My Kiln has a 'FAIL' message

[sublimekate]

Just what I needed, gone to inspect my VERY full kiln this morning and it says 'FAIL'. Will I have to batch anneal them all now?

And what might have caused it?

It can't have been a power failiure because I have a breaker on the socket which trips if the power supply trips or is switched off and you have to press the reset button for it to go back on

K x

[glassworks]

which kiln/controller?..

[sublimekate]

It's an SC2, the controller is part of it, sorry I can't be more specific, gotta do the school run now.
K

[saffie]

i was gonna say power failure but you have eliminated that. Have you checked the manual that might give a hint! Otherwise I don't know. Q maybe able to shed light or Lee from kilncare
Hope you sort it. I would batch anneal just to be sure! What a pain in the ass!!!

[Lee - Kilncare]

Here you go mate, straight from the SC2 manual

FAIL / Thermocouple Failure

The thermocouple, or temperature sensor, failed during firing. Causes:


Defective thermocouple or disconnected/loose wires

Defective controller

Electrical noise

Thermocouple Paperclip Test
Check the thermocouple wire connections. (See your kiln instruction manual.) If connections are tight, perform this test:

UNPLUG the kiln or disconnect the power.
Remove the controller.
Remove the two thermocouple wires from the back of the controller.
Cut a thin paperclip in half.
Insert a U-shaped paperclip piece, or other piece of thin wire, where you removed the thermocouple wires.
Plug in the kiln.
If the controller displays room temperature, replace the thermocouple.
If it shows FAIL, return the controller for repair or replacement.

A little crude but it will do the job.
MAKE SURE you unplug the kiln before removing the control and re-fit the controller after you have put the clip in before turning back on.

[sublimekate]

Many Thanks Lee,

Think I'll leave that one to the DH, I'm obviously having a little RTFM trouble 

[glassworks]

cool - let us know how you get on?... 

[sublimekate]

Hi,

Hubby has just got up after a night shift and has had a look at the kiln, but after switching it on just to see what was going on it is now displaying room temp. Could it be ok now, or should I still get him to test it?

[Lee - Kilncare]

Well yes and no, it could now work fine forever, but my guess would be that you have a loose thermocouple connection maybe.

You may find that it works fine, but once it has shown FAIL it has the capability of showing it again at anytime, which will shut the kiln off.

Might be a good idea to whizz the front off and just check that the thermocouple connections arenice and tight on the back of the controller.

It gives you a photo in your instruction book under the FAIL diagnosis section, I think it was page 11 but not sure on that.

[sublimekate]

OK I'll check it anyway, thanks so much.

[sublimekate]

Just thought I'd update this.

I checked the connections, they were push button ones, and they were VERY secure, I did the paperclip test anyway, and it read 'FAIL'. I've been in touch directly with Paragon, and I'm not sure which direction we're heading in, but seem to be answering endless questions at the moment.

I've tried a different programme as suggested by Paragon, ramping up to 500c in two segments of full to 450c and then 10c/hr up to 500, that's just over a 5 hour ramp BTW, longer than a batch anneal!! Anyway it still failed 1.5 hours in to the garaging hold segment.

During other test runs it has also displayed the HTDE error, despite running at 503c at the time, with a target temp of 500c, the HTDE message is only supposed to display if the kiln has overshot the target temp by something like 57c.

On one occasion it overshot the target temp by over 150c without displaying the HTDE warning.

The manual (which has become regular bedtime reading) suggests a replecement controller given the paperclip test results, I'm waiting for Paragon to get back to me.

I've got jugs of beads sitting around waiting to be annealed, I've a jewellery party on Tuesday, two more within a fortnight of that, and two christmas fairs, I'm pretty hacked off to say the least!!

[Lee - Kilncare]

It does look like it may be the controller, I can only comment for our controllers here, but, in general, once the paper clip is inserted (or a similar method), provided that it is well inserted, it links out all external influences. Any error message on the controller is then coming from within itself.

As I say, that is a general statement and as this is now in the hands of the manufacturer it should be sorted pretty quickly.

[sublimekate]

Actually that's quite reassuring Lee, I didn't really understand what the paperclip test was achieving, but it makes sense now. Thanks

[Lee - Kilncare]

I am here to serve

[Kaz]

Just thought I'd update this.

I checked the connections, they were push button ones, and they were VERY secure, I did the paperclip test anyway, and it read 'FAIL'. I've been in touch directly with Paragon, and I'm not sure which direction we're heading in, but seem to be answering endless questions at the moment.

I've tried a different programme as suggested by Paragon, ramping up to 500c in two segments of full to 450c and then 10c/hr up to 500, that's just over a 5 hour ramp BTW, longer than a batch anneal!! Anyway it still failed 1.5 hours in to the garaging hold segment.

During other test runs it has also displayed the HTDE error, despite running at 503c at the time, with a target temp of 500c, the HTDE message is only supposed to display if the kiln has overshot the target temp by something like 57c.

On one occasion it overshot the target temp by over 150c without displaying the HTDE warning.

The manual (which has become regular bedtime reading) suggests a replecement controller given the paperclip test results, I'm waiting for Paragon to get back to me.

I've got jugs of beads sitting around waiting to be annealed, I've a jewellery party on Tuesday, two more within a fortnight of that, and two christmas fairs, I'm pretty hacked off to say the least!!

Kate - send the beads to me for batch annealing if you like.
Kaz