Fuseboxll controller issue!

Starrr · #1 2008-04-18, 10:04pm

Well it finally happend, my dreaded Partlow 1166 controller malfunctioned today during my rampdown. It apparently got to 860 and then when I went in the studio was ramping up like crazy, I caught it at over 1600 and turned it off and unplugged it.

My question is... could it possibly be just the relay switch and if so how do I open the controller, will I be able to tell if it's burned out. If I do replace the relay is it reliable or just a quick fix to the enevitable of replacing the controller in the near future?

Good news is that I had a bad day at the torch and the beads lost were few.
It's also the first and only time I went back and checked on the kiln. I think I heard the clicking and it sublinimally registered that something wasn't right, no more napping for me when my kiln is ramping down!

Thanks
Edie

volkanokaren · #2 2008-04-18, 10:29pm

Ditto on equipment fups for me this week too.but we always learn something about something,,,anyway I have allways found that calling the tech people from the place where the piece of equipment came from or quite often where it originated have allways been the most help .Trust me i had to do it today with my oxycon and i wish I had a month ago when it all started and couldnt get answers from where I bought it.
....heres to your 6th sense kicking in!!!!!

Karen
Volkano Exotik

Starrr · #3 2008-04-18, 10:33pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkanokaren

Ditto on equipment fups for me this week too.but we always learn something about something,,,anyway I have allways found that calling the tech people from the place where the piece of equipment came from or quite often where it originated have allways been the most help .Trust me i had to do it today with my oxycon and i wish I had a month ago when it all started and couldnt get answers from where I bought it.
....heres to your 6th sense kicking in!!!!!

Karen
Volkano Exotik

Unfortunatley, EKMiller went out of business several years ago, too bad because the kiln are great.

volkanokaren · #4 2008-04-18, 10:59pm

Well,,, my next call would be to say Paragon kilns,they are surer nice[I called them]haha
Maybe they could help or direct you to someone who could....let me know what happens

Karen
Volkano Exotik

maddog1050 · #5 2008-04-19, 8:00am

My Fusebox II controller also went haywire several times and from what I researched, that particular controller has a history of issues. I love my kiln and it was like new, so contacted Mike at the Glasshive and was able to disconnect the side housing which contains the controller. I sent this off to Mike who removed the bad controller and retrofitted the box with a new Fuji controller. It was simple for me to re-hook up onto my kiln. The new Fuji was all programmed and I didn't have to mess with that.

No problems since. That might be an option for you if you want to keep the kiln. Nothing worse than an unreliable kiln.

GLASSFREEK · #6 2008-04-19, 8:54am

That controller will fail one day but for know the prob is just your relay,digikey.com

Mike

Lorraine Chandler · #7 2008-04-19, 9:37am

I love my Fusebox II also.

So far no problems except that when I turn it on and do a preset it always jumps about 30-40 degrees past the preset temp., and then takes a full 40 mins to back down to the preset and ONLY then do I feel comfortable to start torching and garage(ing) my beads.

Edie I am so glad that you checked and you didn't lose a lot of beads.

Now I know where to go to get it fixed when my controller goes awry.

Lorraine

GLASSFREEK · #8 2008-04-19, 10:24am

[quote=2 TOUCANS;1803334]I love my Fusebox II also.

So far no problems except that when I turn it on and do a preset it always jumps about 30-40 degrees past the preset temp., and then takes a full 40 mins to back down to the preset and ONLY then do I feel comfortable to start torching and garage(ing) my beads.

Edie I am so glad that you checked and you didn't lose a lot of beads.

Now I know where to go to get it fixed when my controller goes awry.

Lorraine[/QUOTE

Thats not a problem its the brick heating up to your temp,all brick kilns will bounce for the first hour until the brick is at temp.

