Paragon Sentry 3.0 Instructions Manual

Sentry 3.0

Digital Temperature Controller

Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold Instructions

Cone-Fire (pg 10-13)

From IDLE, press 1.

Basic firing to a cone num ber. Enter cone number, speed, pre-heat, hold, and slow cool.

Ramp-Hold (pg 14-18)

From IDLE, press 4.

Select stored program (1 - 4). Enter rate, temperature, and hold for each segment.

Edit Ramp-Hold (pg 7)

During firing, press 4.

Change the current segment rate. Press ENTER. Change temperature. Press ENTER. Change the hold. Press ENTER. The kiln will continue firing.

Alarm (pg 8-9)

From IDLE or during firing, press 7.

Enter a temperature. When alarm sounds during firing, press 7. To silence, press 0, then Enter.

Enter/Start

1) Press ENTER/Start after each step in programming a firing.

2) Press ENTER/Start once from

[IDLE] to begin firing.

Firing Cost (pg 9)

Press 8 after the kiln fires to completion.

The cost of the last firing will appear. (First enter electrical cost in the

[CENT] option and kiln

wattage in the tion, pg 23.)

[KW] op

Options (Next Page)

From IDLE, press 0. Press ENTER for the option displayed.

Turnthepagetoexplore the ways you can custom ize your controller.

Stop/Back (pg 10)

Press during firing or programming.

1) Stops a firing.

2) In Options, takes you

back to

3) During programming,

takes you back one step

each time key is pressed.

[IDLE].

Delay (pg 7)

From IDLE, press 3.

Enter time in hours:minutes. Delays the start of firing.

Add Time (pg 7)

During firing, press 2.

Each additional key press adds five minutes to a hold. It works in both Ramp-Hold and Cone-Fire.

Present Status (pg 8)

During firing, press 5.

Shows the rate of heating or cooling and the segment that is currently firing. Works in both Ramp-Hold and Cone-Fire.

Program Review (pg 8)

From IDLE or during firing, press 6.

Shows the program that is loaded in memory and ready to fire, or the one that is firing.

Cone Table & Skip Segment (pg 9)

From IDLE or during fir ing, press 9.

1) From IDLE, shows tempera ture for the cone # you enter.

2) While firing in Ramp-Hold, skips to any ramp you select.

3) While firing In Cone-Fire, skips out of Pre-Heat or Hold.

IM-204/12-18

QuickCone-Fireprogramming...page11 Ramp-Holdprogrammingforthepoweruser...page15 Errormessages...pages27-29 Confused about display messages? . . . pages 30 - 31

The Options

Before You Begin

CustomizeyourSentrywiththeOptions key. From IDLE, press Options (the 0 key) repeatedly until you see the desired option listed below. Then press ENTER. See pages 19 - 26 for details.

[SPD] Speed Alter the Fast, Medium, or Slow speeds of a

Cone-Fire program. (Pg 19)

[OFST] Cone Offset AdjustCone-Firetomatchthebend

ing of the witness cone. (Pg 20)

[COOL] Slow Cooling Turn on controlled cooling in

Cone-Fire. This can dramatically affect glazes. (Pg 21)

[FAN] Vent Fan Select when the vent fan will operate in

Cone-Fire. (This is an optional kiln upgrade.) (Page 21)

[DIAG] Amperage Test Find out why your kiln is slowing

down. Kiln must be equipped with an amp sensor. (Pg 21)

[TC] Thermocouple Type Select Type K, N, S or R thermo

couple. Use caution! Selecting the wrong type can over or underfire your kiln. (Pg 21)

[F/C] Select °F or °C temperature display. (Pg 22) [TCOS] Thermocouple Offset If your controller is firing too

hot or cold, adjust the thermocouple setting. (Pg 22)

[AOP1] [AOP2] AOP Outlet Select vent fan or alarm if

your kiln has an auxiliary output. This is a special-order kiln feature. (Pg 22)

[RATE] Rate Calculation Type Your controller is set for

degrees-per-hour rate by default. You can change the rate to temperature-reached-in-elapsed-time. (Pg 23)

[CENT] Electric Rate Enter rate shown on electric bill so

your controller can estimate the firing cost. (Pg 23)

[KW] TheCosttoFireKilnEnter your kiln’s wattage. (Pg

23)

[TEDE] Temperature Deviation Set temperature sensitivity

for FTH, FTC & LTdE errors. (Pg 24)

[HTDE] High Temperature Error Code Change the high

temperature shutoff setting. (Pg. 24)

[SFTY] Maximum temperature rating of your kiln. (P 25) [LIM] Set Max. Temp. Set your own maximum tempera

ture.(Pg.25)

[ELEC] Electronics Temp. Check the circuit board tem

perature for overheating. Useful in the summer. (Pg 25)

[LOCK] Program Lock Make a program tamper-proof.

Lock individual Ramp-Hold programs. (Pg 25)

[CFG] Configuration Code For technicians. (Pg 26) [SOFT] Software # (Pg 26) [TEST] Element Test (Pg 26) [RST] Reset Removes the thermocouple offset and returns

the board to factory defaults. (Pg 26)

[DIFF] Difference Multi-zone kilns: Shows the difference in

temperature between top and bottom zones. (Pg 26)

[T123] Zone Temperatures Multi-zone kilns: Shows the

temperature of each zone. (Pg 26)

Thank you for purchasing the Sentry 3.0 temperature controller. As you read the manual, pull up a chair and sit in front of your kiln so you can try out the keys.

