Upgrading to a wall mount controller

[Debora Rinehart]

Has anyone upgraded their kiln setter to a wall mounted digital controller?  Or has anyone down graded from digital to kiln sitter? My digital Skutt Km818  kiln is outside on my covered porch and have run into an issue with it. About 6 years ago I replaced the control panel (I purchased the kiln used, an apparently had flooded at some point prior to purchasing it, unknown to me). It's 6 years later and now the key pad beeps only on one or two of the keys and only displays  the temp.   Display is lit so it's getting power, cannot reset on the pad, cannot "stop" on the pad, nothing happening beyond that.  Thankfully I have a back up manual kiln, which I am considering purchasing a wall mount controller and having it wired thru the wall and have the controller in my studio where temp, humidity is controlled. Meanwhile the digital is still outside possibly getting moisture from the air.  All this to say that perhaps I can change the digital to a manual kiln sitter too and use the control box inside for both kilns if possible. (Both kilns are covered when not in use.)  Any information would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks all!

[Bill Kielb]

18 minutes ago, Debora Rinehart said:

Has anyone upgraded their kiln setter to a wall mounted digital controller?  Or has anyone down graded from digital to kiln sitter? My digital Skutt Km818  kiln is outside on my covered porch and have run into an issue with it. 

Down grading generally is a hassle because you are going from a relay control to some sort of an infinite switch. Low, medium, high .... and then back to turning knobs for several hours. Remote is fine, probably within six feet though as mounting things too far away often exceeds code for flexible conduits and start / stop control. The digital controls are fairly robust and it seems yours failed prematurely because it was in a flood or just too exposed to weather. Is there a reason you would not just plug and play replacement and ensure there is a better rain shield over it?

@liambesaw recently went digital with his old manual which I believe he fires outside but protected by a small roof. He may weigh in  here. Others likely will as well.

[liambesaw]

Mine is outdoors but never exposed to any moisture outside of humidity.

You can buy a new control panel, they're relatively cheap considering.

[JohnnyK]

I converted to an Orton digital controller about4 years ago to fire my very old Cress manual kiln. I ultimately bought  a Cress FX23 manually controlled kiln with a kiln sitter. I just plugged the newer used kiln into the controller and fired away to ^6 with the kiln sitter placed in a permanent ON mode with the use of a high strength steel bolt which would withstand the ^6 temps. ( I didn't want to spend the $$$ for a box of ^10 cones) The problem that I had with the kiln sitter was the timer knob which I occasionally forgot to reset. Last summer I removed the kiln sitter and just rewired the kiln to operate without it , fabricating a coverplate to close the hole after the kiln sitter was gone.   If you want to use the wall mount for both kilns, you just need to make sure that both kilns operate at the same amperage and that they have the same plug configuration for the controller.

[neilestrick]

@Debora Rinehart When the touchpad/circuit board is in a high humidity area, it can definitely mess it up. But sometimes it just needs to dry out. Take off the board and touchpad and take it indoors and let it dry for a day or two, or put a blow dryer on it on low temp (don't get it hot). Also pull out the ribbon connector from the board that connects the pad to the board and make sure it's clean- just rub your fingers over it and reinstall it.