Orton Sentry Xpress User Manual

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Page 1

Cone Fire/Ramp-Hold Version

Sentry Xpress

Digital Temperature Controller

°F

°C

Hr./Min.

when lit

SENTRY

MICRO PROCESSOR

Temperature Display

Tempera

ture display is in °F.

Temperature display is in °C. See page 7 for instructions on

selecting °F and °C.

°C Display Dot

START/

STOP

HIGHER

LOWER

Xpress

The Sentry Xpress 2.0 micro processor is manufactured by the

Orton Ceramic Foundation and displays the CE mark.

Time Display

hours from minutes. Example: Display shown above is 1 hour and 2 minutes.

Program

Review

Run

When Off

°F °C

When Lit

: Separates

Indicator Lights

On during

programming.

On during

program review.

Blinks dur

ing firing.

START/STOP Key

Starts and stops a

firing.

Press after each programming step. It works like the Enter key on a computer.

Up Arrow Key

From press START. Press Up Arrow to select Cone-Fire or Ramp-Hold.

during a Ramp-Hold firing, skips to the next segment. After pressing Up Arrow, will appear. To skip, press Up Arrow again.

Down Arrow Key

from or during fir ing, press Down Arrow. The program you have se lected will appear one step at a time.

from press Down Arrow.

Page 2

Contents

Safety

General Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Time and Temperature Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Operation Begins from the IdLE Display. . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Thermocouple Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

A Rapid Way to Scroll Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Program Review & Repeat Firing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Power Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

CPLT Message: Firing Completed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Thunder Storms and Power Surges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Two Firing Modes: Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold . . . . . . . 4

Cone-Fire Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Pyrometric Witness Cones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

How to Correct for Under- or Over-Fired Cones. . . . . . 5

Cone-Fire Hold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

When the Kiln Shuts Off Too Soon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

How to Customize Cone-Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Cone-Fire Firing Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Ramp-Hold Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Theory of Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Temperature Over-Shoot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Repeat Firings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Programming a Cooling Segment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

A Ramp-Hold Practice Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Skipping a Segment in a Ramp-Hold Program . . . . . . 8

Ramp-Hold Programming Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Lost Wax Burnout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

BAdP / Bad Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

EtH / Electronics Too Hot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

FaIL / Thermocouple Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

TCR / Thermocouple Reversed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

FtL / Fired Too Long . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PF 1 / Power Failure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PF 2 / Power Failure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

tC / Thermocouple Failure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The warranty on your Sentry Xpress controller does not cover damage from overfiring, regardless of the circumstances. It is the operator’s responsibility to make sure the kiln turns off at the proper time.

When the kiln is not in use, disconnect the power.

Do not leave the kiln unattended, especially near the expected shut-off time.

Wear firing safety glasses when looking into the firing chamber of a hot kiln.

Do not touch hot sides of kiln. Keep unsuper vised children away.

Install your kiln at least 12 inches from any wall or combustible surface.

Do not openlidor door until kilnhas cooled and all switches are off.

Fire only in a well-ventilated, covered and protected area away from combustible materials.

Keep cordset away from hot sides of kiln or furnace.

DANGEROUS VOLTAGE! Donottouch heating elements with anything. Disconnect before servicing.

Selecting °F or °C Display . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Display Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Trouble Shooter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Problem: Controller display is blank. No heat in kiln.. 11 Problem: Controller display turns on. No heat in kiln. 12 Problem: Kiln switch box ½ amp fuses keep blowing.12

Cone-Fire Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Pyrometric Cone Temperature Chart. . 15

Shorthand Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

2 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

Page 3

General Guidelines

Time and Temperature Display

Center Dot: Time

A center dot appears dur ing time display. It separates hours from minutes (i.e. 1 hour, 30 minutes displays as

01.30). During temperature display, the dot disappears.

Right-Hand Dot: °C

When temperature is displayed in °C, a dot appears in the lower right. In °F display, it disappears. You can choose between Fahr enheit and Celsius display. See page 9.

Operation Begins from the IdLE Display

must appear before you can fire the kiln.

If , , or other message appears instead of

when the kiln is first turned on, press the

key (the key with the circular arrow).

will appear.

If youpress during afiring, willap pear. To get back to , press again.

If the display shows an error message such as in stead of , see page 9.

(firing completed) appears at the end of a firing.

To make appear, press .

Thermocouple Inspection

The small rod protruding into the firing chamber is the temperature sensor, or thermocouple.

CAUTION: Bumping the thermocouple can push it out of the firingchamber.This could cause an overfire! The controllerdoes not containan alarm to detectthis type of failure. Bumping the thermocouple could also cause inaccurate readings.

A 1/8” diameter thermocouple should extend into the firing chamber ½” - 5/8”.

A ¼” diameterthermocouple shouldextendinto the fir ing chamber 1” or more.

Keep shelves, posts and ware 1” - 1 ½” away from the thermocouple.

The center display dot indicates time instead of temperature.

°F

°C

ARapidWayto Scroll Numbers

During programming, hold an arrow key down several seconds, and numbers will begin to scroll rapidly. Ordi narily, you would press to raise a number and

to lower it. But sometimes it is faster to press the opposite key. This is because the numbers scroll below 0000 to the highest number, and vice versa. Examples:

To program a 99.59 hour Hold when the display shows

00.00, press the once.

To program a FULL rate when the display shows 0000, press the once.

To program a temperature of 200°F when the display shows 1800°F, press the . That is faster than pressing the .