The controller display messages are limited to four characters. If at any time you are con

fused by thesemessages, turn toAppendix A: Display Messages on pages 30 - 31.

The back cover is a shorthand guide to programming, to be used after you have

read the programming instructions on pages 10 and 14.

Do not worry if you hear a clicking noise during operation. Mechanical relays click as they turn the heating elements on and off. This is normal.

The warranty on your Sentry controller does not coverdamage from overfiring,regardless of the circumstances. It is the operator’s responsibility to make sure the kiln turns off at the end of the firing.

Instructions for multiple-zone kilns are included in this manual. If you are not sure whether your kiln is multiple-zone, look into the firing chamber. If you see two or three thermocouple tips, your kiln is mul tiple-zone. If you see only one thermocou

ple, skip multiple-zone instructions.

New Features With the Sentry 3.0, we are introducing the amperage test (DIAG option, page 21). The controller now has 35 programs in Ramp-Hold, with 20 seg

ments each. Lock individual programs with Program Lock (page 25). Adjust the maximum temperature of your kiln (page

25), and use a rate of tempera ture-reached-in-elapsed time if you pre

fer (page 23).

2 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold Do not leave your kiln unattended during operation.

Contents

Safety .................4

Quick habits for trouble-free firing.

1 Basic Pointers .........5

A quick read of this chapter will save you time later when you fire your kiln.

Two Ways to Fire Your Controller . . . 5

Hot and Cold Weather............5

Thunder Storms and Power Surges . 5

How to Read the Display..........5

Repeat Firings ..................6

Thermocouple Inspection .........6

Preventing an Overfire............6

2 The Keys .............7

Learn your way around the keypad.

The 1 Key / Cone-Fire ............7

The 2 Key / Add Time ............7

The 3 Key / Delay Fire............7

The 4 Key / Ramp-Hold / Edit ......7

The 5 Key / Present Status ........8

The 6 Key / Program Review ......8

The 7 Key / Temperature Alarm ....8

The 8 Key / The Firing Cost .......9

The 9 Key / Cone #s, Skip Segment 9

The ENTER/Start Key...........10

The Options Key...............10

The Stop/Back Key.............10

3 Cone-Fire ............10

Learn basic ceramic firing quickly and easily.

Cone-Fire Programming .........11

Speed SPD ...................12

Pre-Heat PRHT ................12

Hold HOLD ...................13

Slow Cooling COOL ............13

For Kilns with AOP Outlet ........13

4 Ramp-Hold...........14

Read this section for non-ceramic fir ingsandcustomizedprograms.

Theory of Ramp-Hold Operation. . . 14

Storing Programs ..............14

Ramp-Hold Programming ........15

Types of Rates.................16

Hold (HD #)...................16

AOPFan .....................16

Programming a Cooling Segment . 16

Temperature Overshoot .........17

Sample Firing Schedules ........17

Starting a Firing in a Hot Kiln .....18

When the Kiln Shuts Off Too Soon . 18

5 Multiple-Zone ........18

Only for kilns that have more than one thermocouple.

An Overview of Multiple-Zone Firing

.............................18

Thermocouple Failure

In a Multiple-Zone Kiln ..........18

Power Output Lights ............18

Testing Multiple-Zone Elements . . . 19

6 The Options ..........19

Become a power user with this chap ter. The information is here if you ever need it.

SPD / Cone-Fire Speed .........19

OFST / Cone Offset ............20

COOL / Slow Cooling ...........21

FAN / Controlling a Kiln Vent .....21

DIAG / Amperage Test ..........21

TC / Thermocouple Type ........21

F/C / Selecting °F or °C Display . . . 22

TCOS / Thermocouple Offset .....22

AOP1, AOP2 / Auxiliary Outlets . . . 22 RATE / Select Preferred

Type of Rate ..................23

CENT / Electric Cost ............23

KW / Kilowatts Used to

Calculate Firing Cost ............23

TEDE / Temperature Deviation ....24

HTDE / Adjust High

Temperature Deviation ..........24

SFTY / Maximum Temperature ....25

LIM / Set Maximum Temperature . . 25 ELEC / Electronics Temperature . . 25

LOCK / Program Lock...........25

CFG / Configuration Code .......26

SOFT / Software Version.........26

TEST / Element Test ............26

RST / Reset ...................26

DIFF / Zone Temperature

Difference ...................26

T123 / Zone Temperature Display . 26

7 Error Messages.......27

Error messages are like the heart rate monitor on a digital watch . . . They let you know when something is wrong.

FTC / Failed to Cool ............27

FTH / Failed to Heat ............27

LTDE / Low Temperature Deviation 27

PF / Power Failure ..............27

TC and 1, 2, or 3 / Multiple-Zone Kiln

Thermocouple Failure ...........27

----/ No Thermocouple.........27

BADP / Bad Programming .......27

ETH / Electronics Too Hot........28

FAIL / Thermocouple Failure .....28

FE 1 / Failed to Read/Write

To Memory ...................28

FE 4 / Unstable Analog-to-Digital Con version; Errors Detecting Thermocouple

Signal........................28

FTL / Firing Too Long ...........28

HTDE / High Temperature

Deviation .....................28

LAG / Thermocouple Lag ........28

LID / Missing Connector Pin ......28

OTL / Over Temperature Limit ....29

PF1 / Power Failure .............29

PF 2 / Power Failure ............29

PF 3 / Power Failure ............29

TC 2 / Thermocouple Failure .....29

TCDE / Uneven Multiple-Zone

Temperatures .................29

TCR / Thermocouple Leads

Reversed .....................29

Power Failures .................29

Appendix A: Display

Messages .............30

Come to this section often to master your controller.

