first problem with jen ken....help asap

slats · Post by **slats** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 2:26 am

I have had my Jen for 8 months 24"....When I first got i, it was firing on the hot side so 1420 was always a full fuse for me. This past week it is doing strange things and I hope someone can help....Using same schedule and glasss as always but now at 1420 I get barely a tack fuse and none of the edges have rounded....Also I get "FTH" - Fail to Heat Alarm yet it still climbs in temp.????The other night I got FtL and the alarm rang all night? Why could be causing all this.....Tonight I purposely put in a melting pot and took it up to high temp of 1600 just to see if it will get there and what will happen.....Awaiting any help here?

kelly alge · Post by **kelly alge** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 10:00 am

Call Mike or Randy at Jen-Ken... they can help you over the phone. What kind of controller do you have?

Larry Lunsford · Post by **Larry Lunsford** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 10:34 am

"Fail to Heat Alarm" means that it did not heat fast enough. What is your ramp up setting? A setting of 9999 will go as fast as possible - whatever that rate may be. A setting of 9000 means 9000 DPH and if you've got a ramp up rate that it can't actually do, you'll get FTH.

Do you have top and side elements? Are all the elements getting hot? If only some of the elements are firing, it would slow the heat up rate.

Bad timing on trying to get a hold of the factory - they're probably taking a long weekend.

Judy Schnabel · Post by **Judy Schnabel** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 6:12 pm

I don't know which Jen-Ken you have but if it's the oval kiln, there are two sets of elements in the lid.

You might be getting the FTH because one set of elements is not heating up properly.

As previously suggested, talk to Mike or Randy. I just had a long conversation with Randy on Friday regarding a slight problem I'm having with my oval kiln. One of the connectors was loose and my husband adjusted it. I turned on the kiln and it went poof. Then the one coil in the lid would not go off unless we tripped the circuit breaker. Randy has solved the mystery and some relays are on their way.

Judy

Stuart Clayman · Post by **Stuart Clayman** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 7:20 pm

Larry's comment was correct. If you have a ramp speed that is too fast for the kiln to go you will get the FTH message. If you use 9999 it will remove the FTH or FTL. The controller that you have is made by Bartlett. If you are getting to your temp and the piece is not doing what it did before one problem could be the thermocouple. You could have thermocouple drift. You also could have banged the thermocouple and shortened the wires inside the sheath. You could also have shifted the thermocouple so that either the sheath or one of the wires are touching metal and hence the false reading. Or else the board could be getting bad readings. If you want to contact me off line I can ask more questions and maybe give you a better idea. kilnrepair@yahoo.com.

Stuart

KILN-TEC · Post by **KILN-TEC** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 8:21 pm

Hi:
A Firing to Long (FTL) alarm may suggest you have an element that is no longer functioning properly.
Do you have additional switches on your kiln, one that might have got turned down?
As mentioned previously, check that your thermocouple is installed correctly. Check the thermocouple for small hairline cracks or loose wires, check while cold, hard to see at high temperatures.
On most controllers the alarm will beep until you manually shut them off.
Good luck, Rich!

slats · Post by **slats** » Sun Feb 15, 2004 2:04 am

I called Marty at CDV (even though I bought the kiln from Mike) and he was very kind to help me. The problem was with the saftey switch...The lid wasnt sitting on it properly; therefore the kiln was not heating up properly. Thanks for all of your help as well.................Luckily a minor problem...just had to weight the lid down a bit....