Lili Krakowski on mon 13 nov 06
Oy!
I have a Knight kiln, about the size of a Skutt 1227.
It is getting discouraged, and I want to check the resistance of the
elements.
I would ask the manufacturer, who long ago closed, and I think the
supplier was "merged".
So. Does anyone know what strength elements were , or probably were, used?
And how do I test without actually electrocuting myself?
I do have a lovely voltage meter that tests for ohms. One of those things
with a battery and two alligator clips, red and black. Have used for
checking
voltages, not ohms.
Suggestions? Please?
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
Arnold Howard on mon 13 nov 06
From: "Lili Krakowski"
> I have a Knight kiln, about the size of a Skutt 1227.
> It is getting discouraged, and I want to check the
> resistance of the
> elements.
> So. Does anyone know what strength elements were , or
> probably were, used?
> And how do I test without actually electrocuting myself?
Lili, if you have fired your kiln over a long period and
know from your firing records that the elements are worn
out, it would be safe to assume that you should just replace
them. Checking with an ohmmeter is usually to determine if
an element has burned out.
If an element burns out, the kiln will fire to a drastically
lower temperature. If the elements are wearing out, they
will gradually take longer to fire until they can no longer
reach the temperatures you normally fire to.
To use the ohmmeter, first unplug the kiln. Remove the
switch box covering the element connectors. Then, one
element at a time, touch the ohmmeter probes to each pair of
element connectors.
If an element connector has more than one element-to-switch
wire attached to it, then the elements are wired in
series-parallel. In that case, you will need to disconnect
the wires from one element connector before checking with
the ohmmeter. If only one wire is attached to each element
connector, you do not need to remove any wires before using
the ohmmeter.
You may need to scratch the element ends to get a good
electrical contact with the ohmmeter probes.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
W J Seidl on mon 13 nov 06
Lili:
First>>>UNPLUG THE KILN, turn off the power, or otherwise disconnect it from
voltage!!!!(But you already knew that )
Second: Remove (however you can) one end of the element(s) you are to test.
You should test all of them, it will give you a reference point, hence if
one is way out of whack from the others, it will be easy to determine, etc.
Then connect your leads and proceed with the meter set to "ohms" or that
little upside down horseshoe (omega). You may have to switch the ranges on
your tester to find the proper ohms (or K ohms, which is ohms X 1000)
Write down your findings, identifying which element reads what.
Once you have your ohm measurements, get a rough measurement of the length
of each element (around the inside of the kiln, I assume?) You will need
that when you go to order replacements. The nice folks at any kiln part
supplier like Euclids can take your measurements and tell you if they are in
the ballpark, or if you need new. Of course, I'm sure that some of the kiln
wizards on the list can do the same.
Best,
Wayne Seidl
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Lili Krakowski
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 3:46 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Needed: Element help
Oy!
I have a Knight kiln, about the size of a Skutt 1227.
It is getting discouraged, and I want to check the resistance of the
elements.
I would ask the manufacturer, who long ago closed, and I think the
supplier was "merged".
So. Does anyone know what strength elements were , or probably were, used?
And how do I test without actually electrocuting myself?
I do have a lovely voltage meter that tests for ohms. One of those things
with a battery and two alligator clips, red and black. Have used for
checking
voltages, not ohms.
Suggestions? Please?
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
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