The first phase of the kiln rebuild project is to replace the relays and the wiring harness that connects them to the controller. Relays are mechanical and have a finite lifespan, and should be replaced periodically.
Phase two is replacing the heating elements with the help of Don Evans from Evans Ceramic Supply which will happen tomorrow, Saturday 10/20, beginning at 3pm.
Here’s a couple pictures of phase one for the curious.
Before
During
After
One of the old relays was definitely showing some ‘wear’ as it had smoked up the clear plastic housing. This is apparently normal with age. Not knowing the history of the kiln, it is interesting that one was and the others were not. Maybe one was replaced out of sequence with the others? None of the wires in the wiring harness showed any signs of overheating. However, some of the feeder wires (which will be replaced tomorrow) which connect to the elements on the other side of this panel do show signs of overheating. The extra ‘wear’ could be related to that and I’ll keep an eye out for which wire sets those are tomorrow to see if this guesstimate is accurate.