Program Review & Repeat Firing

Program Review lets you check that the information programmed into the controlleriscorrect.It is a good habit to use Program Review before every firing. Program Review shows the values for the program in active memory, which is either—

The program that was fired last, or

The program that was entered since the last firing.

key. After rate, temperature, hold, etc., will appear. Press . will appear, and the kiln will begin firing the program just reviewed.

key. The rate, temperature, hold, etc. will display

one after the other. Firing will continue.

Delay

Delay is acount-downtimer.The kiln beginsfiringwhen the timerrunsoutoftime. UseDelayto fitafiringinto your schedule.

CAUTION: Forsafety, donot leavethe kiln alonedur ing a delay or a firing. We cannot guarantee your kiln against overfiring even though the controller is auto matic.

After you have selected a program and the control ler is ready to begin firing, will appear.

Press the key once. will appear, alternating with .

Use thearrow keysto enterdelay time.(The decimal

separates hours and minutes. Example: 1 hour 10 minutes =01.10)Thenpress . will ap pear, alternating with time left until the firing be gins.

Press the

Page 4

Power Failures

After a power failure, the controller will continue firing

provided that:

The kiln temperature is above 212°F/100°C when the power comes back on.

The temperature dropped no more than 180°F/100°C while the power was off.

Power Failure Messages

The power failed during firing, and temperature

dropped more than 180°F/100°C.

The power failed during firing, and kiln tempera

turewasbelow 212°F/100°Cwhen thepower camebackon.

CPLT Message: Firing Completed

When the firing has successfully completed, the Sentry Xpress will shut off power to the elements. Then three mes sages will cycle one after the other:

(complete) Firing time in hours and minutes The current kiln temperature

Thunder Storms and Power Surges

Unplug the kiln or disconnect the power when the kiln is not in use, especially during thunder storms and in areas with frequent power surges. If the kiln is partwaythrougha firing when a storm begins, it is probably okay to continue the firing withclosesupervision. Do not leavethe kiln unat tended.

Two Firing Modes: Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold

To give you greater flexibility, your controller has two firing modes: Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold.

Cone-Fire Mode (see next column)

Cone-Fire mode fires the ware to a pyrometric cone number usingtheOrtoncone tables on page 15. Thismode is for ceramics, pottery, stoneware, and glazes. Your sup plier can tell you which cone number to program.

Ramp-Hold Mode (see page 7)

Use Ramp-Hold mode to create custom firings. Select your own firing speed, temperature, and temperature hold time in up to 8 steps, or segments.

The chart in the next column shows the recommended firing mode for several types of ware:

Type of Firing Suggested Firing Mode

China Painting Cone-Fire Ceramic Decals Cone-Fire Ceramic Glaze Cone-Fire Ceramic Greenware Cone-Fire Glass Bead Annealing Ramp-Hold Glass Fusing Ramp-Hold Glass Slumping Ramp-Hold Lost Wax Ramp-Hold

Cone-Fire

Cone-Fire mode is based on firing the ware to a pyrometric cone. Cone-Fire is not designed for heat treating, glass fusing and enameling. For these firings, use Ramp-Hold mode (page 6). Use Ramp-Hold to fire ceramic pieces that require a custom firing schedule.

Pyrometric Witness Cones

It is important to understand pyrometric witness cones, because clay and glazes are rated to cone numbers. Pyrometric cones are smallpyramids of clay that bendwhen exposed to the correct amount of heatwork. Cones are rated by number.Seepage15 for alistof cone numbers and their temperatures.

When a witness cone bends during firing, the clay and glaze in that firing, rated to that cone number, have received the correct amount of heat.

Place the pyrometric witness cone on the kiln shelf near the ware you arefiring. Usethe cone to check forfiring ac curacy. The cone is themost accurate measurementof heat work in a ceramic firing. This is because thecone measures the combined effectsoftime, kilnatmosphere,and temper ature.

We suggestusing thewitnesscone totrouble shootprob lems with the ware. If china paints appear faded and you suspect it is due to over-firing, test firewith a witness cone. Anotherexample:glaze crazingdueto under-firedbisque.

How to Interpret the Bending of a Pyrometric Cone

The cones illustrated here are called self-supporting cones. They are the easiest type of witness cone to use.

1. Correct Bend

When the self-supporting cone bends so that the tip is approxi mately even with the top of the base, the cone has been exposed to

A cone fired to maturity.

4 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

Page 5

the correct amount of heat work for thatcone number.This iscalled a 6 o’clock bend.

2. Under-Fired Cone

The conein theupper photohas not bent far enough. It indicates that the kiln did not fire long enough or hot enough.

3. Over-Fired Cone

When a cone collapses or pud dles (see lower photo), it indicates that the kiln over-fired the ware rated to that cone number.

Note: Do not be overly con cerned with achieving an exact 6 o’clock bend. The difference be tween a3 o’clock and a6 o’clock bend is only a few degrees of temperature.

An under-fired cone.

An over-fired cone.

HowtoCorrectforUnder-or Over-Fired Cones

Before changing a firing because of an under- or over-fired cone,makesure the correct conewas in the kiln. For instance, if you fired to cone 05, make sure the cone in the kilnwas nota cone5 instead.(See thecone temperature chart on page 15.)

Compensating for an Under-Fired Cone

Fire to the same cone number next time, but add hold time. How much hold time to add is a matter of experimentation.Ageneral guidelinewould be10-30 minutes.

If the kiln still does not fire hot enough, then fire to the next hotter cone number, without hold time.

