Expert: Leisha Hiester - 2/8/2011

Question
I have an older Ceramichrome Autofire2 DTC 100c. It started where just the bottom half would not heat so I thought it was the coils but they looked fine. Then now when I set the digital timer it will reach just over 100 degrees then come back down. It will not heat to set degrees. Could this be the relays or do I have an electrical problem? How do I go about finding parts for my older kiln?

Answer
Lea,

Here is more information.  The DTC 100C is the controller used to turn the elements on and off.  If you go to the Paragon website, which is a manufacturer of Kilns, you will find a very good manual that describes the operation and troubleshooting for this controller.  Here is the link that will take you there  http://www.paragonweb.com/files/troubleshoot/IM195.pdf I believe your kiln is simply a Ceramichrome kiln with a paragon controller.  From the bit I was able to find on the web Ceramichrome was acquired by Mayco which then turned to Paragon to build there kilns for them.  I do know for a fact that Paragon makes/supports the DTC 100C as we have one of these controllers on one of our kilns...hope this helps.  The instructions below will still be helpful.

Dick

Hello Lea,

In order for me to help you I need to ask a few questions.  To begin with, I have no experience with a Ceramichrome Kiln so all I can offer are basic troubleshooting hints for a kiln.  Before you begin....MAKE SURE YOU UNPLUG THE KILN OR YOU CAN GET SHOCKED.

First, can you tell me approximately how big the kiln is?  Our kilns are about 17" across (inside diameter of the kiln) and I believe about 27" deep.  We have four elements in our kiln.  A top a bottom and two middle elements.  This is important, because the way our controller works it turns heat on to the four elements at different times.  I also need to know how many elements your kiln has.  The way to determine this is by the number of connectors you see to your electrical system.  An element is simply a heating coil.  When you apply voltage, or electricity, to the coil it will heat up.  The design of the kiln will apply voltage to one end of the coil and a return or common to the other end of the coil.  This provides a circuit that will heat up the coil.  So if you have three elements, you should see six connectors.  The way to tell if the elements are OK is to measure the resistance with an ohm meter.  If the coil is still in tact the element will read approximately 8-15 ohms of resistance.  Sorry to bring up these technical issues, but that is really the only way to tell if the element is good or not.  The other question I have is this a 120V kiln or 240V kiln?  The label on the electrical panel should tell you this.

The most likely cause of a kiln not firing properly are the elements.  Elements, depending on length, cost anywhere from $30 to $50 plus or minus.  Euclids is a good source for elements and can be reached at Euclids.com.  Please let me know if you have any way of testing the elements and what your experience level is on working on electrical problems and I will try to help.

thx, Dick