: JessicaGrayCeramics - Viewing Profile

GREAT IDEA! I love it, thank you for sharing.:)src="http://ceramicartsdaily.org/community/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif">

For the elements, the gauge and length of the elements are really all you'll need to worry about. Measure out the length covered by each one along the grooves in the bricks and nearly any manufacturer or element specialist can get you what you need. Are you certain you even need new elements? Once you have the wire gauge and length, you can test for resistance to see if the element is within tolerance. My website has a tutorial for testing elements. Most kilns around that size should be reading near 25 Ohms on each element, give or take 2.5 Ohms.


The Orton Autofire 3000 Operates at 24V AC input. This info can be quite helpful in figuring out what input voltage you should have.
If you could have someone trace the wiring from the inputs on the controller to the transformer that supplies it, that would help figure out the source voltage. For instance, you're likely looking at a 10:1 transformer, meaning 220 to 240V.

On a sitter related note, the sitter is capable of cone 12. Not sure about your particular kiln though.

We've dealt with quite a bit of older equipment and have overcome the "who made this" problem in the past. Luckily, these things are full of fairly universal parts.

mark s, on 03 February 2013 - 05:26 AM, said:

Mark,

Even though they say cone 05-04 some of the colors do work well at cone 6. It is a hit and miss thing. Different colors have different results at cone 6. I recommend as with most glazes do a test before using it on your actual work. Sometimes the bottle will tell you they work okay up to cone 6, sometimes it will not. It is best to test it on a sample tile of like texture to your work. I might also add you may want to put a little punched bowl underneath the sample in the kiln in case it would for some crazy reason completely melt and run really bad. This should not be the case, but it is best to be prepared. Good luck.

If you're really zealous about tracking, you can shape it into a marketing tool. I use a similar sheet to track my inventory and who buys it. It's useful to send out emails to your customers when you're doing shows and sales and when you have a piece you think they might like.

Beth,

I realize you've already ordered the elements for your kiln but if you're still not getting good firings after you switch to the new ones, your switches may be the fault. The infinite switches in your kiln work as a contacting device. Over time, they will build up corrosion on the internal contacts from the huge amount of power a kiln draws. That corrosion causes a lot of resistance and will limit the amount of voltage getting to the coil. When they get really bad, they just won't allow connection at all.

There are a few ways to test this. The safest and most reliable way for someone new to electrical work is to move the switches around. For instance, swapping the top switch with the middle one. If the symptom (element not firing) moves to the middle coil, you know the switch is bad. If the problem doesn't move, it's either the coil, wiring, or connections.