Jim Cullen on sun 24 oct 99
Would any or all of you computerized Firers care to share your thoughts on
your specific type of Firing Apparatus and its pros and cons?
I'm thinking of adding one to my 25 year old Crusader to give me a sense of
repeatability and continuity to my firings.
Does anyone actually have theirs connected to a computer to give them a
readout? Is this possible? Desirable?
Please give manufacturers and model names for reader comparison.
TIA...
KEEP CENTERED
Cullen
Naperville, Illinois
Cindy Strnad, Earthen Vessels Pottery on mon 25 oct 99
Jim,
You can tie an old kiln into a computer board, but technical support would
be an essential, at least for me. Euclids is very helpful in this area, and
they do carry parts at what I've usually found to be less than most other
suppliers.
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
Custer, SD
Candise Flippin on mon 25 oct 99
Hi all!
I have a Crusader and bought a Skutt Contoller to automate my firings
several years ago. I have just upgraded it. It gives me great control
and consistency of firings. I keep thinking the Crusader is going to
give up the ghost any day, but it just keeps on trucking along.
Candise in San Diego
Frederich, Tim on mon 25 oct 99
Jim,
I use the Orton Autofire controller on my kilns in my studio. I use the
Unitemp zone control model and I am staying within 2 degrees top to bottom
in my 27 inch deep kilns. The Orton controllers can be hooked up to your PC
through a program called Control Master made specifically for the Orton
Controller. If you would like more info please contact me at 614-895-2663
ext.36. I am admitting a preference for this product since I work for the
Orton Ceramic Foundation.
Sincerely,
Tim Frederich
> ----------
> From: Jim Cullen[SMTP:JCullen845@aol.com]
> Sent: Sunday, October 24, 1999 7:43 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
> Subject: Seeking comments on Computerized Firing Apparatuses
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Would any or all of you computerized Firers care to share your thoughts on
> your specific type of Firing Apparatus and its pros and cons?
>
> I'm thinking of adding one to my 25 year old Crusader to give me a sense
> of
> repeatability and continuity to my firings.
>
> Does anyone actually have theirs connected to a computer to give them a
> readout? Is this possible? Desirable?
>
> Please give manufacturers and model names for reader comparison.
>
> TIA...
>
> KEEP CENTERED
> Cullen
> Naperville, Illinois
>
Dwiggins, Sandra (NCI) on tue 26 oct 99
Candise,
Did your kiln have a kiln-sitter device before you bought the controller? I
have an old Skutt with a kiln-sitter and I really want to automate for the
consistency.
thanks,
Sandy
-----Original Message-----
From: Candise Flippin [SMTP:candise@CERFNET.COM]
Sent: Monday, October 25, 1999 1:44 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Seeking comments on Computerized Firing Apparatuses
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hi all!
I have a Crusader and bought a Skutt Contoller to automate my firings
several years ago. I have just upgraded it. It gives me great control
and consistency of firings. I keep thinking the Crusader is going to
give up the ghost any day, but it just keeps on trucking along.
Candise in San Diego
suki meyer on tue 26 oct 99
Jim: We use the Orton Autofire controller talked
about below and are quite pleased with it (or to put
it another way I am very pleased with it - my wife is
the potter and I do much of the other work including
firing the kilns). We have the controller on a Cone
Art (Baily) 10 cu ft kiln. The elements are
undersized for this large kiln so the computer comes
in handy to control the firing rates. I have it
hooked up so the fan, that pulls through the kiln, is
controlled with the programs. I also have it
connected to my computer so I can get a complete
firing history. Orton has made some very good
improvements to their programs, since we first got the
contoller, including maintaining temperatures top and
bottom to within 1-2 degrees. I have gotten a couple
of upgrades to my computer board with minimum cost and
hassle - in fact I just installed the latest upgrade
they offer which allows for one 18 step program (all
the other programs are 10 steps).
In general, I am very pleased with the contoller and
the computer program provided. In fact, I am trying
to figure out the best way to computerize some of the
other kilns my wife uses (including a small test kiln
that I use for glaze development)
Bill Meyer
--- "Frederich, Tim"
wrote:
> ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> Jim,
> I use the Orton Autofire controller on my kilns in
> my studio. I use the
> Unitemp zone control model and I am staying within 2
> degrees top to bottom
> in my 27 inch deep kilns. The Orton controllers can
> be hooked up to your PC
> through a program called Control Master made
> specifically for the Orton
> Controller. If you would like more info please
> contact me at 614-895-2663
> ext.36. I am admitting a preference for this product
> since I work for the
> Orton Ceramic Foundation.
>
> Sincerely,
> Tim Frederich
>
> > ----------
> > From: Jim Cullen[SMTP:JCullen845@aol.com]
> > Sent: Sunday, October 24, 1999 7:43 PM
> > To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
> > Subject: Seeking comments on Computerized
> Firing Apparatuses
> >
> > ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> > Would any or all of you computerized Firers care
> to share your thoughts on
> > your specific type of Firing Apparatus and its
> pros and cons?
