The kiln works even though I turned it off

[Havi]

I have been firing a project since early in the morning.
Luckily I was sitting in the kitchen , not far from my studio, when I heard the kiln yelling....So I understood something was wrong.
I am firing at 50C dph [90F] to 600 ][1112F]- -
The pip hole was showing a very strong light. As if it was on much higher temp.
Turned out it was firing, I aborted the process.
It showed 357 C,[674.6F]] the temperature continued to rise, in spite of the aborting.
Turned the kiln off, yet the temp. kept rising - reached 408 [766.4F], and the kiln showed like the outer bulbs were still burning [am I being clear??? my English is not enough to describe such technical situation]
So I turned off the whole studio electric control .

Hard to imagine what would [would, not might have happened ] have happened had I not been near by.

What do I do next?
Shall I call a good regular electrician whom I trust,
or
Shall I call a kiln person, who is also good, but much more slow in arriving?

Has anyone got an idea what happened? [I guess the problem is with the kiln controller, or am I wrong?]

Many thanks
Havi

[Brad Walker]

Sounds like a relay failure. Replacing the relay should fix the problem. Not a difficult repair, so long as you can get the new relay. Either of the two persons should be able to do it easily.

[Havi]

Thanks, Brad
I'll call the electrician as soon as Shabbat is out, tonight.



Havi

[Brad Walker]

One more thing for you to know: in most cases, turning off the kiln at the switch on the kiln only turns off the controller, it doesn't turn off power to the kiln. So if you have a relay failure, the kiln will continue to fire even with the switch off. To stop it, you have to cut off the main power at the fusebox.

Also, if the kiln has multiple relays, it's usually a good idea to replace them all. Since one has gone bad, the others are likely to follow soon.

[Havi]

Great advises, Brad!

Thank you for them!!!

I really had to turn off the electric power of the whole studio. Being that the studio is in my home, I am lucky to have a separate electric system for it.

Many many thanks,

Havi

[Havi]

Thanks Brad for your advises.
The electrician whom I called, came on Sunday and said to call a kiln electrician.
Dudu came, changed all the 3 relays, and the kiln works!

See what happened next on my newer post


Thanks again,
HaVi