Oven elements not coming on

John mc c

John mc c

Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
3,079
Hey guys
My new diy oven was working fine until today altho I've only been checking it's accurate since i got it going
1200 stress relief for 2 hours no problem then 1650 of normalizing,it's highest temp yet,was good then elements stopped working,controller is good and reading a descending temp but elements aren't coming on now to go to 1500
I don't see any breaks in elements looking in but its still too hot to have good look,maybe a break in them coming through fire brick or behind it
Any ideas?
 
I see prob now it's cooled
Where burnt out where it joined brass connector.maybe that wire was pulled tight
I'l just rejoin
 
No natlek and now I know I should have.too hot
The element wire is too short now to do it
Can I unbend some element now and push it through fire brick or are elements too brittle now after being used?
I've only used them for 3 or 4 hours
 
John mc c said:
No natlek and now I know I should have.too hot
The element wire is too short now to do it
Can I unbend some element now and push it through fire brick or are elements too brittle now after being used?
I've only used them for 3 or 4 hours
Click to expand...
You can try to unbend one coil ,that is all length you need to fix it .
If you have piece of unused kanthal wire , twist one piece and try to connect with simple wrap with HT coil you already have in oven .....all you need is to increase resistance so wire can t get too hot in that place but now you know that :)
 
I'l get more wire I'll need it again anyway
A mistake I won' make again
Thanks natlek
 
Brass connector??? Brass melts at barely over 1500F. Use stainless steel bolts.
 
Thanks Stacy
That's what I get for blindly following online tutorials
Tho in fairness that guy bent over ends few times like natlek said that keeps temps down but still better to use stainless bolts
 
I used those connectors from the inside of a Mar connectors. With the wire twisted I have had no issues. Nice thing about what Stacy suggested is that you can make the bolt fit snug to the hole in the fire brick. If i ever replace the coils ill make that change. You want as little heat as possible leaking into you control assembly.

Be careful as the wire is quite brittle after heating
 
Use a torch to heat the coil before you straighten it, it's not brittle at red heat.
I had this same issue with my home built oven, when I rebuilt it I used the twisted double strand at the terminals and even moved the element connection to sit outside the oven itself. I originally used stainless tubes to make a crimp connection with the elements but this also failed, I now have a ceramic terminal block.
 
Justin has the best advice:
Twist the ends and run them out the back of the oven. Use a ceramic terminal block to connect them to the power leads. You can stuff some kao-wool in the hole through the brick if it gets oversize, but it should only be as large as the wires.

BTW, always make a cover box over the wire connections on the back. You wouldn't believe how many home made ovens have the connection exposed on the back :eek:
 
Thermal block it is thanks guys
I pulled out a pin I made in kanthal wire and it seemed bendy enough still but I'll heat it to be sure
 
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