search  current discussion  categories  kilns & firing - cones & controllers 

oxyprobe.......... redux

updated sat 3 jul 04

 

Hank Murrow on fri 2 jul 04


Dear June;

I bought one of the first AIC OxyProbes directly from Australia in '83.
After around 50 fires, the return wire that runs up the outside of the
inner tube broke and Nils repaired it for under fifty dollars, adding
an outer .5" diameter alumina tube to protect the wire that got brittle
and broke. I have 175 additional fires on it now and it performs
admirably. The Aussie Co. should have included the outer protective
tube in the first place, and Nils showed resourcefulness and
responsiveness in suggesting his 'fix'. I understand that he was a
consultant to Axner in the development of 'their' OxyProbe.

Cheers, Hank

www.murrow.biz/hank


On Jul 2, 2004, at 10:53 AM, June Perry wrote:

> I had an Axner oxyproble that I bought from Nils Lou years ago when
> they
> first came out and it broke almost immediately. Nil fixed it for me
> but after one
> or two firings the reduction measuring part would not work again. The
> first
> time, the platinum wire had broken -- probably had loosened during
> shipping,
> since I never dropped it or man handled it.
> After sitting on the shelf doing nothing for several years, I took it
> to
> Axners since Nils Lou isn't fixing them any more, and they had to
> send it out and
> the word came back that it couldn't be fixed.
> Even if it couldn't have been repaired, it would cost $50 just to have
> the
> outside people look at it. I had them put one of the probes back,
> since the
> digital pyrometer part was still working, so I got something for my
> $50.
> I think I was just unlucky and got a lemon, since others seem to have
> had
> better luck with it.
> When I was at Axners I was shown their new version without the
> removable
> tube; but the downside of it is that the new one without the outer
> protective
> tube, can't be fixed. That's what the young man told me.
> Like you, I'll be eager to get feedback on the Bailey since I'm not
> too keen
> about buying something that is more expensive than the Bailey and
> can't be
> fixed if needed.
> Another question you might want to ask Bailey is how much they charge
> for
> repair and if they do their repairs on site or ship them out to a
> third party.
> Sometimes the initial cost is lower, but the maintenance is higher.