Appendix B: Cone-Fire

Schedules.............32

Appendix C: Upgrading In

structions .............34

How to replace earlier Paragon con trollers (DTC 100, 600, 800 & 1000 Se ries) with the Sentry 3.0.

Appendix D: Orton Cone

Temperature Chart......36

Appendix E: Blank Records for your Kiln Log Book. . . 37

Make copies. Keep a log book of your firings. Build a knowledge base.

Appendix F: Ramp-Hold Shorthand Instructions. . 39

Appendix G: Cone-Fire Short

hand Instructions.......40

Keep the kiln lid or door closed when the kiln is not in use. 3

Safety Rules

The warranty on your Sentry 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 end of the firing.

Follow these safety rules in addition to the ones in your kiln manual:

When the kiln is not in use, disconnect the

power and keep the lid or door closed. (For

larger kilns with heavy cordsets, we recommend

a power disconnect box near the kiln.)

Large studio kilns should have a power disconnect box for the kiln. Place the box in the kiln room.

Do not leave the kiln unattended, especially

near the expected shut-off time. Do not leave a

kiln turned on at your studio while you are at

home sleeping.

Wear green #3 firing safety glasses when look

ing into the peephole of a hot kiln.

Do not touch hot sides of kiln. Keep unsuper

vised children away.

Install your kiln at least 12 - 18 inches from any

wall or combustible surface. (See manufac

turer’s recommendation for your model.)

Do not open lid or door until kiln has cooled and

all switches are off.

Fire only in a well-ventilated, covered and pro

tected area away from flammable materials.

Keep cordset away from hot sides of kiln.

DANGEROUS VOLTAGE! Do not touch

heating elements with anything. Disconnect

kiln before servicing.

Do not operate if the controller itself is hotter than 158°F / 70°C. (See instructions on page 25 for checking circuit board temperature.) Never allow the firing room temperature to exceed 110°F / 43°C. (Measure room temperature three feet from the kiln.)

Stop a firing by pressing the STOP button, not by disconnecting the power. In certain condi tions, the controller will interpreta power inter

ruption as a power failure and turn the kiln back on when you reconnect the power.

Place the kiln on the stand recommended by the manufacturer. When a kiln is safety tested, the lab fires the kiln on the stand designed for the kiln. Cinder blocksor brickscan inhibit the flow of air under the kiln. They can also change the kiln’s heating characteristics.

Place the kiln on a non-combustible surface.

Keep the kiln lid or door closed when the kiln is not in use. This keeps dust out of the kiln. Also, should someone turn on the kiln while you are away, the closed lid will keep the heat safely inside the firing chamber.

Never place anything on the kiln lid, even when the kiln is idle. If people become accustomed to placing papers and other objects on the kiln, they may forget and do that while the kiln is firing.

Remove all tripping hazards from around the kiln. Keep the kiln’s supplycord out of traffic areas.

Avoid extension cords.

Never fire tempered glass inside a kiln. It could

explode.

Greenware, which is unfired clay, must be bone dry before firing. Moist greenware can explode inside the kiln, damaging the ware and the kiln. Place a piece of greenware against the inside of your wrist. If it feels cool, it is too wet to fire.

Store kiln shelves in a dry area. Moist shelves can explode inside a kiln.

If you smell burning plastic, turn the kiln off. Examine the wall outlet and supply cord for

signs of burning.

Never place extra insulation around the kiln in an attempt to conserve energy. The extra insu

lation can cause the wiring and the steel case to over-heat.

Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold Do not leave your kiln unattended during operation.

Chapter 1

Basic Pointers

In This Chapter you will learn to . . .

Choose between Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold

Use the controller in freezing or hot weather

Understand the display window layout

Easily repeat the last firing

Make a quick visual check of your thermocouple

Avoid overfiring your kiln

Two Ways to Fire Your Controller

The Sentry fires in two modes:

Cone-Fire, based on pyrometric cones (page 10). Quickly program a ceramic firing by selecting a cone number and firing speed.

Ramp-Hold is for those who want to design their own firing schedules. Program custom firing rates and target temperatures (page 14).

Ceramic kilns come with both Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold. Heat treating, glass fusing, and enameling kilns come with Ramp-Hold only.

1 From [IDLE] display, press 1. If [CONE] appears,

you have Cone-Fire mode. If the 1 key does not respond, you have Ramp-Hold mode only.

2 Press STOP to bring thecontroller back to [IDLE] .

If you have Ramp-Hold only, skip pages 10 - 13.

Hot and Cold Weather; Storage Sheds

It is okay to store the Sentry at sub-zero temperatures. But before operating, raise the room temperature to at least 32°F / 0°C.

The Sentry will register sub-zero °F / °C temperatures. However, 32°F / 0°C is the lowest recommended operating temperature.

Pointer: Raise the room temperature with a space heater before firingthe kiln.Place thespace heater within a couple of feetof thecontrol panel and let it run for an hour or so. Or even hang a shop light

Hot weather pointer: Blow a gentle stream of air through the control panel of thekiln to reducethe temperature of thecontroller circuit board.

near the kiln to raise the temperature above freezing.