> >
> > I'm thinking of adding one to my 25 year old
> Crusader to give me a sense
> > of
> > repeatability and continuity to my firings.
> >
> > Does anyone actually have theirs connected to a
> computer to give them a
> > readout? Is this possible? Desirable?
> >
> > Please give manufacturers and model names for
> reader comparison.
> >
> > TIA...
> >
> > KEEP CENTERED
> > Cullen
> > Naperville, Illinois
> >
>
=====
__________________________________________________
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Candise Flippin on wed 27 oct 99
Sandy,
Yes it does. I put a cone higher than I am firing so that it does not
shut off prematurely. I also set the timer to the maximum hours each
time. I use it to determine the actual amount of time the kiln is
drawing electricity. That's the number I use to calculate the firing
cost. I add the electricty used by the controller to that and voila
(sp) ... firing cost.
Hope this helps, Thanks, Candise in San Diego
Nanci Bishof on thu 28 oct 99
This is a long response. Service after the sale on any piece of
electronic/computerized product is very important. My experience to date with
the Orton Foundation has been less than satisfactory at best. My initial
dealings were with Rick Severence, who is no longer associated with them.
Rick was very knowledgeable & helpful. I have a custom built kiln from ITC.
It draws 90 amps and as such required a custom built controller capable of
handling that load. The specifications were drawn up after Rick confirmed
with Feriz Delkic the kiln specifications. The controller was shipped
mistakenly to Axner, whom I actually placed the order with as Orton does not
retail the controllers, instead of directly to me as specified. Axner simply
relabeled the box and sent it on to me. The box was undamaged upon its
arrival. However, the controllers metal housing was. There were 2 pieces
that created an open-ended rectangular box into which a base with end panels
was recessed. The outer shell, the rectangular open-ended box, was not
damaged. One of the recessed end panels had one corner curled over indicating
it had been dropped prior to shipping. When I contacted Orton there was not
an acceptable outcome. They said the controller must have been damaged by
Axner or UPS. I informed them it was neither as the controller was in the
original packaging with a second label applied over their original label. I
had photographed the packaging which was inappropriate for a computer, there
was no cushioning on the bottom of the package under the controller & meager
cushioning around it. I could not get Orton to issue a return authorization,
a UPS call tag, without the help of Axner. Another 2 months passed before I
received the replacement controller. I was able to arrange for my electrician
to install it on Oct. 15th. An owner's operating manual was not included in
the package. Once the kiln and controller were wired, an attempt was made to
verify operation. I called and spoke with Rick. He talked us through the
setting of the controller for a firing. There was not a climb in temperature
noted. The thermocouple was tested & it recorded a rise in temperature when
exposed to body temperature. The first relay within the controller could
audibly be heard switching on. There was no response from the secondary solid
state relay. The electrician used a multimeter to verify conduction from the
fuse box to the controller and from the electric input to the controller to
the first relay. There was also current from the first relay to the solid
state relay. There was no current output from the solid state relay to the
kiln verified by the multimeter. Rick left a message for his supervisor, Jim
Baldwin, to let him know that I needed a copy of the operating manual and
that the controller was not functioning properly. I did not hear from Orton
by the following Thursday. I called & spoke with Mr. Baldwin. He insisted
they had to talk directly with the electrician before they would issue a call
tag for the controller's return. Never mind their customer had already
provided them with the information. He also would not concede they should pay
for the visits by my electrician necessitated by their faulty product. He did
offer to speak with his supervisor about reimbursement for the electrician.
His boss did return my call & left a message, but would only say that they
would only issue a call tag after talking with my electrician while he was at
my studio & troubleshooting the controller with them. Unacceptable. The unit
has already been tested & found faulty by the electrician. There is no reason
I should have to take off another day from my job as a teacher nor pay
additional long distance charges for them to use my electrician to
troubleshoot their faulty unit. I notified Axner of the additional problems &
asked that they intervene. Axner has. Orton indicated to Axner that they
would consider paying the electricians charges if it turns out there is a
problem with the controller. I received a phone message from Axner indicating
that Orton would pay & this message was followed by one by Orton insisting
they would not issue a call tag till my electrician trouble shoot the
controller with them. Then if their testing of the controller indicated it
was faulty they would consider the charges of my electrician. At this point
I'm very unhappy with the quality of their service to their customer. As of
this evening, I still have not recieved an operating manual nor notification
of the issuance of a call tag. I should not have to incur charges for an
electrican beyond the first call. It should only take one service call to
install the AutoFire, not four service calls. I could not in all honesty
recommend the Orton Foundation or their controller, the AutoFire, to anyone.
The AutoFire may be an excellent product as Mr. Severance insisted. I may
have gotten a lemon, but Orton's response to the problem has been alienating
at best. The only positive outcome of this fiasco has been Axner's continued
service to me with their continued intervention and continued monitoring of
the situation. Axner has truly proved themselves to be customer oriented &
dedicated to providing good service.
Should Orton provide me with a call tag for the return of the faulty unit and
pay for the electricians charges I will be happy to let the ClayArt group
know.
nanci
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