Mike

Starrr · #9 2008-04-19, 2:53pm

Thanks for all the info

I found the relay switch and saw the 4 teminals marked 2 4 8 6 with the last two 8 and 6 having the wires connected and the first two terminals with nothing attached. Are those two empty terminals extras? Meaning, can I unplug the wires from 8 and 6 and plug them into 2 and 4 to make the relay work? I thought I read somewhere that there was a back up installed in the Omron switch or am I incorrect?

smutboy420 · #10 2008-04-20, 8:51am

The extra connections on the relay Are to hook it u p as a normaly closed relay instead of normay open. So when hooked threw them connections instead of the relay turning on the power every tiime the relay is on It instead shuts the power off every time the relay is turned on by the controller. If thats the case you would have to be able to tell the controller its using a normaly closeed relay instead of normaly open some times refered to as NO(normaly open ) or NC ( normaly closed)

But some times the extra connections are if its a 2 pole relay that is meant to turn both poles of electric on/off at the same time. SO its 2 relays built in to one.
If thats the case And its not using the sencd pole connections. Then moveing them over to that side. Would be like having a new relay again.

If you have 8 lugs then you have a double pole relay thats probely also both open and closed type depending on how its wired. 2 lugs are the coil voltage that the controller send electric to to turn it on/off anf the other 6 are for the main power to go threw.

Starrr · #11 2008-04-20, 1:14pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by smutboy420

The extra connections on the relay Are to hook it u p as a normaly closed relay instead of normay open. So when hooked threw them connections instead of the relay turning on the power every tiime the relay is on It instead shuts the power off every time the relay is turned on by the controller. If thats the case you would have to be able to tell the controller its using a normaly closeed relay instead of normaly open some times refered to as NO(normaly open ) or NC ( normaly closed)

But some times the extra connections are if its a 2 pole relay that is meant to turn both poles of electric on/off at the same time. SO its 2 relays built in to one.
If thats the case And its not using the sencd pole connections. Then moveing them over to that side. Would be like having a new relay again.

If you have 8 lugs then you have a double pole relay thats probely also both open and closed type depending on how its wired. 2 lugs are the coil voltage that the controller send electric to to turn it on/off anf the other 6 are for the main power to go threw.

Thanks, after all the research I did yesterday, I actually understand your explanation. I went ahead and ordered 2 new relays, (just thinking ahead) and am hoping that will solve my problem.

hotflashwanda · #12 2008-04-21, 10:55am

I keep a supply of relays (got 'em from Digikey.com, like Mike said) on hand for my old Fusebox kiln controller--since I've had them on hand, I've hardly had to replace one. Kind of like carrying an umbrella, and it never rains. Works for me!

Anita
www.fireflybeads.com

Dasi · #13 2008-04-21, 7:27pm

My EK Miller did the same thing. I got so much help from others on LE. I so appreciated it.
Janelle Zorko emailed me the exact part I needed and she was so right. here is the infor from Janelle.

http://www.grainger.com
PRODUCT SELECTION
Order Avail. Your
Extended
Qty Item# Description Qty Page Price Price
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
1 3A355 Relay,Power 1 269 $14.81 $14.81
$14.81

I have a Grainger less then 5 miles away so I went and picked it up.

Good luck with the fix. The hardest part was reprograming the kiln!!

Starrr · #14 2008-04-21, 8:52pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dasi

My EK Miller did the same thing. I got so much help from others on LE. I so appreciated it.
Janelle Zorko emailed me the exact part I needed and she was so right. here is the infor from Janelle.

http://www.grainger.com
PRODUCT SELECTION
Order Avail. Your
Extended
Qty Item# Description Qty Page Price Price
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
1 3A355 Relay,Power 1 269 $14.81 $14.81
$14.81

I have a Grainger less then 5 miles away so I went and picked it up.

Good luck with the fix. The hardest part was reprograming the kiln!!

Thanks for the info, I have a Grainger locally too, maybe I'll grab one tomorrow instead of waiting for it to be shipped.

Now....what's this about reprograming the kiln?? I have to reprogram all four programs that it came with it? Please tell me there are directions out there somewhere that are more clear than that little manual that came with the kiln, I got a headache just opening it up!!

hotflashwanda · #15 2008-04-22, 11:39am

I've never had to reprogram the kiln. Once the relay was replaced, mine worked fine as before. Hope yours does, too.
Anita
www.fireflybeads.com

Dasi · #16 2008-04-22, 5:49pm

Mine lost all memory and needed reprograming. I still only have one annealing program in the computer. Too much work to get it all correct. I hope you have better luck then I did.