The circuit board is rated for 176°F / 80°C maximum op erating temperature. However, the maximum recom mended temperature is 158°F / 70°C, measured at the con troller inside thekiln switchbox. Tolower the temperature, open windows and blow air across the kiln’s switch box with a fan. Place several fans in the room during hot weather. (See page 25 to check circuit board temperature.)

High humidity will not adversely affect the Sentry unless water condenses on the circuit board. In this case, do not fire the kiln until the moisture has evaporated from the board.

Try to avoid firing your kiln during thunderstorms. Keep the kiln discon nected from the power when not in use.(Lake Grapevine, Texas. Photo by Jared Davidson.)

Thunder Storms and Power Surges

Unplug the kiln when not in use, especially during thunder storms and in areas that have frequent power surges. If the kiln is part way through a firing when a storm begins, it may be okay to continue the firing. When the kiln shuts off, disconnect the power.

CAUTION: When firing the kiln during a storm, do not leave the kiln unattended.

How to Read the Display

Center Dot: Time

A center dot appears when time is displayed. The dot sepa rates hours from minutes (i.e. 1 hour, 30 minutes = 01.30). Dur ing temperature display, the dot disappears.

Three-Light Display

The Sentry turns on the heat ing elements through relays. Power outputlights appear in the right side of the display when the Sentry sends a signal to turn on the relays. This lets you know when the elements turn on.

Single-Zone Kiln When theSentry turns onthe relays, the lights will appear. The number of lights that appear depend on the number of relays in your kiln.

Multiple-Zone Kiln The top light indicates power to the top section of the kiln, the middle light power to the middle section, and the bottom light power to the bot

Keep the kiln lid or door closed when the kiln is not in use. 5

tom section. (Two-zone kilns: The middle light does not turn on.)

Note: Though poweroutput lightsare on,mechan ical problems canprevent the elements themselves from turning on.

Single Right-Hand Dot: °C

When temperature is dis played in °C, a dot appears in the lower right. In°F display,it disap pears. You can choose between Fahrenheit and Celsius display. SeetheF/Coption, page 22.

IDLE Display: Kiln is Ready to Begin

The controller displays [IDLE] when you first apply power to the kiln. Operation begins from

[IDLE]. You can’t fire the kiln

[IDLE] appears. It means the kiln is ready to be pro

until grammed or to begin firing.

If you press STOP during a firing, [ABRT] will appear. To get back to

If the display shows an error message such as [FAIL] in stead of (See pages 27 - 29 for error messages.)

[CPLT] (firing completed) appears at theend of a firing.

To make

[IDLE], press any key.

[IDLE], Press any key to make [IDLE] appear.

[IDLE] appear, press any key.

CPLT Message: Firing Completed

When the firing has successfully completed, the Sentry will beep for 60 seconds and shut off the elements. Then four messages will cycle one after the other:

1 [CPLT] (complete)

2 Firing time in hours and minutes

3 The temperature reached during the last segment

that you programmed

4 The current kiln temperature

Note: After the kiln fires to completion, discon nect the power. It is okay to turn off the power to the controller while the kiln cools to room temperature.

Note: If the temperature alarm sounded (see page

9) before the kiln fired to completion, you will see

[ALAR] instead of [CPLT].PressENTER. [CPLT] will appear.

LID Display

This indicates that your kiln is equipped with a lid or door safety switch,and thelid or door is open. Thiswill turn off the elements.

If your kiln does not have a safety switch, or the kiln is closed, please see page 28.

Repeat Firings

To repeat the last firing, pressENTER from [IDLE].The

kiln will begin firing. This works in both Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold. But first,make sure you arerepeating the cor rect firing by using Program Review (see page 8). For re peat firings thatyou don’twant toinadvertently change,see Program Lock, page 25. Program Lock is especially useful in classroom settings.

Thermocouple Inspection

The small rod protruding into the firing chamber is the

temperature sensor, or thermocouple.

CAUTION: Bumping the thermocouple canpush it out of the firing chamber. This could cause an overfire! The controller does not contain an alarm to detect this type of failure. Bumping the thermo couple could also cause inaccurate readings.

Thermocouples come in different widths. The wider the thermocouple, the farther it should extend into the firing chamber. A ¼” - ½” diameter thermocouple should extend into the kiln about ¾” - 1”. (Do not be concernedif yourthermo couple extends into the firing chamber even farther.)

Note: Keep shelves, posts and ware 1” - 1 ½” away from the thermocouple. Keep an extra thermocouple on hand, especially if you fire hotter than 2000°F / 1093°C.

If you are using a separate portable controller, you will need to install the thermocouple on the kiln. See the sepa rate TnF 2 installation instructions.

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

Preventing an Overfire

Even though a digital controller turns off the kiln auto matically, you should monitor the kiln during firing. This is to prevent a possible overfire.

1 Remain nearby while the kiln is firing. Check the

kiln occasionally.

2 Set the temperature

alarm (page 8) to re mind yourself to check the kiln. If you are too farawaytohearthe alarm, you mighttry us ing a baby monitor.

3 After the kiln fires to

completion, disconnect the power. It is okay to turn off the power to the controller while the kilncools to room temper ature.

Pointer: Set a wristwatch alarm, cell phone, or even an alarm clock to remind you to check on your

6 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold Do not leave your kiln unattended during operation.

Chapter 2

The 12 Keys

In This Chapter you will learn to . . .

Check for mistakes before firing a program

Edit a program during a firing

Delay a firing to suit your schedule

Know which segment is firing at any time

Set an audible temperature alarm

Find out the electrical cost of a firing

Correcting Entries

If you enter the wrong temperature, cone, time, etc., while programming, enter 0000. Then enter the correct numbers before pressing ENTER. See also the Stop/Back Key, page 10.

