In article , Bob Masta
writes
On Tue, 9 Sep 2003 00:17:08 +0100, Steve Mills
wrote:

I test elements by firing on *Full* for 10 minutes, turning off the
power at the main, opening the lid, and touching each element with a
long spill or wand made out of newspaper. If it smoulders the element is
OK, if not it ain't!
Elements oxidise over time, and with each firing the layer of oxide
increases and the element core decreases, rendering them increasingly
inefficient.
If you need to move element coils, heat them up to red heat with a small
blow torch and re-position them with a pair of snipe-nosed pliers (long
thin ones!).
I've found hooking broken element ends together is not always effective
as they can move and then arc and burn out worse. New is cheaper in the
long run.

Steve
Bath
UK

Why not just open the lid and watch the elements heat up?
Any one that stays dark is faulty, or its connections are.
You would only need to leave the kiln on until the working
elements start to glow a little, and then you would see
the whole situation at one glance. No need for poking
things onto fragile Kanthal.

In the UK all kiln lids and doors have a safety switch which shuts off
power when they are opened unless they are VERY old!

Steve



Bob Masta
dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom

D A Q A R T A
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
Shareware from Interstellar Research
www.daqarta.com

--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK