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We manufacturer Kanthal A1 heating elements in various configurations. If you are building your own heat treating furnace, glass kiln or ceramics kiln we sell generic heating elements in several common electrical configurations and we can make heating elements to your specs if you don't see something that suits your needs.

FAQ

Q. Does my new element come with connectors, wire, pins etc?
A. No. Element accessories, controls, relays and other accessories are sold separately. 

Q. What size wire do you recommend for pinning elements into place?
A. Kanthal A1 15 Gauge is the most common. It is stiff enough to hold it's shape but thin enough to cause minimal damage to brick.

Q. How do I stretch an element to length?
A. The most effective way is to clamp one end of the element to a strong door frame and use a piece of string as a guide for the desired length. It's difficult to shorten an element once stretched so care should be taken not to over-stretch. To determine your element length lay a piece of string in the element channel and mark or cut it to length.

Q. How much power (measured in Watts) do I need for my kiln or furnace?
A. The amount of power needed is dependent on the maximum desired temperature and the amount of insulation used in the construction of the furnace. Below is a table with a few examples of commercially made kilns showing their maximum temperature ratings and power requirements. These commercial kilns are constructed with K23 IFB (soft firebrick). Kilns made using castable, ceramic fiber or hard brick will need varrying amounts of power.

Kiln Manuf. & Model Number_ Wattage_ Inside Dimensions___ Brick Thickness_ Outside Dimensions_ Chamber Size__ Max. Temp Rating_
Skutt Firebox 8x4 1725 8" x 8" x 4.5" 2.5" 13" x 13" x 9.5" .16 Cubic Feet 2350ºF   1287ºC
Skutt Firebox 8x6 1800 8" x 8" x 6" 2.5" 13" x 13" x 11" .22 Cubic Feet 2250ºF   1230ºC
Skutt Glazetech 4000  14.5" x 14.5" x 9"  3" 20.5" x 20.5" x 15" 1.1 Cubic Feet 2350ºF   1287ºC
Skutt KM818 6660 18" x 18" x 18"  2.5" 23" x 23" x 23" 2.6 Cubic Feet 2350ºF   1287ºC
Skutt KM818-3 6660 17" x 17" x 18"  3"  23" x 23" x 23" 2.3 Cubic Feet 2350ºF   1287ºC
Paragon Firefly 1560 8" x 8" x 4.5" 2.5" 13" x 13" x 9.5" .16 Cubic Feet 2350ºF   1287ºC
Paragon Caldera XL 1800 7.5" x 7.5" x 9" 3" 13.5" x 13.5" x 15" .29 Cubic Feet 2350ºF    1287ºC
Paragon Xpress E-14A 3120 13" x 13.5" x 8.75" 2.5" 18" x 18.5" x 13.75" .89 Cubic Feet 2000ºF    1093ºC
Paragon TNF1613 6400 16.5" x 16.5" x 13.25"    3" 22.5" x 22.5" x 19.25" 1.75 Cubic Feet 2350ºF    1287ºC

 

Q. Why are your heating elements better?
A. We only use Kanthal Sandvik A1 alloy wire. We do not use cheaper imported wires that claim to have similar properties but often fall short. Kanthal has been the global leader in alloy heating products for decades and their commitment to quality control control ensures long heating element life and consistent quality.

Q. What is "Element Surface Load" (also known as watt loading) and why does it matter?
A. Kanthal has done extensive testing regarding how much heating power can be concentrated on what size heating elements. If you concentrate too much power on too little wire the wire itself can melt (or at the very least shorten the life). The calculation for watt loading involves determining the total surface area (skin) of the wire and calculating how many watts of power are concentrated on each square inch of wire surface area. The lower the watt loading on the wire the longer the element life will be!

Take a look at the chart below. The graph on the left shows Kanthal A1 wire watt loading recommendations for long element life. The line (a) shows elements wound in a coil and set in brick grooves. As you can see the maximum watt loading goes down as the temperature goes up. For ceramic kilns rated at approximately 2300 degrees Fahrenheit the maximum watt load is approximately 17.5 watts per square inch of wire surface area. If you are installing elements in a furnace where the maximum temperature will be lower use the chart below to determine your maximum watt loading and order elements accordingly. 

Kanthal A1 Wire Watt Loading

 The element highlighted in bold is the element you are currently viewing and the elements not in bold are other available stock elements which can be found here:

Voltage (AC) Wattage Amperage B&S Gauge   Ohms Outside Diameter  Element Surface Load Unstretched Length Min. Stretched Length Max. Stretched Length
 120 1440   12 14  10  .4570"  12.8 W/Sq. In. 30" 60" 120"
 120 1920  16  13  7.5  .5375"  13.9 W/Sq. In. 27" 54" 108"
 240 3840  16  13  15  .5375"  16.2 W/Sq. In. 54" 108" 216"
 240 5760  24  14  20  .4570"  13 W/Sq. In. 60" 120" 240"
 *IMPORTANT NOTE: The 240V 24A element above is a set of TWO elements. Each element draws half the wattage and the set must be wired in parallel to achieve 5760 watts. The specifications above (except Wattage and Amperage) are shown for ONE of the TWO elements.     

Info on each field in our element spec table:

B&S Gauge - Wire gauge is a measure of the thickness of the wire. The lower the number the thicker the wire.

Ohms - A measure of resistance. 

Outside diameter - The diameter of the coiled wire. The groove in the brick will need to be slightly larger than the outside diameter of the coiled wire.

Element Surface Load - A measure of how much power is concentrated on the surface (or skin) of the element. The lower the surface load the longer the element life will be.

Unstrecthed Length - Elements are shipped tightly coiled but MUST be stretched prior to installing.

Min. Stretched Length - Element must be stretched to at least this length for longest element life. If the element is not stretched enough the coils will trap heat which will shorten life.

Max. Stretched Length - If an element is stretched too much the coil can collapse when hot and cause failure.