stephani stephenson on thu 27 dec 07
replacing elements and rewiring the electric kiln
today. i have a Cress C8H and i do love it's thick
7"walls for slow cooling..also like the fact it is 40
amp .....
but i don't really like rewiring ...seems like way too
many wires stuffed into a small box... and also have
never loved the way you have to clip then loop the
ends of the elements and basically bolt the lead wire
to them..the pressure of the washers and bolt and nut
holding the lead wire to the element.. you really need
to bolt that sucker just right and tight to get as
much contact surface as possible.
i did notice though that rewiring and replacing
elements now entails less angst and less time then it
use to..(woo hoo!)
today i replaced the last two lead wires which had
not previously been replaced .
the kiln peeps vent right near the switch box, even
though i prop the lid at various times... so corrosion
is always near..also the damp salty air of this
coastal studio contibrutes to rust and
corrosion...sure enough those last two bolt/element
configurations were rusted solid tight...
i cut them off with a dremel style tool and a cutting
wheel...just cut the soft metal screw head off and
they came apart....
last time i replace the others with stainless steel
bolts, and i noticed this time , that the stainless
steel bolts still looked good and were workable.
the other change i made was to go to an allen head
bolt, rather than a
screwdriver head bolt...once rusted, screw heads just
seem to get stripped, no matter how well fitting the
screwdriver...even the metal cutting spray doesn't
help... i have noticed i get better leverage in a
small space with the allen fitting, as opposed to a
screw driver...
so the stainless steel allen head screws inside the
switchbox seem to be working.i also have gone to
smaller bolts and washers and seem to get a better
connection that way. also i give all the lead a quick
pass with emery cloth to remove any
scele/tarnish/dirt,etc.
also for those of you with old cresses... Cress has a
new porcelain
bushing that fits in the element hole. the old ones on
mine had broken, and they attached to a metal screw on
washer just inside the kiln jacket, which was
impossible to reattach once broken. the new porcelain
bushings are longer and keep the element from touching
the metal kiln jacket as it passes through the kiln
wall. the bushings are quite inexpensive and don't
require the metal screw on washer...so if your old
porcelain ones are broken or dangling, replacements
are easy to get. if you are a business you can order
directly from Cress, or of course through your local
clay distributor.
the other thing i would advise is to keep an extra
switch or two on hand, handy if a switch goes out
right before your deadline firing....
switched it all out, she's ready to go.....
best wishes to all for this holiday season....
Stephani Stephenson
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Arnold Howard on fri 28 dec 07
From: "stephani stephenson"
> the other change i made was to go to an allen head
> bolt, rather than a
> screwdriver head bolt...
A 1/4" hex head bolt also works well. It tightens with a nut
driver, which has a screwdriver type handle. You can get the
hex head bolt very tight, because the nut driver doesn't
slip off.
You can also get much tighter element connections by holding
the element connector with a set of locking pliers (Vice
Grips).
That, by the way, is one of the most useful hand tools I
have ever owned. I bought Craftsman locking pliers when I
was 19 and still use them often.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
Edouard Bastarache Inc. on fri 28 dec 07
Arnold,
my neighbour is a psychologist and does not like
working with his hands so, one Xmas, to piss him
off,
I bought a set of Vice Grips (Hehehehehehe)
Gis la revido,
(A la revoyure)
Edouard Bastarache
Spertesperantisto
Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
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