How to Re-Seat Bulging Electric Kiln Elements Chris Vaughn

Diagnostics

Whether you’re re-seating a single sagging element or dealing with a kiln that looks like a gallery of Dalí clocks, it’s good practice to check the overall health of your elements while you’re at it. This will help you understand whether reseating your elements will be a temporary measure before an element swap, or a tune-up that can provide a long-lasting fix. Prior to getting started, use a multimeter to test the resistance of the elements to gauge their overall condition. A reading of +/- 10% or greater from the baseline resistance values of new elements is a good general gauge for when it’s time for replacement, but refer to your kiln’s specs or contact a technician on the manufacturer’s customer support team for information about your specific kiln.

Gather Your Tools

In addition to the fire extinguisher and multimeter, the tool list for this repair is short and comprised of items typically found in a clay studio. If your studio is missing any of these tools, this repair is a great excuse to add them to your collection:

• Shop vacuum with HEPA filter and fine particle bag
• Blow torch
• Needle-nose pliers
  

Unless you have a kiln that features ceramic element holders (like L&L/HotKilns) you’ll also need some element pins to hold the elements in place once they’ve been re-seated into the channels.

Prepare the Kiln

To remove dust and debris, vacuum over the element channels anywhere the elements have sagged out. Next, use needle-nose pliers to remove any element pins that are stuck in the empty channels. Save the pins, as you’ll reuse them once the elements have been reseated.

Re-Seating the Elements

1. Start by heating the whole stretch of the element that has sagged out plus 1–2 inches (2.5–5 cm) on either side of the sag. Move the blowtorch back and forth along the element until the whole section has gotten hot enough to glow red. The whole stretch does not need to be red hot at the same time, you just want to make sure the area you’ll be working on has been thoroughly heated before you begin manipulating the element.
2. Alternating back and forth from one end of the sag to the other, heat the element back up to glowing hot and use needle-nose pliers to reshape and reposition the element back into the channel. Work gradually. Once the element has cooled enough that it is no longer glowing, move to the other end of the sag. Work back and forth, making progress toward the center of the sag until the element is fully reseated in the channel.
3. Check to make sure the element has not become pinched in any spots. If it has, heat the element back up and use the pliers to stretch out the coil as needed.
4. After you’re finished adjusting the element, repeat step 1, heating the whole stretch you worked on to a glowing red hot.
5. Once the element has cooled, set a few element pins to help keep the element from migrating back out of the channel in future firings.

the author Chris Vaughn is a potter from Essex Junction, Vermont. He has been working in clay since 2007. You can find his work on Instagram @chris_throws_pots.