Relay Replacement & Test Fire

Finally I got my relays in the mail. I decided to ask someone to help me replace the relays the first time and I was glad I did. There are a few tricks which I might not have know. First work slowly and be methodical. To locate the relays, first take out the four screws holding the controller onto the kiln. Next remove the wires going from the firing elements to the controller and the positive and negative wires. Then the plate with the insulation can be removed from the controller by removed two screws on either side of the box. The relay box can then be slipped up and off the kiln and placed on top of a towel on top of the kiln to more easily replace the relays. *Note when the kiln element wires are replaced they must be inserted in the same order and snugged completely up. Also on kilns the positive wire is red which is the opposite of most other electrical applications*.

My kiln has three relays, small black boxes with six wires attached to each one. Remove one screw from the front of the relay and loosen the other screw. Lift the old relay up. Get the new relay and place it in the same place you removed the old relay and screw the new relay down. Take one wire off at a time from the old relay and put it in the same position on the new relay.

 Methodically do this with all the wires. Take one off and place it in the same position on the new relay. Once you have the first relay replaced go on to the next two with the same method, taking only one wire off at a time and placing it on the new relay.

To check to be sure the wires are connected correctly you can test them with a digital hand held clamp meter. This meter measures current, volts, and resistance or ohms. You can use this meter to test the ohms on the wires going to the kiln elements which will let you know if your elements are nearing the end of their life.

With the kiln plugged in (BUT not turned on) place the clamp around each wire to test for current, volts, and ohms. Record the results on a piece of paper for each wire. If the ohms are 1.5 ohms above the factory specs your wires are nearing the end of their life. Mine showed my firing elements are close to their end but there is no need to replace them till the kiln quits functioning properly. To be safe I'll order firing elements and a thermocouple to keep in stock for when I need to replace them.

For more information about kiln repair, Skutt makes a more detailed manual, called a Skutt Service Training Manual which can be downloaded. At the beginning of the manual is a good explanation of electrical theory which explains volts, amps, and ohms much better than I can. I am doing a fast test fire to cone 07 (which was the lowest temp cone I had in stock). I wanted to fire yesterday but there was a storm coming through so I waited till this morning in case of lightening strikes. Hopefully all will go well and I'll be back to firing all the work that has piled up real soon. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.