Another option: customize the firing in Ramp-Hold. See the next page.

Compensating for an Over-Fired Cone

Fire to the next cooler cone number.

If firing to the next cooler cone number results in un der-firing, add hold time.

Another option: customize the firing in Ramp-Hold. See the next page.

Cone-Fire Hold

Cone-Fire Holdheat-soaksthe wareatthe conetemper ature at the end of the firing. Without Hold, the kiln shuts off after it reaches the cone temperature. Hold maintains the cone temperature for the period you specify.

Hold is not needed in every firing. Experience will help you decide when to use Hold. Some of the reasons you might consider using it:

To even out the temperature throughout the kiln.

To allow heat to penetrate more completely into the clay. (Rapid firing is like cooking: the turkey will be done on the outside but not on the inside.)

To help glaze absorb china paint.

To heal glaze defects such as bubbles.

CAUTION: Use Holdsparingly. A little hold time can yield dramaticresults.But toomuchhold timecan eas ily overfire your ware and burn out colors.

One waytoadd Holdtime withoutover-firing isto fireto one cone cooler than needed. Then add enough hold time to bend the next hotter cone. Hold time neededtobendthe next cone will vary. As a rule of thumb, 45 - 60 minutes of hold = one cone of heat work.

Example: to fire to cone 05, program Cone-Fire for 06 and add 45-60 minutes of hold time.

If yourkilnhas apeephole,watch thepyrometric witness cones during firing. Press when the correct witness cone bends. Note how much Hold time was needed. Pro gram that much Hold time the next time you fire the same type of ware.

Note: During Hold,thedisplay temperaturewill alter nate with time left in Hold. To figure hold time for the next firing, subtract time left in Hold from the total Hold time entered.

When Hold is set to 99.99 hours, the Sentry Xpress will remain at that temperature indefinitely, until is pressed.

When the Kiln Shuts Off Too Soon

If the kiln shuts off before the pyrometric witness cone bends, you can turn the hot kiln back on and keep firing.

From , program the next hotter cone in

Cone-Fire.

will appear. To begin firing, press . will appear and the Run indicator light will

begin blinking. The hot kiln will begin firing, taking up where it left off.

How to Customize Cone-Fire

You can customize a Cone-Fire program using Ramp-Hold. (Seethenextsection.) On pages13and14,ta bles show thesegments used to program each cone number

in Cone-Fire. For instance, a cone 016 firing at medium

speed ( )uses these two segments:

Segment °F/°C °F/°C Hold

1 396/220 1314/712 00.00 2 108/60 1422/772 00.00

Rate Temp.

Page 6

Cone-Fire Firing Instructions

From , press .

Using the key (not the ),

by-pass and select . Then press

Suppose your 016 witness cone, at a medium speed fir ing, onlybarelystarted to bend. Tofire 25° hotter, raise the target temperature of segment 2 by 25°:

1422 + 25 = 1447

This is the program you would enter in Ramp-Hold:

Rate Temp.

Segment °F/°C °F/°C Hold

1 396/220 1314/712 00.00 2 108/60 1447/786 00.00

You could also easily add a slow cooling segment:

Rate Temp.

Segment °F/°C °F/°C Hold

1 396/220 1314/712 00.00 2 108/60 1447/786 00.00 3 100/55 1000/537 00.00

The lastpyrometriccone youfired, andits tem

perature, will appear. Use the arrow keys to change the cone number. Then press .

(slow) (medium) or will appear. Use the arrow keys to change speed. Then press .

andthehold timefrom thelast firingwill appear (e.g. 1 hour 10 minutes = 01.10). Use the arrow keys to change the hold time. Then press .

will appear. Press . will appear, the Run indicator light with begin blinking, and the kiln will begin firing.

To stop a firing before completion, press

. will appear, alternating with kiln

temperature.

Note: Do not be concerned if your kiln makes a clicking sound during firing. Kilns use relays to power the elements. The relays click each time their electrical contacts come together.

Note: Thekiln’s actualfiring ratemay beless than the rate you programmed, depending on the kiln model, available voltage, and density of the load you are firing.

When the kiln fires to completion, it willbeep for 30

seconds. The display will show the following:

Firing time

Present temperature

To return to , press .

= fired to completion

Ramp-Hold Mode

Theory of Operation

The temperature you are firing to is called the target temperature. After the controller reaches the target temperature, it can also hold that temperature.

The controllerfiresat acontrolled heatingrate. Therate is figured in degreesper hour. If you selecteda rate of 100° per hour, it would take10 hours forthe kiln to reach1000°. Rate is similar to “miles per hour.”

In summary, the controller does three basic tasks:

1) It fires at a controlled heating rate, or speed, mea

sured in degrees of temperature change per hour.

2) It fires to a target temperature.

3) It can hold the target temperature.

The controller fires in segments, or stages. A segment is a given heating rate to a target temperature. Shown in the chart onthenext page(upper leftcolumn)is asegment with a target temperatureof1250°andarateof 625°, with a hold of one hour.

Heating rate is figured in degrees per hour. The recom mended heating rate for the material you are firing is usu ally available from your supplier. It also varies depending on the thickness of the material.

To figure how long a firing segment will take, subtract the current temperature from the target temperature and divide the resultant temperature by theheating rate. Inthe upper diagram, next page, the firing time is 1250° - 80° (room temperature) = 1170 ÷625 = 1.87 hours.

