WarmGlass.com

Hi, gang.

I’m a new poster here, but have been lurking for years and deeply appreciate all of the wisdom posted here.

I think I have a bad relay in my kiln, but wanted to check with the experts to make sure I didn’t overlook any other potential problems.

I have a Paragon Janus 1613, which is a hybrid glass/ceramic top loader with elements in the walls and lid. In the most recent firing (in glass mode), I got a slow heating alarm, and noticed that the top element was not heating. After the kiln had cooled, I unplugged it and did a continuity test on the element that hadn’t heated. It tested out fine. Then I swapped the relay leads between the element that didn’t heat and another element that did heat properly. Now the top element heated normally, but the other one didn’t.

The kiln is three years old and has been used for maybe 150-200 firings, almost all of them glass firings.

The relay in question doesn’t show any visible damage.

Questions:

-Is there anything else I should try before I replace the relay? They’re pretty inexpensive, so I am inclined to go ahead and do it.

-The relay in question is a TE T92P7D22-12. Is there a better choice? I’m not going to build a controller box separate from the kiln, so I can’t use a part that’s highly heat-sensitive.

-Will it significantly help the relays last longer if I leave a fan pointing at the control box whenever the kiln is firing?

Thanks,

Mike

Nothing will generally prevent a mechanical relay from eventually failing.
Firing at high temperatures with long holds where the relay clicks on and off more than once a minute WILL generally shorten a relay's life.
They will always fail in direct relationship with the importance of the glass in the kiln.

I would first call Paragon and ask them the question since they know the kiln the best.

Thank you both!