Val Schleicher on tue 28 feb 06
Embeddedrf PC kiln temperature controller
Does anyone have any experience with the computer controlled kiln
temperature controller sold by Embeddedrf out of Phoenix? This is a
combination of hardware and software that attaches to the wiring of a
kiln and then controls the temperature using serial communication
between the PC and an external temp controller which then switches a
solid state relay.
Val Schleicher
konstantin on wed 1 mar 06
Hi,
I have one of these controllers installed in my kiln at my shop at
home. I purchased it for the school kiln but the automatic switches
(speed control) on that kiln interfered with the operation of the
controller so I installed it on my Paragon with manual switches. I do
most of my firings at school so I have not had much experience with this
controller (fired maybe 5 times) but it appears to work quite well.
If you have more questions I'll try to answer if I can.
Konstantin
CHRISTIAN BONNER on wed 1 mar 06
Hi Konstantin,
I was actually wondering about this controller. How did you install it on
your kiln? Did you hard wire it to the kiln wiring or did you rig it so all
you have to do is plug in the kilns power cord to a female receptacle
connected to the controller. I was thinking about purchasing one of these
controllers for myself, namely because I believe it does not only control
the firing and cooling of the kiln, but also keeps a plotted log of the
kilns actual performance. Please correct me if I am wrong. How hard was it
to get it all set up once you received it?
Anyway any information is appreciated,
Christian Bonner
>From: konstantin
>Reply-To: Clayart
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Any users of Embeddedrf PC kiln temperature controller
>Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2006 07:07:12 -0800
>
>Hi,
> I have one of these controllers installed in my kiln at my shop at
>home. I purchased it for the school kiln but the automatic switches
>(speed control) on that kiln interfered with the operation of the
>controller so I installed it on my Paragon with manual switches. I do
>most of my firings at school so I have not had much experience with this
>controller (fired maybe 5 times) but it appears to work quite well.
> If you have more questions I'll try to answer if I can.
> Konstantin
>
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Maurice Weitman on thu 2 mar 06
Hello, Val and Christian.
Of possible interest to you is the fact that Bartlett Instruments
( makers of one of the most commonly used
kiln controllers) offers an option for their controllers called KISS
(Kiln Interface Software System) which I use to do control and track
kiln performance.
KISS does not actually control the kilns; the Bartlett controllers do that.
KISS consists of some software (Windoze only, alas), a communications
chip for their controller, serial port interface, and some (U.S.)
standard RJ-11 phone wire and connectors. The base kit includes one
comm chip for one controller; additional chips are available for
controlling additional kilns. The system will control up to ten
kilns, and can store thermocouple readings and target temperatures at
user-defined intervals.
One of my kilns has three zones (thermocouples) and an attached
controller, and I have a standalone controller for two, smaller,
single-zone kilns.
I can sit in my house and watch the kilns in the studio remotely on
the PC screen.
I have found it very instructive to analyze the rates of temperature
climb with varying ramp schedules and loads, as well as how quickly
various loads cool. This also allows me to accurately predict the
time when a temperature will be reached, up or down.
I looked at solutions such as the Embedded systems, but found the
Bartlett system to meet my needs.
Regards,
Maurice
At 16:24 -0800 on 3/1/06, CHRISTIAN BONNER wrote:
>Hi Konstantin,
>I was actually wondering about this controller. How did you install it on
>your kiln? Did you hard wire it to the kiln wiring or did you rig it so all
>you have to do is plug in the kilns power cord to a female receptacle
>connected to the controller. I was thinking about purchasing one of these
>controllers for myself, namely because I believe it does not only control
>the firing and cooling of the kiln, but also keeps a plotted log of the
>kilns actual performance. Please correct me if I am wrong. How hard was it
>to get it all set up once you received it?
>
>Anyway any information is appreciated,
>
>Christian Bonner
konstantin on mon 6 mar 06
Christian,
I welded together 3 electrical boxes.One box for the female plug for the kiln itself and the two others for the switches (one for each switch, more room to work). I had to use two switches; one switch for each hot line because my kiln uses both 120v and 240v.My kiln uses two Black wires (hot), one white (Neutral)and one green (Ground).
I would have hard wired it, but i need the flexibility of moving the kiln out of the way for other operations.
Under and directly connected to the boxes i put a large and thick plate of aluminum for a heat sink as the switches get very hot during operation.
I hope this is of some help.
Konstantin
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2006 16:24:44 -0800
From: CHRISTIAN BONNER
Subject: Re: Any users of Embeddedrf PC kiln temperature controller
Hi Konstantin,
I was actually wondering about this controller. How did you install it on
your kiln? Did you hard wire it to the kiln wiring or did you rig it so all
you have to do is plug in the kilns power cord to a female receptacle
connected to the controller. I was thinking about purchasing one of these
controllers for myself, namely because I believe it does not only control
the firing and cooling of the kiln, but also keeps a plotted log of the
kilns actual performance. Please correct me if I am wrong. How hard was it
to get it all set up once you received it?
Anyway any information is appreciated,
Christian Bonne
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