Paragon Lid/Door Safety Switch Guide

·Wear firing safety glasses when looking into the peephole of
a hot kiln.
·Do not open lid or door until kiln or furnace has cooled and
all switches are off.
·DANGEROUS VOLTAGE! Do not touch heating ele-
ments with anything. Disconnect kiln or furnace before ser-
vicing.
The safety switch on your kiln turns off the heating ele-
ments when the lid or door of the kiln is opened. (The digital
controller will continue to operate.) When the lid or door is
closed again, the elements will turn back on.
Indications that the safety switch is out of adjustment:
IThe run light on the controller is lit but the elements do not
heat.
IThe safety switch turns off the elements part-way through
a firing due to expansion of the door or lid at high tempera-
tures.
We have included instructions for adjusting three types of
lid/door safety switches:
The Tilt Lid
Safety Switch
Top-loading kilns use the tilt
switch to turn off power to the el-
ements when the lid is raised.
The switch is mounted at the
back of the lid.
1Program the kiln to fire at full
rate so the elements will turn on
and stay on without cycling.
(Please consult your manual to
program a full rate.) After the
kiln has fired for about a minute,
have someone raise and lower
the lid. Do you hear a clicking
noise when you raise the lid?
(The relays click when they turn
the elements on or off.)
2If you do not hear the relays
click, close the lid and lift the tilt
switch housing by hand. You can
usually adjust the tilt switch by
bending the housing up or down
slightly.
3If you still do not hear the re-
lays click, remove the screws
from the switch cover with a ¼”
nut driver. Lift off the cover.
4Remove the 2 screws that se-
cure the tilt switch. Remove the switch. (Note how it is aligned
so you can reinstall it correctly later.)
5By tilting the switch, you should hear the relays turn on and
off. If you do not hear the clicking, then disconnect the power
to the kiln and look for a disconnected wire. If the wiring is
okay, replace the switch. (You can also test the switch with an
ohmmeter. See instructions on the next page.)
6Adjusting the tilt switch
changes the distance the lid
opens when the elements turn
off. You removed the tilt
switch in step 4. With the
switch out of the way, you now
have access to the bolts that
hold the switch mounting
plate. Loosen the 2 bolts.
7The 2 mounting holes are
enlarged so that you can adjust
the angle of the switch
mounting plate. Raise
the back of the mount-
ing plate to increase
the distance the lid
travels before the ele-
ments shut off. Raise
the front of the
mounting plate to de-
crease the distance.
Make only very small
adjustments.
8Tighten the bolts in the switch mounting plate.
9Reinstall the tilt switch. Repeat step 1 to test the lid.
10 Reinstall the tilt switch cover.
The Door Rotary
Safety Switch The door rotary
safety switch is
mounted on top of the
door hinge shaft.
1Use a ¼” nut driver
to remove the screws
from the door switch
cover. Lift off the cover.
2Program the kiln to
fire at full rate so the elements will turn on and stay on without
cycling. (Please consult your manual to program a full rate.)
After the kiln has fired for about a minute, open and close the
door until you hear a clicking noise. (The relays click when
they turn the elements on or off.) The elements should turn off
when the door is opened 1” - 2”.
How to Adjust the Paragon
Lid/Door Safety Switch
©2007, by Paragon Industries, L.P. IM-235/2-07
Adjust switch mounting plate.
Remove the tilt switch screws.
Loosen switch mounting plate.

3Look at the door
switch from above. You
will see a disk with an in-
dentation. When the
switch arm moves into
the indentation, the ele-
ments should turn on.
As you open and close
the door, watch the disk
so that you will under-
stand which direction to
adjust the disk.
4Loosen 2 allen
screws that hold the disk
to the door hinge shaft.
5Rotate the disk to
change the position of
the indentation. Then
tighten the allen screws.
6Repeat step 2 to test
the switch. If the ele-
ments do not turn on
when the switch arm is
in the indentation, then
disconnect the power to
the kiln and look for a
disconnected wire. If the
wiring is okay, replace
the switch. (You can
also test the switch with
an ohmmeter. See in-
structions in the next
column.)
7Reinstall the switch cover.
The Door Push-Button
Safety Switch
The door safety switch is mounted inside the front of the
switch box.
1Program the kiln to fire at full rate so the elements will turn
on and stay on without cycling. (Please consult your manual
to program a full rate.) After the kiln has fired for about a min-
ute, open and close
the door until you
hear a clicking noise.
(The relays click
when they turn the el-
ements on or off.)
The elements should
turn off when the
door is opened 1” -
2”.
If you do not hear
the clicking, press the
safety switch button.
If you still do not hear
the clicking, then dis-
connect the power to the kiln and look for a disconnected wire.
If the wiring is okay, replace the switch. (You can also test the
switch with an ohmmeter.
See instructions in the
next column.)
2The switch is activated
by the safety switch lever.
Gently bend the lever with
pliers to change how far
the door opens when the
elements turn off.
Bending the lever toward
the switch box increases
the distance the door
opens when the elements turn off.
Testing the Safety Switch
with an Ohmmeter
First, become familiar with the ohmmeter. Touch the ohm-
meter probes together. That is the reading you should get
when the door/lid is closed. An analog (needle indicator) ohm-
meter will show the needle moving all the way over. A digital
meter will show 0 - 14 ohms.
Separate the ohmmeter probes. That is the reading you
should get when the door/lid is open.
1UNPLUG kiln/disconnect power.
2Remove the door/lid
switch cover.
3Place ohmmeter leads on
the two switch terminals.
(Tilt switch: Touch an ohm-
meter probe to the wire in-
side each wire nut.)
4Have someone open and
close the door or lid. You
should get continuity on the
ohmmeter when the lid/door is closed. If not, replace or adjust
the switch.
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Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122
800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557
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[email protected]
www.paragonweb.com
The rotary safety switch with door closed.
The rotary safety switch with door open.
A close-up view of the door
push-button safety switch.
Testing the door push-button
safety switch.
Testing the rotary safety switch.
Tightening the allen screws.