising (at 2150 when I looked) steadily
> toward goal of 2300F (cone 10) but not with the normal relay clicking.
I would think when the kiln is on high and is nearing top temperature, the
kiln would remain on all the time. Earlier in the firing the kiln is cycling
off & on to maintain a certain temperature per hour rise that has been
programmed into it. Sounds normal to me.
-- William "Bill" Schran
Fredericksburg, Virginia
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
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