Here are the setting to check once you get the kiln working again. Check these settings before you even check the annealing cycles.
Try this and see if it helps..... These are the settings it should be set for.

First push the scroll Button and the UP arrow at the same time...

When it says "CONT" on top push the scroll button... Make sure you push the button in time and do not enter the other two prompts.

The bottom display will now say FILT and the top should say 2.
If it is different use the up and down arrows to change it.

Now use the scroll button and press is again. Make sure your settings are correct. Just keep pressing the scroll button and change any settings that are different. (/ divider between top and bottom)

The screen should now say 0 / OFFS scroll
100 or 0 / Out1 scroll (keep doing this after each value.)
0.7 / PB1
0.42 / rSet
0.10 / rATE
25 / biAS
OFF/ PoEn
1/SPSt
On/CoEn
0/Loc
2.0/Filt

Now leave it alone for atleast 30 seconds The controller should revert back to normal.

Starrr · #17 2008-04-23, 1:20am

Heather,

Thank You, that was incredibly generous of you to take the time to post the info, I've printed it out.

I didn't read this post until I already went to Grainger purchsed the relay, and put it in. I ran my kiln on the first program and it ran perfectly. It's the only program I ever used. I'd love to slump some cabs, but never ventured into programming my kiln to do that, maybe some day...

I do have 2 more relays being delivered tomorrow, so if anyone finds themselves in the position that I was having to wait over the weekend to order one, I'd be happy to send you one of my extras, just let me know.

Again, thanks to all the Fusebox owners and lovers out there, I appreciate your help and responses. These really are great kilns and even though there might be a few glitches with the controllers I wouldn't trade my girl for anything.

For anyone reading this who owns a kiln, I'll pass on what I was told along time ago, put a fiber blanket on the bottom of your kiln it will save alot of problems if you ever have a meltdown.

Edie

GLASSFREEK · #18 2008-04-23, 6:07am

glad you got it going Edie.
Fiber blanket wont save the botom of your kiln glass will eat through it also,kiln wash your brick kilns guys.

Mike

Dasi · #19 2008-04-23, 2:01pm

I had a melt down when my relay went. the beads were pancakes at the floor of the kiln. I had kiln washed the kiln floor when I first got the kiln. Three years later it worked and the beads just lifted right up without damage. I was shocked that the bullseye kiln wash was still in such good shape!!! Go Bullseye!!!

meganlee · #20 2011-07-11, 3:13pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dasi

Mine lost all memory and needed reprograming. I still only have one annealing program in the computer. Too much work to get it all correct. I hope you have better luck then I did.

Here are the setting to check once you get the kiln working again. Check these settings before you even check the annealing cycles.
Try this and see if it helps..... These are the settings it should be set for.

First push the scroll Button and the UP arrow at the same time...

When it says "CONT" on top push the scroll button... Make sure you push the button in time and do not enter the other two prompts.

The bottom display will now say FILT and the top should say 2.
If it is different use the up and down arrows to change it.

Now use the scroll button and press is again. Make sure your settings are correct. Just keep pressing the scroll button and change any settings that are different. (/ divider between top and bottom)

The screen should now say 0 / OFFS scroll
100 or 0 / Out1 scroll (keep doing this after each value.)
0.7 / PB1
0.42 / rSet
0.10 / rATE
25 / biAS
OFF/ PoEn
1/SPSt
On/CoEn
0/Loc
2.0/Filt

Now leave it alone for atleast 30 seconds The controller should revert back to normal.

I've used this method to check my settings and they are correct. Now, how do I set a program, or did I in doing the above set the program?

I would like to set an annealing cycle for the following:
950 to 880 in 1hr, hold 15mins
880 to 780 in 1hr, hold 15mins
780 to 680 in 1hr, hold 15mins
680 to 580 in 1hr, hold 15mins
then shut off to cool to room temp

Any guidance would be much appreciated. I found the manual online but it is hard to follow!

Thanks so much!!