Note: During programming mode on the previous Sentry 2.0 controllers, the display went back to

[IDLE] if you paused for one minute. On your new

Sentry 3.0, the display will no longer time out dur ing programming. You must advance or go back to exit programming.

The 1 Key / Cone-Fire

Cone-Fire mode fires yourkiln to a pyrometriccone. See Chapter 3, page10, for details. To find out if your Sentryincludes Cone-Fire:

1 From [IDLE] display, press 1. If [CONE] appears,

you have Cone-Fire mode. If the 1 key does not respond, you have Ramp-Hold mode only.

2 Press STOP to bring thecontroller back to [IDLE] .

The 2 Key / Add Time

This key adds five minutes to a Hold. It is designed for ceramists who watch witness cones and for glass artists who watch the glass near the fusing temperature.

1 During a firing, press 2. [HD ] plus the segment

number, and hold time, will appear. If that segment has no hold time,

2 Press 2 again.The time shownwill increase by5 min

utes.

3 To return to the temperature display, press any key

(except 2) or wait 10 seconds.

Note: Add Time willadd 5 minutes toa hold evenif no hold had been programmed before. After hold time appears in thedisplay, 5 minuteswill be added with each press of the key.

[00.00] will appear.

after each firing. Therefore, it must be programmed again for eachfiring. The maximum delay is 99 hoursand 59 min utes.

1 First, enter the Cone-Fire or Ramp-Hold program

you are going to fire.

2 From [IDLE] press 3. Enter delay time (i.e., 5 ½

hours = 05.30). Press ENTER.

3 To begin Delay, press ENTER once from [IDLE].A

Delay count-down timer will appear.

Note: Press START during delay to end the delay and begin the firing. (You could also press STOP to end the delay and then START to begin the firing.)

CAUTION: For safety, do notleave the kiln alone during a delay or a firing. We cannot guarantee your kiln against overfiring even though the con troller is automatic. The operator assumes full re sponsibility for shutting the kiln off at the proper time.

The 4 Key / Ramp-Hold / Edit

Ramp-Hold fires the kiln to the temperature you spec

ify, whereas Cone-Fire fires to a pyrometric cone. Press 4

[IDLE] to program a Ramp-Hold firing or to select a

from stored Ramp-Hold program. See “Ramp-Hold,” page 14.

Editing the Current Segment During Ramp-Hold Firing

Note: This feature works only in Ramp-Hold, not in Cone-Fire.

The 3 Key / Delay Fire

This delays the start of the firing by the amount of time entered. Use it to fit a firing into your schedule or to take advantage of lower electric rates at night. Delay zeroes out

Keep the kiln lid or door closed when the kiln is not in use. 7

While the kiln is firing in Ramp-Hold, you can change the target temperature, ramprate, andhold timeof thecur rent segment. (You can edit only the segment that is firing.

To edit other segments, wait until the firing has progressed to those segments.)

If the current segment has already started its hold time,

you can edit only the hold time.

1 During firing, press 4.

2 The display will show the rate of the current seg

ment. Use the number keys to change the rate. Then press ENTER.

3 The display willshow the targettemperature ofthe

current segment. Use the number keys to change the temperature. Then press ENTER.

4 The displaywill thenshow thehold timeof the cur

rent segment (or

[00.00] if there is no hold time).

Change the time, if needed, and press ENTER. The kiln will resume firing.

The 5 Key / Present Status

Press 5 during a firing to display the current segment

that is firing. (See page 14 for the definition of segments, rate, and hold.) The messages that can appear in Present Status:

[RA ] , the segment number, and the actual rate: The

Sentry is in the ramp part of a segment.

[HD ] and segment number: The Sentry is in the hold

part of a segment.

[PRHT] Cone-Fire Pre-Heat (see page 12).

[COOL] Cone-Fire Slow Cooling (see page 13).

Uses for Present Status:

You are firing a program that contains several heating and cooling segments. Without Present Status, it would be easy to lose track of which segment is firing.

In Cone-Fire, you may think the kiln has fired too long when it is actually only in a slow cooling.

Note: Present Status shows the actual firing rate of the current segment instead of only the rate you programmed. This is very useful in knowing how fast your kiln can actually fire.

The 6 Key / Program Review

Pointer: Use Program Review before every firing! It takes only seconds.

When you press ENTER to begin firing, the controller

will fire the program that is in active memory. Program Re view shows the values for that program. The program in ac tive memory is—

The program that you fired last, or

The program that you entered or selected since the last firing.

Start Program Review from

pressing 6.

[IDLE], or while firing, by

Note: In Program Review, Cone-Fire speed is dis played as the RA part of each segment. Cone-Fire Review shows the segments and ramp rates listed in the charts on pages 32 - 33.

The 7 Key / Temperature Alarm

If you need to know when your kiln reaches a particular temperature, set the alarm. The controller will beep and

[ALAR] will flashwhen thekiln reachesthe alarmtempera-

ture that you enter. Use the alarm to alert you to—

Lower the lid from the venting position and insert the peephole plugs.

Check the witness cone near shut-off time.

Check the glass before the expected fusing or slumping temperature. You can see the glass through a kiln win dow.

You can enter only one alarm temperature at a time. However, after the alarm beeps, you can set the alarm for another temperature, as many times asyou want, duringthe firing. Enteringan alarm temperature automatically erases the previous alarm temperature.

