Replacing the elements in my Skutt Kiln was not as arduous a task as I thought it would be.  The kiln is actually pretty easy to maintainance once I got into the task of replacing them.  I bought the kiln used almost a year ago, despite the obvious wear I could not pass up the price that they were asking for it.  Most of the firebrick is in good condition, except for the top ring where there was some wear and tear.

Besides getting power to the kiln, there was one other obstacle in my way of using the kiln.  It was rated for 208 volts  single phase and a quick check with the local utilities verified that we have 240 volts single phase here at the studio.  So I called up Skutt the kiln’s manufacturer to find out what I needed to do so I could safely fire the kiln.  Skutt informed me that all that was required was a change in the elements rated for 208v to 240v. Once that was done the kiln would then be rated for cone 8 instead of cone 5.  I ordered the elements, 2 per ring, and a few new bricks for the top ring to replace the ones that were in really bad shape.  A few days later the replacement parts showed up to my delight.  Unfortunately that was during the middle of the spring semester and I would not have enough free time to change out the parts until this past week after I had gotten home and settled from my study abroad to Italy.

I took a few pictures to help illustrate the steps involved in changing the elements in a Skutt Kiln.

The first picture is of the kiln before I started the project.

I decided the easiest way change the elements was if I had the kiln disassembled and worked my way up from the bottom ring to the top.  As you can see in the image the kiln has been constructed in 5 major pieces, the bottom, 3 rings that hold the elements and the lid.  There is a rod that hold the kiln’s lid open on left side that is held to the lid by a thumb screw, once removed the rod can be taken off an the rod that holds the hinge together and the lid can be lifted off the kiln, I suggest that you get someones help when lifting these parts and moving them as the firebrick is fragile and easily broken, it is also very expensive to replace.  After removing the lid, I had to take the controller off the front and separate the rings.

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