[sawing]

I ran my first bisque fire earlier this week and that went well. Yesterday I tried a glaze fire, and that did not go well at all! I was attempting a Cone 6, but it only reached 1750 F before it started to cool down. I purchased the kiln used. It's an Evenheat Perfect Fire 6320 XL (23x29). Any trouble-shooting advice would be greatly appreciated!

[neilestrick]

Is your kiln digital or manual?

[sawing]

Digital. Here is a pic of the controls.

Attached File(s)

•  kiln controls.jpg (184.33K)
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[neilestrick]

Lots of possible problems:
1. You maybe programmed cone 06 instead of 6.
2. Bad wiring connection. Open up the panel and check all the wires. UNPLUG the kiln first!
3. Bad element. Start it up on high and check to see if all the elements glow after a few minutes.
4. Bad relay. Start it up on high and check to see if all the elements glow after a few minutes.
5. Bad thermocouple. If it's all corroded and flaking, replace it.
6. Bad controller circuit board. Unlikely. Check everything else first.

Since you didn't get an error code (did you?) I'm thinking it was a programming error or a bad thermocouple.

[sawing]

I can rule out #1. I know for certain that I pushed the "up" arrow until the screen read 6. (I bisqued at 06 last week.) I will check all of those other things out. Thanks for your help!

ETA: I did not get an error code. Also, I took temp readings from the display every 30 minutes.

[Arnold Howard]

sawing, on 24 August 2012 - 11:01 AM, said:

I can rule out #1. I know for certain that I pushed the "up" arrow until the screen read 6. (I bisqued at 06 last week.) I will check all of those other things out. Thanks for your help!

ETA: I did not get an error code. Also, I took temp readings from the display every 30 minutes.

The kiln may be rated to the wrong voltage. It could be a 240 volt kiln that is plugged into a 208 volt outlet.

Sincerely,

Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

[sawing]

Thanks for your reply, Howard. We did have our electrician come and check everything out before I even plugged it in. My husband is paranoid about the electricity on the farm!

[sawing]

OK, started the kiln at the pre-programmed Cone 6. I let it run for 10 minutes. Only the top two and bottom two rings of coils are glowing. That's bad, right?

[Arnold Howard]

sawing, on 24 August 2012 - 11:52 AM, said:

OK, started the kiln at the pre-programmed Cone 6. I let it run for 10 minutes. Only the top two and bottom two rings of coils are glowing. That's bad, right?

Your Evenheat kiln probably has "tuned" elements. If so, then it is normal for them to remain dark for awhile even though the top and bottom elements glow. You can see what I mean in this photo:

http://www.paragonwe...ter.cfm?PID=371

Sincerely,

Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

[neilestrick]

Program it to run full speed when testing, not the preprogrammed regular firing. You can also try putting a small piece of paper on each of the elements and watching for it to burn. Then you don't have to wait so long.

[sawing]

Howard and Neil, you two are a wealth of information! I will try the paper thing next. Thanks again for all your help.

[sawing]

I did the paper test; all the elements are heating. The thermocouple looks good, too, so I guess I'll give my friendly neighborhood kiln repair man a call. Thanks, all, for your help!

[neilestrick]

3 possibilities:
1. Loose thermocouple connection
2. Sticky relay. Was stuck before and wouldn't let power through but has since unstuck and is working. Will stick again at some point.
3. Elements are worn out. They get hot, but not hot enough.

#2 and #3 should have resulted in an error code since the kiln wasn't reaching the programmed temperature. However this controller only has two error codes, and the manual doesn't really explain the what would cause an error code. It just says "Invalid Data". That should mean any time it's not firing according to the program, but it doesn't say for sure. The loose thermocouple connection could have made the signal goofy enough that the computer thought the kiln was hotter than it actually was.

[yedrow]

Relays are evil!!!