6 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

Page 7

The controller can fire up to 8 segments per firing. One

segment is often all that is needed, though.

After the controller has finished firing the last segment,

it will turn off power to the elements.

Rate

Each segment must include a rate, which is degrees of

temperature change per hour.

The kiln will fire at full power when the rate is

1799°F/999°C. Full power displays as .

Note: To select full power from , press the

key once.

Repeat Firings

To repeat the last firing, press from . The kiln will begin firing. But first, makesure you are repeating the correct firing by using Program Review (page 3).

Programming a Cooling Segment

For controlled cooling, program a segment to a lower target temperature than that of the preceding segment.

Example: You fire at a rate of 500°F per hour to 1450°F with your first segment. You want the kiln to cool at a rate of 100°F per hour down to 700°F. Here is how you would program the two segments:

Rate Temp.

Segment °F/°C °F/°C Hold

1 500/277 1450/788 00.00 2 100/55 700/371 00.00

The first segment is the heating segment. The second one isthe cooling segment. The controllerdoes not usemi nus numbersfor cooling. Just enter a lowertargettempera ture than that of the previous segment.

If you prop the lid or door for a fast cooling, program a fast coolingratefor thatsegment.If youlowerthe temperature quicklyby propping the lid butprograma slow cooling rate, the controller will just raise the temperature again.

Example: Someglass artistsflash-coolthe glassjust after it fuses. They open the door a few inches to remove heat, then close it again. This takes the glass down rapidly through the devitrification range. To programa flash-cool, use maximum rate. This shuts off theheatingelementsduring that segment, allowing the kiln to cool rapidly.

Hold

Hold maintains a steady temperature for the length of time you specify. Youcan use Hold in both heating-up and cooling-down segments.

When Hold is set to 99.59 hours, the controller will re main at that temperature indefinitely, until you press

. To enter a 99.59 hour Hold, press the

once from 00.00 during programming.

Note: During firing, the display shows Hold tempera ture and time left in Hold.

Temperature Over-Shoot

When akiln is heated toofast,it may over-shoot thetar get temperature,especially in small kilns atlowertempera tures. To avoidthis, add an extrasegment in a Ramp-Hold program to slow the firing. The segment with the slower rate should begin approximately 40° - 60° below the target temperature.

Note: During fastcooling, do not open the door allthe way. Do not force-cool the kiln with a fan.

A Ramp-Hold Practice Program

To practiceusing the controller,we will enter aprogram that includes three segments. The last segment is a cooling segment.

Using the programming instructions on the next page,

enter this firing schedule. Thenuse Program Review(page

3) to check for accuracy.

Page 8

PrOG rA1 = 250 °F1=750 HLd 1 = 00.00 rA2 = 900 °F 2 = 1425 HLd 2 = 00.30 rA3 = 150 °F3=750 HLd 3 = 00.00 rA4 = 0000 (zeroes cancel segments 4-8)

Skipping a Segment in a Ramp-Hold Program

You canskip a segment in a Ramp-Hold program as fol

lows:

The kiln is firing. Press the key.

will appear. Press the key again.

The firing will skip to the next segment.

Ramp-Hold Programming Instructions

Note: Up to 8 segments are available in Ramp-Hold. If you don’t need all 8, zero out the unused segments.Seestep 6below. Enteringa new program automatically over-writes the previous program.

From , press .

Using the key (not the ),

by-pass and select . Then press

will appear. Enter firing rate (tempera

ture change per hour) for segment 1. (1° = slowest rate. 1799°F/999°C = full power.) Then press .

or and thetargettemperature from the last firing will appear. Use the arrow keys tochangethe temperature.Then press .

Skip Segment Example

grammed a target temperature of 1425°F for glass fusing, followed by a segment for controlled cooling. Watching the glass through the peephole, you notice that the glassedges have rounded nicelyat 1375°F. Use Skip Segment to end the firing segment and begin the one for slow cooling.

Note: Make a note of the temperature at which the glass fused. Program that temperature for the nextfiring of that type of glass.

You have pro-

and the hold time from the last firing will appear (e.g. 1 hour, 10 minutes = 01.10). Use the arrow keys to change the hold time. Then press .

Continue entering values for the segments needed. When appears for the next segment that you don’t need, select . Then press . This will zero out the remaining segments. (Example: You need only 1 segment. When appears, enter .)

will appear. Press to begin firing.

will appear and the Run indicator light

with begin blinking. The kiln is now firing.

To stop a firing before completion, press

. will appear,alternating with total

firing time and kiln temperature.

Note: Do not be concerned if your kiln makes a clicking sound during firing. Kilns use relays to power the elements. The relays click each time their electrical contacts come together.

Note: Thekiln’s actualfiring ratemay beless than the rate you programmed, depending on the kiln model, available voltage, and density of the load you are firing.

8 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

When the kiln fires tocompletion, it willbeep for 30

seconds. The display will show the following:

Firing time

Present temperature

To return to , press .

= Fired to completion

Page 9

Lost Wax Burnout

CAUTION: Only kilns with vent holes are designed for lost wax burnout. However, you can use a kiln with out the vent hole provided that you open the door ½” during venting.

CAUTION: Always use a wax tray.

Note: These instructions apply to injection wax that

melts at 200°F, not pattern waxes and plastics that melt at higher temperatures. If smoke appears during wax elimination, turn off the kiln. Smoking wax means the kiln fired hotter than 300°/148°C.

