I am in some crazy Murphy’s Law/ Domino situation with my kiln.
What Had Happened-
The top connection of the top element cracked and melted.
The melted bit of the element hit the connection point beneath it.
Said connection broke in half in my hand when I tried to wiggle it.
The connection below that was essentially tinned by what metal was left.
And the bottom element won’t shut off because the relay failed/ welded in the On position.
Something (probably that relay) smoked the outside of the transformer. It still works, but who knows how long…
All things being equal, I’ve decided to give up the ghost on this kiln. I’ve sunk a lot of time, energy, money, and ruined work in this 30+ year old hand me down kiln and it’s just getting to be too much. Diminishing returns and then some.
This is unfortunately going to cause a bit of a hiatus for me making work. I’ve had a really great job opportunity come up and depending on how things work out, I’ll need to reevaluate what type of kiln/ studio setup I need.
So this is me hitting Pause. I’ll keep you posted as things develop.