Note: The alarm temperature that you set during a firing must be higher than the current display tem perature. The alarm is designed only for higher

temperatures and not for cooling temperatures.

After the alarmbeeps, thealarm temperaturewill stayin memory for future firings until you replace it with a new temperature.

Monitoring the Alarm from a Distance

Place an inexpensive baby monitor near the kiln. From another location in your building, you will be able to hear the temperature alarm beeping and even the relaysclicking if your kiln has mechanical relays.

8 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold Do not leave your kiln unattended during operation.

Setting the Alarm From IDLE

1 From [IDLE], press 7. [ALAR] will appear alternat

ing with the last alarm temperature entered.

2 Enter new alarm temperature. Press ENTER.

[IDLE] will appear. (To disable the alarm, set the

alarm temperature to 0.)

Setting the Alarm During Firing

1 The alarm beeps while thekiln is firing. [ALAR]will

appear, alternating with the temperture. Press 7.

Note: By pressing the 8 key duringa firing, you can

seehowmuchthecostincreasesasthefiring progresses.

Pointer: If you wonder how much Slow Cooling adds to the cost of a firing, press the 8 key before Slow Cooling begins, and press it again after the kiln has fired to completion.

The 9 Key / Look Up Cone Numbers & Skip a Segment

2 Enter the new temperature. (To disable the alarm,

set the alarm temperature to 0.)

3 Press ENTER. [ALAR] will disappear, and the kiln

will continue firing.

If you touch 7, enter a new temperature, and forget to

press ENTER, the controller will continue firing without resetting the alarm. the kiln temperature.

Question The alarm on my Sentry sounds a min ute into each firing. Why is the alarm going off?

Answer The alarm was set to a temperature below the current temperature. To deactivate the alarm for your next firing, set it to 0.

[ALAR] will continue alternating with

The 8 Key / Estimating the Firing Cost

Cone Table

Look up a cone temperature with the 9 key. (See the next page for information on cones.)

1 From [IDLE] , press 9. [CONE] will appear, then

the cone, if any, currently programmed in Cone-Fire.

2 Enter a pyrometric cone number. Press ENTER.

The display will show the temperature forthat cone. If you enter a non-existentcone number, the display will repeat the last cone number thatyou looked up.

Note: Do not be concerned if the actual cone shut-off temperature does not match the Cone Table. The temperature of a cone varies with firing speed. The cone temperatures in Cone Table are for self-supporting cones fired at a rate of 108°F / 60°C per hour during the last hour of firing.

Skip a Segment

Skip Segment works only during a firing. It jumps from the current segment to the next one.

To skip a segment, press 9. ing with the number of the next segment. Press ENTER.

If you change your mind and don’t want to skip that seg ment, wait 10 seconds without pressing any key. You will exit the Skip option, and the firingwill continue in the same segment as before.

[SKIP] will appear alternat-

Your Sentry can give you the electrical cost of a firing. Photo by Nick Casberg.

The Sentry controller can figure the electrical cost of a

firing. Set up the controller as follows:

[CENT] option, enter the cost of a kilowatt-hour

In the

of electricity. See page 23.

[KW] option, enter the wattage for your kiln. See

In the

page 23.

After the kiln fires to completion,

Press the 8 key; of electricity to fire the last load will appear. To return to temperature display, press ENTER.

Note: If you enter the kiln wattage in the tion but you do not enter cost per kilowatt-hour in the

[CENT] option, the controller will display kilo

watt-hours instead of firing cost.

[IDLE] will appear. Press again; the cost

Keep the kiln lid or door closed when the kiln is not in use. 9

[CPLT] will flash.

[KW] op

Skip More Than One Segment

1 Press 9. [SKIP] will appear alternating with the

number of the next segment.

2 Press the 1(or 3)key. Keeppressing the1 (or 3)key

to scroll through the available segments. When you see the segment you want to skip to, press ENTER. The temperature display will return, and the kiln will fire in your chosen segment.

Note: As you scroll through the available seg ments, one of the options is you don’t want to skip to a different segment after all, press ENTER when

Skip Segment in Cone-Fire

See the segments in the Cone-Fire firing schedules on pages 32 - 33. Reasons to skip a segment in Cone-Fire:

To skip out of Pre-Heat and begin the cone firing. You might do this if the ware is dry and ready to fire before

[CANC] (Cancel). If

[CANC] appears.

Pre-Heat has ended. (You can tell by placing a small mirror near an open peephole.)

To skip out of Cone-Fire Hold. Slow Cooling will begin. (If the firing does not include Slow Cooling, Skip Seg ment will not end a Hold. PressSTOP to endthe firing.)

Skip Segment in Ramp-Hold

In Ramp-Hold, the firing will skip to the next segment from either a ramp or hold of the current segment. (See pages 14 - 18 for details on ramps, holds, and segments.)

Note: Skip Segment does not skip from a ramp to a hold. It skips to the new ramp.

Skip Segment Examples

For additional examples, see pages 17 - 18.

Cone-Fire

In Cone-Fire you are firing to an 05 witness cone for the first time. You select cone 04 with a 40 minute hold and a slow cooling. You can see the witness cone through a peephole. After 20 minutes in hold, the 05 witness cone bends to maturity. Use Skip Segment to end the hold and begin Slow Cooling.

Pointer: Once you know how much hold time will bend the witness cone, program that much hold for the next firing.