Overview

Lost wax casting is the process of carving a shape in wax and thencastingthat shapein metal.After thewax hasbeen carved, a moldis made of the wax shape. The moldis a neg ative image of the wax. The wax is later melted out of the mold through hollow channels called sprues.

Lost wax burnout is the process of preparing a casting mold for the melted metal that will be poured into it. The steps in lost wax burnout:

Melt the wax from the mold. Remove wax from the kiln before raising the tem-

perature higher than 300°F/148°C. Harden the mold at high temperature. Maintain the mold at the casting temperature rec-

ommended forthe type of metalthat will bepoured into the mold.

CAUTION: Prevent wax or carbon from contacting the kiln’swallsand elements.Carbonbuild-up insidea kiln ruinsthe interior. Carbon conducts electricityand causes elements to short circuit. Damage to elements from contact with foreign materials is not covered by warranty.

A Sample Program

See instructions on page 8 to enter this program:

Rate Temp.

Segment °F/°C °F/°C Hold

1 500/277 300/148 01.00 2 500/277 1350/732 01.00 3 450/250 800/426 02.00

Segment 1 heats thewax to 300°F/148°C and holds it for one hour, allowing it to drip from the mold.

Segment 2 hardens the mold.

Segment 3 lowers temperatureto 800°F/426°C, the typi cal casting temperature for silver. (Most types of gold cast at 900°F/482°C.)

Note: Casting temperature depends on the size of the mold. The temperatures above are only a guide. See your jewelry supply dealer for temperature recommendations.

Burnout Instructions

Place a metal tray inside the kiln on three ½” posts. Place the mold on a wire mesh screen on top of the tray. The mold’s sprue hole should be down. The tray willcatch melting wax asitdrips from thesprue hole.

Keep thekiln’s vent hole(s),if any, openduring wax

elimination. If the kiln has no vent hole, leave the door open ½”. This allows fumes to escapethe kiln. Heat the kiln to 300°F/148°C and hold it at thattem perature for at least one hour.

Note: DoNOTheat thewax above300°F/148°C.Hold at 300°F/148°Cforat leastone hour.During thishour, the waxwill meltfrom themold anddrip into thetray. If the kiln gets hotter than 300°F/148°C, the wax may smoke and deposit carboninsideyourkiln, causing expensive damage.

After one hour at 300°F/148°C, open the kiln. Remove the mold and wax tray. Pour the wax from the tray andleavethe tray out ofthe kiln until yournext waxelimination.(Do notleave thetrayin thekiln!)

Heat themoldto the temperature recommended by

your jewelers’ supply house where you purchased the mold material. This is usually around 1350°F/732°C.

Lower the temperature to the casting temperature of the metal. Hold at that temperature untilyou are ready tobegincasting.Remove themoldwith tongs. Wear protective gloves and safety glasses.

Saving a Carbon-Damaged Kiln

If you follow the above directions, your kiln should be safe from wax damage. In some cases, a small amount of carbon may form on the walls over a period of time. This is due to the burning of wax residue that was left in the mold. For thisreason werecommend thatyou periodicallyfirethe kiln to 1500°F/815°C as follows:

Open the vent cover(s) or leave the door ajar ½”.

Fire the kiln empty to 1500°F/815°C at a rate of

300°F/166°C with a one hour hold (01.00).

Page 10

Error Messages

BAdP / Bad Programming

The kiln will not fire because the program just entered

has a rate of 0000 in segment 1. Program the firing again.

EtH / Electronics Too Hot

The temperatureof the electronic circuit boardis above 158°F/70°C. This could damagethecontroller, so thefiring has been stopped. To prevent this, keep the firing room cooler. Use better ventilation.

The powerfailed during firing andkiln temperature was

below 212°F/100°C when the power came back on.

tC / Thermocouple Failure

The thermocouplefailed orwas disconnectedduring the

display. See “FaIL,” column at left.

Selecting °F or

FaIL / Thermocouple Failure

The thermocouple, or temperaturesensor, failedduring firing. Causes:

Defective thermocouple or disconnected/loose wires

Defective controller

Electrical noise

Thermocouple Paperclip Test

Check the thermocou ple wire connections. (See your kiln instruction manual.) If connections are tight, perform this test:

UNPLUG the kiln or disconnect the power. Remove thecontroller.Remove thetwothermocouple wiresfrom theback of the controller.

Cut a thin paperclip in half. Insert a U-shaped paperclip piece, or other piece of thin wire, where you removed the thermocouple wires.

Plug in the kiln. If the controller displays room

temperature,replacethe thermocouple.Ifit shows

, replace the controller.

°C Display

The controller can display temperature in either °F or °C. If your controllershows a smalldisplay dot inthe lower right corner ofthedisplay,the temperatureshown is °C.No dot means °F. To change temperature display:

UNPLUG kiln or disconnect power. Remove thefour screws thathold the controllerto

the frontof the kiln.Carefullyremove the control ler from the kiln. Leave wires attached to the con troller.

TCR / Thermocouple Reversed

Thermocouple lead wires are reversed.

FtL / Fired Too Long

This messageappearswhen both of thefollowing condi

tions are met:

The temperature rise is less than 27°F/15°C per hour.

The firing is 4 hours longer than programmed.

See “Controller turns on. No heat in kiln,” page 11.

PF 1 / Power Failure

The powerfailed duringfiring andtemperature dropped more than 180°F/100°C by the time the power came back on.

