Checking Electric Kiln Elements

[@susanpriem1739]

Thank you so much for this video. I can always count on you to explain things the way I can understand them.

[@Lensman64]

My wife just purchased a very old Paragon Kiln (1980s). The thermocoupler is reading about 100°f above room temp at rest and the controller has no offset capability so we're replacing that coupler start. We checked the coils and all are in tact so we're keeping those until I can find the resistance measurements although we're not sure it those are the OG coils or replacements. Good tips. Thank you.

[@amywilson7288]

I believe this is exactly the information I needed. Thank you! Off to check my elements!

[@spreerider12]

i would expect the difference in resistance to be more due to your meter lead connection than to the coils, you have to pierce the oxide layer and get a good contact area to not get a few extra ohms of resistance, on clean new wires with clean new leads i would expect to get close to spec but older used leads and wires i would have to polish wires before i took more than 20ohms seriously

[@connecticutaggie]

Note: 15% may not be that big of an issue. The number you are looking at is a nominal. No wire is the same; so, each wire will measure a little different. For example, the normal resistivity tolerance (allowed initial difference) for Kanthal heating wire is 8%. It is most likely the broken wires that are causing you issue. Also, I would not rely on the beeping conductivity test, every meter can be setup differently. It is better just to measure the resistance of each coil. If they are truly broken, the meter will return a very high (or no) reading. Certainly replacing all the elements may be the safest and simplest options. Make sure and put the elements in the correct order. The upper and lower elements are lower resistance to give more power to those ends as they see higher heat loss.

[@JustinsMakery]

Thanks for the detailed comment. Very informative. I did also check the resistance of each wire and found each broken wire to give an "OL" resistance (no reading). Thanks again.

[@connecticutaggie]

@@JustinsMakery BTW "OL" means "open loop" your meter's way of saying that the resistance it is measuring is too high to report a reliable number and is likely because there is no connection.

[@weeFILM]

Excellent, really helpful video, thanks very much for sharing your knowledge and experience! ✨👊🏼✨

[@concernedcitizen8968]

thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! you have a gift!

[@FrancoisIan]

Thank you!!

[@mountainwench7763]

Thank you for making this video.

[@TheresaRichard]

I was able to do this and found that both my elements were only at 1/2 resistance as it was supposed to be....its so strange because the firings leading up to it didn't really show a delay in reaching temp but when they went out, no length of time would get them up to 06. Thanks

[@jacobaccurso]

Love your music! Where is it from? Oh, and thanks for the tutorial on how to use my multi meter. I’m good to go now. Thank you! But really, where is that music from? Found it! “Universal” by Samor (and FYI, The word you were looking for isn’t connectivity. It’s continuity. 😉)

[@potterywheel2503]

Honestly I'm surprised your elements lasted as long as they did considering all the experiments you have done!

[@Lulu-dz5wj]

Hello can you post photos of how you have your wires hooked up? I can figure out which relay wires go to which element. I have the wiring diagram for my kiln which is like yours but I still can’t quite figure it out. Thank you.

[@JulieHiltbrunner]

Mine needs a new thermocouple. Says TC and IDLE. I can’t do the newspaper burn test so I need to replace the TC first.

[@curlytalegames2609]

How old is your kiln? I bought a small one a few years ago and the controller looks similar. I really dislike the small LCD and the weird button navigation

[@JustinsMakery]

Two years old. Maybe closer to three. I dislike the display as well. Seems very antiquated for such an expensive product. Especially when you get quality touch screens on everything these days.

[@curlytalegames2609]

@@JustinsMakery Yeah I feel the same way. I'd like to get your advice on a project I'm working on. I just sent you a message using the form on your website :)