Diane Quammen on tue 18 sep 07
I want to purchase a single-zone kiln controller for my 1991 Skutt 1027-240
which I fire to cone 6.
The Skutt kiln controller is at least $100 more than the Orton. Should I get
a Skutt because I have a Skutt kiln? Should I go for price? Is there any
reason to prefer one brand over the other?
I would appreciate any advice, recommendations, warnings, etc. from anyone
who has one of these (or another brand!). Thanks.
Diane Quammen
Powder Springs, GA,
where it is finally cooler
Gordon Ward on tue 18 sep 07
The Skutt Kiln Master controller is made under license by Orton, so I
imagine they are similar. Both companies have good customer
support. Check discount price at Bennetts.
On Sep 18, 2007, at 2:59 PM, Diane Quammen wrote:
> I want to purchase a single-zone kiln controller for my 1991 Skutt
> 1027-240
> which I fire to cone 6.
>
> The Skutt kiln controller is at least $100 more than the Orton.
> Should I get
> a Skutt because I have a Skutt kiln? Should I go for price? Is
> there any
> reason to prefer one brand over the other?
>
> I would appreciate any advice, recommendations, warnings, etc. from
> anyone
> who has one of these (or another brand!). Thanks.
>
> Diane Quammen
> Powder Springs, GA,
> where it is finally cooler
>
Lynn Goodman Porcelain Pottery on tue 18 sep 07
On Sep 18, 2007, at 5:59 PM, Diane Quammen wrote:
> I want to purchase a single-zone kiln controller for my 1991 Skutt
> 1027-240
> which I fire to cone 6. The Skutt kiln controller is at least $100
> more than the Orton. Should I get
> a Skutt because I have a Skutt kiln? Should I go for price? Is
> there any
> reason to prefer one brand over the other?
Hi Diane,
I use a Skutt wall-mount (single zone) controller with my L&L kiln. I
bought it because, at the time, I got a good deal on it and all the
brands seemed to be similar. There may be some difference in the
flexibility of programming now. You want to buy one that allows you
to do what you want, program-wise, and don't worry about the possible
small, extra cost of one brand over another ($100 is not that much
over the life span of the controller, and you'll be glad to have the
ability to do more complex programs). I think that you can now get a
wall-mount controller that will keep track of the kilowatts used--I
wish that had been available when I was buying!
Lynn
Lynn Goodman
Fine Porcelain Pottery
Cell 347-526-9805
www.lynngoodmanporcelain.com
Arnold Howard on wed 19 sep 07
From: "Diane Quammen"
> The Skutt kiln controller is at least $100 more than the
> Orton. Should I get
> a Skutt because I have a Skutt kiln? Should I go for
> price? Is there any
> reason to prefer one brand over the other?
I am assuming that your kiln is manual-fire.
Though Skutt uses the Bartlett controller, either brand will
work the same with your kiln. Plug the kiln into a
receptacle on the controller. Leave all kiln switches turned
to High. To raise the heat, the controller turns on a relay,
which sends power to the receptacle.
Paragon used the Bartlett controller for about eight years
as the DTC 600, 800, and 1000 series. Then we switched to
the Orton controller in 2001. They are both good products. I
would base my decision on features. Here is a list for the
Orton controller:
http://www.paragonweb.com/Sentry_Digital_12-key_Ceramics.cfm
I suggest that after you buy the controller, continue to use
the Kiln Sitter as a backup shutoff device.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
Arnold Howard on wed 19 sep 07
From: "Lynn Goodman Porcelain Pottery"
I think that you can now get a
> wall-mount controller that will keep track of the
> kilowatts used--I
> wish that had been available when I was buying!
-----------
I love that feature too. To make it work, you will need to
enter the wattage listed on the kiln's dataplate and the
cost of electricity. Figure in other costs on the electric
bill, such as power transmission charges and taxes.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
Hank Taylor on wed 19 sep 07
Hi Diane ,
I purchased a Orton 3000 last winter and it is a nice controller. It
can be set up for 1 to 3 thermocouples or zones. At present I use the single
zone mode. I compared several different controllers and it really seemed
that all that changed between different types was the face of the panel. It
was about 90-100 $ difference so I went with the Orton. It can fire to cones
or temps or you can customize the user programs (there are 4 ) to run how
you want it to, helps a lot with the crystalline glazes.
Does your kiln already have the electric controls ? If not,
They also have single zone controllers that go on the wall and you plug your
kiln into it . Then just turn all the kiln switches to high and go to
firing. The best feature of this contoller is it will run most any kiln with
the older manual controllers that fall within the max amperage rating,
there are several different ratings. Of course, just one kiln at a time
hope this helps
Hank Taylor
P.S. I am not a rep or shareholder of Orton, just have had good service from
them on several projects
.
----- Original Message -----
Diane Quammen
Subject: Orton vs. Skutt kiln controller
>I want to purchase a single-zone kiln controller for my 1991 Skutt 1027-240
> which I fire to cone 6.
>
> The Skutt kiln controller is at least $100 more than the Orton. Should I
> get
> a Skutt because I have a Skutt kiln? Should I go for price? Is there any
> reason to prefer one brand over the other?
>
> I would appreciate any advice, recommendations, warnings, etc. from anyone
> who has one of these (or another brand!). Thanks.
Arnold Howard on thu 20 sep 07
From: "Hank Taylor"
> I purchased a Orton 3000 last winter and it is a
> nice controller. It
> can be set up for 1 to 3 thermocouples or zones.
--------------
One advantage of the Orton over the Bartlett is that the
Orton does a better job with 3-zone firing.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
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