10 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

Look atthe backof thecontroller. Aplastic jumper

on the back of the board determines the type of temperature display. When the jumper connects two pin-typeterminals, display reads °F. When the jumper is removed, display reads °C. Remove or insert the jumper as desired. (You can purchase the jumper from a computersupply store if neces sary.)

Install the controller being careful not to jar com ponents on the back of the controller against the kiln case.

Page 11

Display

Trouble Shooter

Messages

The firing was stopped.

(page 8) This is the prompt for Cone-Fire mode. Press the key to select Cone-Fire.The controller is then ready for you to select a pyrometric cone number.

Fired tocompletion. Ifthe kilnis alreadyhotter thanthe programmed targettemperature when you begin firing, will appear immediately after you begin firing.

(page 3) Delay is a count-down timer that starts the

kiln when the time runs out.

or (and temperature) (page 8) The target tem perature (the temperature that the kiln will fire to). Each seg ment has a target temperature.

Full power firing rate in Ramp-Hold mode. At this set ting the kiln will fire at its fastest rate. Select a rate of 1799°F/999°C at the prompt in Ramp-Hold mode. A fast way to dothis isto press the key once from .

will appear.

(pages 5, 7) Hold time of a segment, shown in hours

and minutes. (i.e. 2 hours 15 minutes = 02.15.)

(page 3) The controller is ready for you to enter a pro-

gram or to begin a repeat firing.

Firing has begun. A moment after appears, you

will hear the relay(s) clicking.

(page 4)Select thisoption toprogram acustom firing.

etc. (Rate) (page 8) This appears in Ramp-Hold programming for each segment.1, 2, etc. are seg ment numbers. Enter the rate of temperature change for that segment. Rate is figured in degreesof temperature change per hour. Example:

A temperature rise of 100° in two hours = 50° rate.

A temperature drop of 200° in one hour = 200° rate.

(Skip Step)(page 8) This message appears whenyou press the key during a Ramp-Hold firing. If you press the key again,the firingwill skipto thenext segment.

The firing was stopped by pressing .

The “Ready to Start” message appears after program

ming a firing. Press to begin firing.

Problem: Controller display is blank. No heat in kiln.

Is the kiln connected to the power?

Has the circuit breaker tripped or fuse blown?

Is power reaching the wall receptacle? Test with a voltmeter or test light if you are not sure.

Has the kiln switch box ½ amp fuse blown?

The kiln’s ½ amp fuse is located in the kiln switch box. Remove by pressing the fuse holder and turning counter-clockwise half a

turn. Check the fuse by plac

ing the probes of anohmme ter on the endsof the fuse.If

the ohmmeter reads less than an ohm (digital meter) or reads 0 ohms (analog me ter), the fuse is okay. If the reading is OPEN (digital meter) or infinity/no needle movement (analog meter), the fuse is bad. Replacement fuse:

AGC 1/2 A 250V AC

Is the controller receiving power? Test the power INPUT connections on the back of the controller with a voltmeter.

Controller Power Input Test

Unplug the kiln. Re move the 4 screws holding

the controller faceplate to the switch box. Lift face plate out of box and letthe board hang on the box with the back of the board facing you. Plug the kiln back in. Touch voltmeter probes (in AC mode) to both INPUT connections (the white and orange wires).

CAUTION: Do not let the back of the board touch a grounded object. Make sure the voltmeter is in the AC modewhenplacing theprobes onINPUTconnections.

Controller Power Input Test Result: No voltage

UNPLUG kiln. Check the switch box for disconnected wires betweenthecord, transformer, and controller. If wir ing is okay, replace the transformer.

Controller Power Input Test Result: 20 - 24 volts AC

Correct current is reaching the board from the trans former. Butsince the board isnot lighting up, itis probably defective.Returnthe controllerfor repairor replacement.

Page 12

Controller Power Input Test Result: less than 20 volts

Did you recently replace the transformer?It may be the wrong voltage.Thevoltageis below20,whichisnot enough power for the controller. To find out the cause of low volt age, continue below:

Controller Input Test #2

The back oftheboardis still facingyou and thekiln is plugged in. Remove the INPUT plug, which is the white, orange, and blue wires, from the backof the controller. Touch a volt meter probe to the white wire and the other probe to the orange wire.

Input Test #2 Result: Less than 20 Volts AC

There are two possible reasons: 1) Low voltage at the wall receptacle;2) defective transformer. If wallreceptacle voltage is correct, replace the transformer.

Input Test #2 Result: 20 - 24 Volts AC

The transformer is sending correct voltage to the con troller. Yet when the INPUT plug was connected to the controller, voltagewas lessthan20. Thismeansthe control ler is draining the voltageand is defective. Return the controller for repair or replacement.

Problem: Controller display turns on. No heat in kiln.

Is the relay making its normal clicking sound?

Yes, the relay is clicking.

Test the elements with an ohmmeter:

Element Resistance Test

UNPLUG kiln/disconnect the power. Open the kiln’s switch box. Make sure the wires connecting the relay to the elements are secure. If connec tions are okay, continue to step 2:

Touch theohmmeterleads tothe twoelement con

nectors of each element. A no-needle-movement reading on an analog meter, or OPEN on a digital meter, indicates a broken element.

If the elements check out okay, replace the relay.

Note: To replace relay, see your kiln’s instruction and service manual.

No, the relay is not clicking.

