john eden on sun 13 sep 98
I have been using kilns with controllers for approximately 5 years here at
the College. All of the controllers were bought from Tuckers Pottery
Supplies ( 1-800-304-6185), Ontario, Canada. Two of the kilns are ConeArt
kilns which are excellent Kilns. ConeArt kilns are made in Canada and the
company was owned by Frank Tucker until recently. They are still made in
Canada but are now owned by Shimpo so you should have no trouble finding a
supplier. My advice would be to buy a kiln with a controller attached
rather than attach one later. I must say that using kilns with controllers
has been a joy and I have only had one problem which was not serious. Most
controllers figure out the rate of climb and if the kiln does not rise
approximately twelve degrees in twenty minutes (or is it the other way
round?) will shut off the kiln. I might add here that the controller in
question was not attached to a ConeArt kiln but to a large front loader
which because of its size and the position of the sensor kept tripping the
rate of climb safety circuit. The circuit board was sent back to Tucker's (
it was easy to disconnect) and a new one was supplied very quickly.
I believe that an extremely important factor when dealing with any problem
or malfunction of equipment is to have a supplier that takes your problems
seriously and deals with them promptly, Tucker's is that kind of supplier.
Usual disclaimers. Cheers, John.
John Eden / Ceramics
John Abbott College
Ste. Anne de Bellevue
Quebec, H9X 3L9, Canada
Tel. # 514-457-6610 ext.395
Jeremy M. Hellman on mon 14 sep 98
John, I'm surprised that you recommend purchasing an attached controller.
When I purchased a kiln with controller 2 years ago (a Skutt 1027-3 with
the Skutt controller) I specifically ordered a wall mounted (separate)
controller at an additional cost of $100 US. When you buy a kiln without
controller, the kiln usually comes with a kiln sitter, which acts as an
additional "control" on each firing. Additionally, because my kiln was
going into a rural area, I felt that if the controller ever failed I
still wanted to be able to fire the kiln, since it might take a while to
get the controller repaired. I also thought that by keeping the
controller a bit further from the heat of the kiln, it might last longer.
And, when I put a second kiln at that location, I can use the same
controller for both kilns, even though only one can be fired at a time.
(This isn't going to be a problem because my electric service will only
allow 1 kiln to be fired at a time.)
Bonnie Hellman
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I have been using kilns with controllers for approximately 5 years here at
>the College. All of the controllers were bought from Tuckers Pottery
>Supplies ( 1-800-304-6185), Ontario, Canada. Two of the kilns are ConeArt
>kilns which are excellent Kilns. ConeArt kilns are made in Canada and the
>company was owned by Frank Tucker until recently. They are still made in
>Canada but are now owned by Shimpo so you should have no trouble finding a
>supplier. My advice would be to buy a kiln with a controller attached
>rather than attach one later. I must say that using kilns with controllers
>has been a joy and I have only had one problem which was not serious. Most
>controllers figure out the rate of climb and if the kiln does not rise
>approximately twelve degrees in twenty minutes (or is it the other way
>round?) will shut off the kiln. I might add here that the controller in
>question was not attached to a ConeArt kiln but to a large front loader
>which because of its size and the position of the sensor kept tripping the
>rate of climb safety circuit. The circuit board was sent back to Tucker's (
>it was easy to disconnect) and a new one was supplied very quickly.
>I believe that an extremely important factor when dealing with any problem
>or malfunction of equipment is to have a supplier that takes your problems
>seriously and deals with them promptly, Tucker's is that kind of supplier.
>Usual disclaimers. Cheers, John.
>
>
>John Eden / Ceramics
>John Abbott College
>Ste. Anne de Bellevue
>Quebec, H9X 3L9, Canada
>Tel. # 514-457-6610 ext.395
"Outside a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside a dog, it's too
dark to read" Groucho Marx
" " Harpo Marx
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana" Att. to GM
"You can tune a piano but you cant tune a fish" Old Proverb
"By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves
began to suspect 'Hungry' ..." -- Gary Larson, "The Far Side"
Bobbi Bassett on tue 15 sep 98
In a message dated 98-09-14 10:20:52 EDT, you write:
> I can use the same
> controller for both kilns, even though only one can be fired at a time.
> (This isn't going to be a problem because my electric service will only
> allow 1 kiln to be fired at a time.)
I have the same situation here. We put my "wall mount" controller on a pole
with wheels that resembles a hospital IV stand. I have 3 large electric kilns
and I can roll it to anyone of them and plug it in. It's been a real blessing
to have it this convenient to use.
Bobbi in PA
David Woodin Set Clayart Digest on tue 15 sep 98
I agree with Bonnie. We have had some problems now and then with the
electronic controller and since it is mounted externally we can always go back
to the old way of firing. People at the open studio are getting better
results with the controller and miss it when it is not in use. By the way
most of the problems have been human errror only one failure was due to the
controller whick was replaced under warranty.
David
Evan Dresel on thu 17 sep 98
One thing to consider: A while ago there was a discussion on Clayart
regarding plugging and unplugging kilns frequently. The concern was that
with time the contacts in the recepticle loosen leading to dangerous heating
at the connection. Maybe the kilns could be wired to one box and a heavy
duty switch could be used to connect the appropriate one to the controller.
I don't know how much of a concern this is but figured I'd mention it.
-- Evan in W. Richland Washington where the animals are fed, the water
trough filled, the poop scooped and my wife is in Bejing. No wonder I'm
feeling chatty.
At 08:28 AM 9-15-98 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>In a message dated 98-09-14 10:20:52 EDT, you write:
>
>> I can use the same
>> controller for both kilns, even though only one can be fired at a time.
>> (This isn't going to be a problem because my electric service will only
>> allow 1 kiln to be fired at a time.)
>
>I have the same situation here. We put my "wall mount" controller on a pole
>with wheels that resembles a hospital IV stand. I have 3 large electric kilns
>and I can roll it to anyone of them and plug it in. It's been a real blessing
>to have it this convenient to use.
>
>Bobbi in PA
>
>
Kathi LeSueur on sat 19 sep 98
In a message dated 9/17/98 1:30:12 PM, you wrote:
>One thing to consider: A while ago there was a discussion on Clayart
>regarding plugging and unplugging kilns frequently. The concern was that
>with time the contacts in the recepticle loosen leading to dangerous heating
>at the connection. Maybe the kilns could be wired to one box and a heavy
>duty switch could be used to connect the appropriate one to the controller.
Any electric kiln should be wire into it's own dedicated circuit breaker.
Rather than plugging and unplugging the kiln, the breaker can be tripped to
cut the power to the kiln.
Kathi LeSueur
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