Lid Element replacement

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Aglassygirl303
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:08 pm

Lid Element replacement

Post by Aglassygirl303 »

Help? I have replace the elements in my lid and reconnected everything. When I turn it on it is throwing the GFI. Any ideas? Is it a relay switch. I have a new one, should I try this?
charlie
Posts: 961
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 3:08 pm

Re: Lid Element replacement

Post by charlie »

if you have a gfi on it that is tripping, then you've mis-wired it and there's a short to ground somewhere. look for an element wire that is touching the metal shell somewhere.
Jeanne
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2003 8:16 am
Location: NJ

Re: Lid Element replacement

Post by Jeanne »

If you determine the kiln is wired properly, check your GFI and your breaker.
Rick Wilton
Posts: 273
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:18 pm
Location: Calgary, Canada
Contact:

Re: Lid Element replacement

Post by Rick Wilton »

GFI breakers are not recommended for kilns.

http://www.hotkilns.com/what-gfci-or-gf ... ctric-kiln

Q: What is a GFCI or GFI Breaker or Outlet AND Why might it trip when used with an electric kiln?
A:
What Is A GFCI Or A GFI Breaker Or Outlet?
A 'GFCI' or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, sometimes called a 'GFI' or Ground Fault Interrupter is part of either an outlet or a circuit breaker.
It is typically required for added safety on any circuit that may come in contact with water, like outdoors, or kitchen, or bathroom.
A GFCI measures the amperage on both the hot and the neutral wires in a 120 volt circuit, or it measures amperage on both hot wires in a 240 volt circuit.
If there is more than about a 5 milliamp difference (5 thousandths of an amp difference) between the amperage readings of the wires the GFCI acts like a circuit breaker and shuts the power off.
Why Might It Trip When Used With An Electric Kiln?
In a kiln, the firebrick is not a perfect insulator, so a tiny bit of the current leaks from the elements to the safety ground and unbalances the current in the 2 hot wires.
The resistance of the brick goes down as the temperature goes up so the kiln may be able to start a firing and but the GFCI would probably trip as the temperature went up.
Above 1700 F is when the firebrick has a significant drop in resistance.
Due to the nature of the firebrick in a kiln, GFCI protected circuits are not recommended for use with the power circuits in electric kilns without special element insulators.
Rick Wilton
Jeanne
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2003 8:16 am
Location: NJ

Re: Lid Element replacement

Post by Jeanne »

We have GFI breakers for most of our regular basement outlets. Everytime we ran the table saw, the breaker tripped. If we plugged it into a non-gfi outlet, we didn't have the problem. Learned from a construction friend that this is a problem they come across when working on someone's house and plugging high power tools into GFI's
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