We knowthecontrolleris receivingvoltage, becausethe display is lit. But the voltage from the transformer may be too low topowerthe relays.Performthe“Controller Power Input Test,”page 10.If yourcontroller passesthe inputtest, perform the “Controller Power Output Test”:

Controller Power Output Test

Is thecontrollersending voltageto therelay? TestOUT

PUT with a voltmeter:

12 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

UNPLUG thekiln/disconnectthe power. Remove

the 4screws holding the controller faceplate to the

switch box. Lift faceplate out of box and let the controller hang on the outside of the box with the back of the board facing you. Then plug the kiln back in.Program the controller to fire to 1000°F at FULL rate in Ramp-Hold mode. Press .

Put the voltmeter in DC mode. (It must be in DC mode when testing OUTPUT voltage.) Touch probes to the red wireand black wire connections. Measure voltage when the relay clicks on.

Output Test Result: No voltage at red and black wires

The controller is notsending power tothe relay. Return

the controller for repair or replacement.

Output Test Result: 10 - 14 v. at red and black wires

The controlleris sending correct power to therelay.Un plug kiln/disconnect power. Remove the kiln switch box. Look for disconnected wires between the controller, relay and elements. Check the wiring diagram to be sure wires are connectedto thecorrectterminals. Besure connections are tight. If the wiring is okay, replace the relay.

Note: To replace relay, see your kiln’s instruction and service manual.

Problem: Kiln switch box ½ amp fuses keep blowing.

What size fuse are you using? Correct fuse: AGC ½ A 250V AC.

If thefuse isthe correctsize, performthefollowing test:

Kiln Switch Box ½ Amp Fuse Power Test

UNPLUG thekiln/disconnectthe power. Remove

the 4 screws holdingthecontrollerboard faceplate to the switch box. Lift faceplateout of box and let the board hang on the outside of the box with the back of the board facing you. Disconnect both wire plugs from the back of the controller. Then plug the kiln back in. Apply power to kiln. If fuse blows, replace the trans former. (If thefuse does not blow, the problemisa board or relay. Go to step 2.)

Connect theINPUT plug (orange,blue, and white

wires) to the board again.Leave off the OUTPUT wire plug (the one with the red, green and black wires). Program the controller to fire to 1000°F at FULL rate in Ramp-Hold mode. Press .If the fuseblows, replace or service the board.(If the fuse does not blow, the problem is caused by a

short in the coil of a relay. Go to step 3.) UNPLUG kiln/disconnect power. Reconnect the

OUTPUT wire plug. Reinstall the board in the switch box. Replace the relay.

Page 13

Cone-Fire Schedules - °F

These aretheMedium Speedfiring schedulesprogrammed inCone-Fire mode.To customizea schedule,write downyour

changes on a separate sheet of paper. Then load your new schedule into Ramp-Hold.

Note: Your controller accepts only cone numbers that fall within the kiln’s maximum temperature range.

Low Fire Cones °F

Segment 1 Segment 2

Cone Rate 1 Temp. 1 Rate 2 Temp. 2

022 396 979 108 1087 021 396 1004 108 1112 020 396 1051 108 1159 019 396 1144 108 1252 018 396 1211 108 1319 017 396 1252 108 1360 016 396 1314 108 1422 015 396 1348 108 1456 014 396 1377 108 1485 013 396 1431 108 1539 012 396 1474 108 1582 011 396 1499 108 1607

Medium Fire Cones °F

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4

Cone Rate 1 Temp. 1 Rate 2 Temp. 2 Rate 3 Temp. 3 Rate 4 Temp. 4

010 324 1022 153 1112 180 1549 108 1657

09 324 1022 153 1112 180 1580 108 1688 08 324 1022 153 1112 180 1620 108 1728 07 324 1022 153 1112 180 1681 108 1789 06 324 1022 153 1112 180 1720 108 1828 05 324 1022 153 1112 180 1780 108 1888 04 324 1022 153 1112 180 1837 108 1945 03 324 1022 153 1112 180 1879 108 1987 02 324 1022 153 1112 180 1908 108 2016 01 324 1022 153 1112 180 1938 108 2046

High Fire Cones °F

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4

Cone Rate 1 Temp. 1 Rate 2 Temp. 2 Rate 3 Temp. 3 Rate 4 Temp. 4

1 324 1022 153 1112 162 1863 108 2079 2 324 1022 153 1112 162 1872 108 2088 3 324 1022 153 1112 162 1890 108 2106 4 324 1022 153 1112 162 1908 108 2124 5 324 1022 153 1112 162 1951 108 2167 6 324 1022 153 1112 162 2016 108 2232 7 324 1022 153 1112 162 2046 108 2262 8 324 1022 153 1112 162 2064 108 2280 9 324 1022 153 1112 162 2084 108 2300

10 324 1022 153 1112 162 2129 108 2345

Page 14

Cone-Fire Schedules - °C

These aretheMedium Speedfiring schedulesprogrammed inCone-Fire mode.To customizea schedule,write downyour

changes on a separate sheet of paper. Then load your new schedule into Ramp-Hold.

Note: Your controller accepts only cone numbers that fall within the kiln’s maximum temperature range.