Ramp-Hold

Skipping to a Cooling Segment: You have programmed 2167°F for a cone 5 glaze firing, followed by a segment for slow cooling. Watching the witness cone through the peephole, you notice that cone 5 is bending at 2150°F. Use Skip Segment to end the firing segment and begin the one for slow cooling.

Chapter 3

Cone-Fire

In this chapter you will learn to . . .

See witness cones at high temperatures

Program a Cone-Fire program in minutes

Pre-heat the ware so it doesn’t explode

Bend a cone by adding extra hold time

Cool slowly (called down fire) to alter glazes

Cone-Fire mode is based on pyrometric cones. It is not designed for heat treating, glass fusing and enameling. For these firings, see “Ramp-Hold,” pages 14 - 18. Use Ramp-Hold to fire ceramic pieces that require a custom firing schedule, such as some types of stoneware sculp ture or crystalline glaze.

Before using Cone-Fire mode, read all of this chapter. Have your controller in front of you so you can try out the keys as youread.Formoredetailsonpyrometric cones, please see your kiln manual.

Pyrometric Witness Cones

Pointer: Make a note of the temperature at which the cone bent. Program that temperature for the next firing. Adds comments like thisto a firing log.

The ENTER/Start Key

Press ENTER after each step in programming a firing.

From [IDLE] press ENTER once to begin firing.

Press ENTER to access an Option. See pages 19 - 26.

0 / The Options Key

See Chapter 6, page 19.

The Stop/Back Key

You can stop a firing at any time by pressing STOP.If you inadvertently enter Ramp-Hold or Options, you do not have to go through all the prompts to get back out. Press STOP to go to

The STOP/BACK key works in Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold. It will take you back one step with each key press.

[IDLE].

Question A cone 5 firing was 7°F below the target listed in your manual, and a cone 6 firing was 22°F below the target. Is thistypical and okay? Is thedig ital controller on my kiln operating normally even though it did not achieve the controller tempera tures that were programmed at cone 5 and 6?

Answer This is normalfor Cone-Fire operation. If the kiln fires slower than the normal rate, it will shut off at a lower temperature. If the kiln fires faster than a normal rate, it will shut off at a higher temperature, sometimes by only a few degrees.

The Sentry controller shuts off automatically with out cones. Nevertheless, ev ery ceramic firing should in cludeatleastonewitness cone (also called the shelf cone). The witness cone is placed inside the kiln. The witness coneis the most accu rate measurement of heat work in a ceramic firing.

Use self-supporting witness cones on the shelf. They stand upright without cone holders.

10 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold Do not leave your kiln unattended during operation.

If you fire the same size load and type of ware regularly, the witness cones let you compare one firing to the next and alert you when something is wrong. For example, if the wit ness cone bends farther and farther with each consecutive firing, this may indicate thermocouple temperature drift.

Note: If the bending of the witness cone does not match the Cone-Fire shut-off, you may want to ad just Cone Offset or Thermocouple Offset. See pages 20 - 21. If the witness cones bend inconsis tently from one firing toanother, see “SentryTrou bleshooter,” a separate publication.

How to Position Cones on the Shelf

Position the witness cones so that you can see them through a peephole during firing. If the kiln takes longer than usual to fire, you may wonder if something hasgone wrong and the kiln is over-fir ing. But by seeing the cones, you will know howthe firing is actually progressing.

If you follow these guidelines, you should be ableto see the coneseven at cone 10:

Silhouette the lower part of the cone against an element. Keep the cone 8” - 12” away from the peephole.

1 Place thecones 8” - 12”away from a peephole. Posi-

tioning them closer makes them difficult to see.

2 Have enough space around the cones to keep them

from touching a piece of ware when they bend.

3 Position cones so that when viewed from the peep-

hole, they are silhouetted by a glowing heating element on the opposite kiln wall. (Keep cones at least 2” from an element.)

4 The element that silhouettes the cones should be

level with the lower part of the cone. If the element is in line with the upper part of the cone, you won’t be able to see the cone when it bends.

5 If you use the three cone system, always have the

higher temperature cone on the same side in every firing. Otherwise you can lose track of which cone is which.

6 Wear green #3 kiln firing safety glasses when view

ing the cones through the peephole.

See your dealer if in doubt about which cone number to use with each clay and glaze.

Firing Schedules

Cone-Fire uses three firing schedules:

Low fire cones 022 - 011

Medium fire cones 010 - 01

High fire cones1-10

Cone-Fire Programming

Use these instructions for your first firings. Later you mayprefer “Cone-Fire ShorthandProgramming,” page 40.

As the Sentry prompts for cone, speed, pre-heat, hold, and slow cooling,values enteredfor thelast firing will appear. To use these values again, press ENTER.

To fire without Delay or Alarm: Follow steps 1 through 7 below. Then from use Delay or Alarm, see also pages8-9.

[IDLE] press START.To

1 Apply power to the kiln. [8888] then [IDLE]

will appear. (Press ENTER if [IDLE] does not appear.)

2 Press 1. [CONE] will appear. Enter cone num

ber. (If the 1 key does not respond, your con troller has Ramp-Hold only.)

3 Press ENTER. [SPD] will appear. Enter speed:

FAST (1), MEDIUM (2), SLOW (3). (Me dium speed will display as

[STD].)

4 Press ENTER. [PRHT] will appear. To use

Pre-Heat (p. 12), entertime. Otherwise enter 0.

5 Press ENTER. [HOLD] will appear (pg 13). To

soak the ware at the end of firing, enter a hold time. Otherwise enter 0.

