Vince Pitelka on fri 5 may 06
Ben Shelton wrote:
"I am winding some new elements for my electric kiln and wondered what style
pigtails to use. The originals are supplied with twisted ends but I
wondered if this is necessary??
Ben -
There's a very good reason for the twisted ends. Wherever the wire is just
a single thickness, the resistance will cause it to glow red-hot. If you
double up the pigtails by twisting two wires together, it reduces the
resistance in those sections of wire, and they will not glow red-hot, which
of course is a great advantage where the element wires leave the kiln and
connect to the power supply.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Ben Shelton on fri 5 may 06
I am winding some new elements for my electric kiln and wondered what style
pigtails to use.
The originals are supplied with twisted ends but I wondered if this is
necessary??
Anyone have any experience with this??
Thanks, Ben
earlk on fri 5 may 06
On Fri, 2006-05-05 at 16:05 -0400, Ben Shelton wrote:
> I am winding some new elements for my electric kiln and wondered what style
> pigtails to use.
Ben,
I replaced the elements in my kiln for the first
time and noticed that the ends were made with
a second piece of wire twisted together with the
wire from the element. I wondered why somebody
would go to all that effort.
Then it occurred to me that by doubling the wire
up you cut the resistance for that section in half.
That means that for a particular current flow you
cut the power dissipated by that section in half.
This all makes sense as you don't want the ends
of the elements that extend through the kiln wall
to run as hot as the main part of the element
inside the kiln. It would be a waste of energy and
would heat your connections and other wiring
outisde the kiln making it prone to failure.
At least that's the conclusion I came to.
earlk...
bothell, wa, usa
Brian K Fistler on fri 5 may 06
On Fri, 2006-05-05 at 16:05 -0400, Ben Shelton wrote:
> I am winding some new elements for my electric kiln and wondered what style
> pigtails to use.
>
> The originals are supplied with twisted ends but I wondered if this is
> necessary??
>
> Anyone have any experience with this??
>
> Thanks, Ben
I would think the reasoning behind the pig-tail twists is to increase
the surface area contacting the connector, reducing the over-all
temperature where the element connects to the connector and reduce the
chances of arcing at the connection point, burning out the element, as
well as distributing the force of the screw over a larger area, making
it less likely to cut the wire with the screw when tightening.
Brian
Wayne Seidl on fri 5 may 06
Ben:
I'm sure others have other opinions, but to me, it seems the best =
pigtail to
use is the one that matches the connection you must apply to the =
element.
If yours are twisted, there must be a reason for that, no?
Best,
Wayne Seidl
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ben Shelton
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 4:05 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: kiln element pigtails
I am winding some new elements for my electric kiln and wondered what =
style
pigtails to use.
The originals are supplied with twisted ends but I wondered if this is
necessary??
Anyone have any experience with this??
Thanks, Ben
Ben Shelton on sat 6 may 06
Ahhh,
That makes lots of sense. (double the wire/cut the heat output)
I too figured there was a reason for it but I also wondered what that might
be. Sometimes I spend more time learning about things than doing them. At
least I have fun!
As always Clayart is the home of some of the smartest, most helpful clay
folks out there. Thanks so much!!!.
Ben
Arnold Howard on mon 8 may 06
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vince Pitelka"
> There's a very good reason for the twisted ends.
> Wherever the wire is just
> a single thickness, the resistance will cause it to
> glow red-hot. If you
> double up the pigtails by twisting two wires
> together, it reduces the
> resistance in those sections of wire, and they will
> not glow red-hot...
As usual, Vince and Earl are correct about the
element pigtails. Just a reminder: When changing
elements, count the cut-off pigtail ends before
closing the switch box. Make sure you have all of
them. I know of a case where a stray pigtail end
shorted out something inside the box.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
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