Alex Solla on thu 26 apr 07
Which begs a question...
Is there any reason a small muffin fan or CPU fan couldnt
be installed in the switch box? Seems like a simple cooling
system for the electronics for your kiln. Has anyone done this?
Thanks for your input as always Arnold.
-Alex Solla
Cold Springs Studio Pottery
4088 Cold Springs Road
Trumansburg, NY 14886
607-387-4042 voice/fax
info@coldspringsstudio.com
www.coldspringsstudio.com
Arnold Howard said:
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Arnold
Howard
Cooling the switch box with a fan is especially useful in
the hot summers and can make your kiln last longer.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Arnold Howard on thu 26 apr 07
From: "Alex Solla"
> Is there any reason a small muffin fan or CPU fan couldnt
> be installed in the switch box? Seems like a simple
> cooling
> system for the electronics for your kiln. Has anyone done
> this?
Yes, we have made a kiln with a small fan mounted inside the
switch box. It was a heat treating furnace sold under a
different name.
I prefer an external fan, because it offers better air flow
than a small one mounted inside the switch box. With a fan
running inside the box continuously during firings, I would
be concerned about dust buildup on the wiring.
In moderate room temperatures, a fan is unnecessary. Most of
the latest Paragon digital pottery kilns have an oversized
switch box that moves the controller and main electrical
parts away from the firing chamber. Only the top and bottom
of the switch box are connected to the kiln. The rest is
separated by a 3/8" gap. (That air gap dramatically cools
down the box.) Plus there is a double heat shield between
the kiln and switch box.
Other manufacturers reduce heat by separating the controller
in some way from the main switch box. Duncan mounted their
digital controller on a pivoting arm that placed the
controller outside the switch box.
By the way, you can reduce the switch box temperature by
placing 1/4" standoffs under the screws that mount the box
to the kiln. You will need longer screws.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
William Melstrom on thu 26 apr 07
This is an excellent idea. Placing the heat-sensitive controller right on
the skin of the kiln is really dumb. I believe that it is a carry-over from
the days when electric kilns were used primarily by china painters who never
exceeded cone 06.
Another solution, and the one that I use, is to completely dis-attach the
controller from the kiln. I extended the element leads and thermocouple
wires, and mounted my controller to a wall. Here are pictures:
http://www.handspiral.com/images/images/KilnModSmall.jpg
http://www.handspiral.com/images/images/KilnModBig.jpg
William Melstrom
Moderator, Crystalline Glaze Forum.
http://board3.cgiworld.dreamwiz.com/list.cgi?id=Crystal
Is there any reason a small muffin fan or CPU fan couldnt
be installed in the switch box? Seems like a simple cooling
system for the electronics for your kiln. Has anyone done this?
Lynn Goodman Porcelain Pottery on thu 26 apr 07
On Apr 26, 2007, at 1:15 PM, William Melstrom wrote:
> This is an excellent idea. Placing the heat-sensitive controller
> right on
> the skin of the kiln is really dumb. I believe that it is a carry-
> over from
> the days when electric kilns were used primarily by china painters
> who never
> exceeded cone 06.
> Another solution, and the one that I use, is to completely dis-
> attach the
> controller from the kiln. I extended the element leads and
> thermocouple
> wires, and mounted my controller to a wall. Here are pictures:
> http://www.handspiral.com/images/images/KilnModSmall.jpg
> http://www.handspiral.com/images/images/KilnModBig.jpg
I do something similar for different reasons; I use a manual kiln
with a separate controller added on. (I mount the controller on the
wall and it is attached through the power plug and thermocouple.) The
reason I do it is paranoia--this way, I have a controller, a kiln
sitter and a timer to make sure the kiln doesn't overfire. (I also
make sure I'm around for the bulk of the firing.) Once you have a
melt-down, you are forever paranoid!
Lynn
Lynn Goodman
Fine Porcelain Pottery
Cell 347-526-9805
www.lynngoodmanporcelain.com
Maurice Weitman on sat 28 apr 07
>Is there any reason a small muffin fan or CPU fan couldnt
>be installed in the switch box? Seems like a simple cooling
>system for the electronics for your kiln. Has anyone done this?
Hello, Alex,
I meant to write earlier, but got distracted... what a shock!
I put a 3" muffin fan at the bottom of the electronics chase on my
Bailey kiln. It runs whenever there's power to the controller. I
can barely hear it and although I have no objective proof (didn't do
a before and after measurement), subjectively it is certainly kept
much cooler in there. It's a quick, easy, cheap project. Further
proof of the placebo effect.
(Assuming your electronics are in the same enclosure as the wiring to
the elements, and assuming you have a negative-pressure vent, you
might want to make certain that all holes are well sealed with some
sort of fiber. That might be overkill, but I thought it was worth
the effort.)
And as a pre-ps... I just realized that it would be fairly easy to
check... the Bartlett controller has a readout for the PC board
temperature, so next time I fire, if I remember, I can turn the fan
off and do an A-B check. Actually... it'd be a bit of a pain since
with the fan and baffle in there, it'd get much hotter than
pre-installation. Well... maybe I'll be motivated anyhow.
Regards,
Maurice
Russel Fouts on sat 28 apr 07
This is an excellent idea. Placing the heat-sensitive controller right
on the skin of the kiln is really dumb. I believe that it is a
carry-over from the days when electric kilns were used primarily by
china painters who never exceeded cone 06. Another solution, and the one
that I use, is to completely dis-attach the controller from the kiln. <<
This is the only sensible idea. My kiln had two options, the controller
attached to the kiln and wall mountable. The decision was a no brainer
for me.
The way they've done it is really practical. Each section of the kiln
has it's own connection to the controller. The sections are just stacked
one upon the other. This means that I can fire all three or any
combination. I often fire just one section as a test kiln.
In addition, If I wanted a second kiln. I wouldn't have to buy another
controller. I could just by another three sections, a bottom and a top
and stack them next to my current kiln. When one finishes firing, just
disconnect it and connect up the other one.
Russel
-----------------------------
Eleanora Eden on sun 29 apr 07
Hi Alex,
Yes, we have such a little fan installed in the switch box.
Wouldn't fire without it. I think it saves a lot of fuses.
It also makes a nice tiny hum so I know the kiln switch is still ON.
Eleanora
>Which begs a question...
>
>Is there any reason a small muffin fan or CPU fan couldnt
>be installed in the switch box? Seems like a simple cooling
>system for the electronics for your kiln. Has anyone done this?
>
>Thanks for your input as always Arnold.
>
>-Alex Solla
>
>Cold Springs Studio Pottery
>4088 Cold Springs Road
>Trumansburg, NY 14886
>
>607-387-4042 voice/fax
>info@coldspringsstudio.com
>www.coldspringsstudio.com
>
>
>
>Arnold Howard said:
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Arnold
>Howard
>
>
>Cooling the switch box with a fan is especially useful in
>the hot summers and can make your kiln last longer.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Arnold Howard
--
Bellows Falls Vermont
www.eleanoraeden.com
Eleanora Eden on sun 29 apr 07
We also have the controller on the wall. Never occurred to me that
it would be installed on the kiln itself. We use it primarily for the big
L&L but also for a variety of smaller kilns, just move the pyrometer
wands and go.
Eleanora
--
Bellows Falls Vermont
www.eleanoraeden.com
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