6 Press ENTER. [COOL] will appear (after you

have turned it on in Options, pg 13). To use Slow Cooling, enter cooling rate as degrees per hour. (180°F/82°C is the maximum coolingrate. Set 0 to turn Slow Cooling off.)

7 Press ENTER. [IDLE] will appear. 8 To set Alarm: Press 7. [ALAR] will appear.

Enter alarm temperature. (Press 0 to turn alarm off.) Then press ENTER.

9 To set Delay: Press 3. [DELA] will appear.

Enter delay time. Press ENTER. (Delay zeroes out after each firing.)

10 To start the firing, press ENTER once.

[STRT] will appear, then temperature. If Delay

was programmed, time remaining until start. To stop the program during firing, press STOP.

When program fires to completion, pear and the controller will beep. Press ENTER.

[IDLE] will appear. To shut off the alarm when it

sounds during a firing, press ENTER.

[DELA] will appear, then

[CPLT] will ap

Keep the kiln lid or door closed when the kiln is not in use. 11

The firing schedules programmed into Cone-Fire mode are listed in Appendix B, pages 32 - 33. Should you ever want to customize a Cone-Fire program, make the desired changes to a firing schedule and program it in Ramp-Hold (page 14).

During a cone firing, press 5 (Present Status) to see which stage, or segment, of the firing the kiln has reached. The number displayed will be a segment number from the schedule listed in Appendix B that you are firing.

Note: Pre-Heat shows in Present Status as

[PRHT]. It is not given a separate segment

number.

CAUTION: Cone numbers beginning with 0 are lower in temperature than those without the 0. When programing a Cone-Fire, be sure you know the difference between an05 and 5. See“Tempera ture Equivalents Chart for Orton Self-Supporting Pyrometric Cones,” Appendix D, page 36.

Low Fire Cones 022 - 011

This range includes decals, over-decorations, lusters, and golds. You can usually fire fast. Good venting is impor tant because ofthe oils and other organics. Do notclose the lid from the vented position untilall odor has disappeared.

Middle Fire Cones 010 - 01

Glazes fired on bisque ware (ware that has already been fired) can be fired faster than greenware.

Pre-Heat [PRHT]

Moist greenware can explode during firing. This hap pens when the moisture in the clay rapidly turns to steam and cannot escape from the clay fast enough. The Sentry Pre-Heat feature dries the ware at low temperature before the moisture can turn to steam.

Pre-Heat is sometimes necessary when firing thick greenware. It may also be necessary in humid weather, which inhibits drying. If possible, however, avoid using Pre-Heat to dry greenware. If the greenware feels damp or cool when you touch it to your cheek, dry it longer outside the kiln before firing. Use a dehumidifier in humid weather. Drying greenware in the kilntends to rust the kiln.

Note: During Pre-Heat, vent the lid or use the op tional Orton Vent Master. Otherwise the fire bricks will absorb moisture, leading to rust behind the steel case. Moisture in the firebricks can also slow down the firing.

CAUTION: Venting the lid during Pre-Heat is so important that some ceramists use the extended

vent position. If you do this, you must be near your kiln at the end of Pre-Heat to lower the lid.

Pre-Heat raises the temperature 60°F/33°C per hour to 200°F/93°C. Then it holds at 200°F/93°C for the period of time that you specify. Pre-Heat works in Cone-Fire only. After Pre-Heat is finished, the kiln will automatically begin firing to the cone you have selected.

High Fire Cones 1 -10

This is the firing range for porcelain and stoneware. These bodies firenearly tovitrification andcan shrinkup to 16%. Water, carbon and sulfur burn out during the early stages and must be vented. The amount of oxygen in the kiln affects the color of the fired clay. The high fire sched ules programmedinto Cone-Fire slow down during the last 216°F/120°C (two hours) to produce better density in the ware.

Cone-Fire Features

Speed [SPD]

When you select Medium speed in a Cone-Fire pro gram, the kiln uses the standard firing schedules listed on pages 32 - 33. Whenyou select Fast (1), the standardsched ules fire 20% faster. On Slow (3), they fire 20% slower.

You can alter the firing speed even more under Speed (SPD) in Options. You can increase or decrease the firing time of a standard schedule by up to 40%. For instance, if you are on a tight deadline, you can reduce a 7 hour fast cone firing to 5 ½ hours.

Note: The final segment heating rate will not change. It will always be 108°F/60°C per hour. SPD option affects only the earlier ramp segments.

Note: Above an altitude of 6,000 feet / 9,656 kilometers, water boils at a lower temperature. This may cause moisture in the ware to turn to steam even during Pre-Heat.

Mirror Test

This test will help you determine how much Pre-Heat to use.

Occasionally during Pre-Heat, hold a mirror near the top peephole. (Be careful to avoid burns.) The mirror must be at room temperature, so hold it near the peep hole for only several sec onds at a time.

If the mirror fogs, moisture is still escaping from the ware.When the mirror no longer fogs, you can exit Pre-Heat and begin the firing.

To interrupt Pre-Heat and begin firing to the cone in Cone-Fire, press 9 (Skip Segment).

[RA 2], will appear. Press ENTER. Segment 1 of the

with main firing will now begin.

Vent the kiln until moisture no longer fogs a mirror.

[SKIP], alternating

12 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold Do not leave your kiln unattended during operation.

+ 28 hidden pages

Paragon Sentry 3.0 Instructions Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Before You Begin

Safety Rules

Basic Pointers

Cone-Fire