Low Fire Cones °C

Segment 1 Segment 2

Cone Rate 1 Temp. 1 Rate 2 Temp. 2

022 220 526 60 586 021 220 540 60 600 020 220 566 60 626 019 220 618 60 678 018 220 655 60 715 017 220 678 60 738 016 220 712 60 772 015 220 731 60 791 014 220 747 60 807 013 220 777 60 837 012 220 801 60 861 011 220 815 60 875

Medium Fire Cones °C

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4

Cone Rate 1 Temp. 1 Rate 2 Temp. 2 Rate 3 Temp. 3 Rate 4 Temp. 4

010 180 550 85 600 100 843 60 903

09 180 550 85 600 100 860 60 920 08 180 550 85 600 100 882 60 942 07 180 550 85 600 100 916 60 976 06 180 550 85 600 100 938 60 998 05 180 550 85 600 100 971 60 1031 04 180 550 85 600 100 1003 60 1063 03 180 550 85 600 100 1026 60 1086 02 180 550 85 600 100 1042 60 1102 01 180 550 85 600 100 1059 60 1119

High Fire Cones °C

Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Segment 4

Cone Rate 1 Temp. 1 Rate 2 Temp. 2 Rate 3 Temp. 3 Rate 4 Temp. 4

1 180 550 100 600 90 1017 60 1137 2 180 550 100 600 90 1022 60 1142 3 180 550 100 600 90 1032 60 1152 4 180 550 100 600 90 1042 60 1162 5 180 550 100 600 90 1066 60 1186 6 180 550 100 600 90 1102 60 1222 7 180 550 100 600 90 1119 60 1239 8 180 550 100 600 90 1129 60 1249 9 180 550 100 600 90 1140 60 1260

10 180 550 100 600 90 1165 60 1285

14 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

Page 15

Temperature Equivalents For

Orton Self-Supporting Pyrometric Cones

°F

Cone Self-Supporting Cones Pre-Fire Num-ber Color

Heated at: 27° F 108° F 270° F

Per Hour* Per Hour* Per Hour*

022 — 1087 1094 Green 021 — 1112 1143 Fuschia 020 — 1159 1180 Orange 019 1213 1252 1283 Yellow 018 1267 1319 1353 White 017 1301 1360 1405 Pink 016 1368 1422 1465 Light Blue 015 1382 1456 1504 Violet 014 1395 1485 1540 Gray 013 1485 1539 1582 Green 012 1549 1582 1620 Fuschia 011 1575 1607 1641 Orange 010 1636 1657 1679 Dark Red 09 1665 1688 1706 Dark Red 08 1692 1728 1753 Dark Red 07 1764 1789 1809 Dark Red 06 1798 1828 1855 Dark Red 051/2 1839 1859 1877 Dark Red 05 1870 1888 1911 Dark Red 04 1915 1945 1971 Dark Red 03 1960 1987 2019 Dark Red 02 1972 2016 2052 Dark Red 01 1999 2046 2080 Dark Red

1 2028 2079 2109 Dark Red 2 2034 2088 2127 Dark Red 3 2039 2106 2138 Dark Red 4 2086 2124 2161 Gray 5 2118 2167 2205 Green 51/2 2133 2197 2237 White 6 2165 2232 2269 Fuchsia 7 2194 2262 2295 Orange 8 2212 2280 2320 Yellow 9 2235 2300 2336 White

10 2284 2345 2381 Pink

*Rate of temperature increase duringlast 90 - 120 minutes of firing. Tables by courtesy of the Edward Orton, Jr. Ceramic Foundation.

°C

Cone Self-Supporting Cones Pre-Fire

Number Color

Heated at: 15° C 60° C 150° C

Per Hour* Per Hour* Per Hour*

022 — 586 590 Green 021 — 600 617 Fuschia 020 — 626 638 Orange 019 656 678 695 Yellow 018 686 715 734 White 017 705 738 763 Pink 016 742 772 796 Light Blue 015 750 791 818 Violet 014 757 807 838 Gray 013 807 837 861 Green 012 843 861 882 Fuschia 011 857 875 894 Orange 010 891 903 915 Dark Red 09 907 920 930 Dark Red 08 922 942 956 Dark Red 07 962 976 987 Dark Red 06 981 998 1013 Dark Red 051/2 1004 1015 1025 Dark Red 05 1021 1031 1044 Dark Red 04 1046 1063 1077 Dark Red 03 1071 1086 1104 Dark Red 02 1078 1102 1122 Dark Red 01 1093 1119 1138 Dark Red

1 1109 1137 1154 Dark Red 2 1112 1142 1164 Dark Red 3 1115 1152 1170 Dark Red 4 1141 1162 1183 Gray 5 1159 1186 1207 Green 51/2 1167 1203 1225 White 6 1185 1222 1243 Fuchsia 7 1201 1239 1257 Orange 8 1211 1249 1271 Yellow 9 1224 1260 1280 White

10 1251 1285 1305 Pink

*Rate of temperature increase duringlast 90 - 120 minutes of firing. Tables by courtesy of the Edward Orton, Jr. Ceramic Foundation.

Page 16

Shorthand Instructions

These instructions maybe confusing until you have readmoredetailedinstructions on Cone-Fire, page 6, or Ramp-Hold,

page8.Read thesafety guidelines,page 2.After pressingthe keysin theleft column,the messageinthe centerwill appear.

Cone-Fire

Keys to Press Display

(Not Down Arrow) Select COnE

/ (Last cone fired)

Select cone number / (Sample cone)

Select speed (Sample speed)

Enter Hold Time (Or hold time)

Ramp-Hold

Keys to Press Display

(Not Down Arrow)

Enter Segment 1 rate (Sample rate)

Enter Temperature (Sample temperature)

Enter Hold Time (Or hold time)

First segment not needed: enter a rate of 0000.

The kiln is now firing.

16 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold

The kiln is now firing.