Paragon Kiln Advice

[slee]

Hi all,

Firstly, I am not a ceramic artist, but actually a knifemaker. However, I recently came into an old Paragon Fusion 14 (max temp 1700 F) which I'm hoping to use to heat treat my knives, and figured this would be the best place to ask for help. I attempted to fire a ramp-hold to 1650 to heat treat a knife (1 stage, 9999 rate, 1650 target temp, 3 hr hold), but the kiln gave me an FTL at about 1450 F. Thinking that it might have been due to the max rate, I reprogrammed the exact same program but with a 400 rate. That time, I got a FTH at around 1400 F. 

Am I doing something wrong in the programming? i.e., do I need to have a multistage ramp hold with a fast rate until I get above 1200, and then a slower rate to get to 1650? Should I examine some piece of the equipment to see if it needs to be replaced, and if so, where should I start? The other thing I'm thinking is that I'm running the kiln off of 2 daisy chained heavy duty extension cords (intended for welding equipment) due to the layout of my garage, could that be preventing the kiln from getting enough power?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[neilestrick]

If the kiln maxes out at 1700F, then it will only get there if the elements are in new condition. Once they have worn even a little bit, it won't reach temp. 1650F is close enough to 1700 that the same rule applies. Chances are your elements need to be replaced. This is all assuming that the max temp rating of the kiln is accurate and it actually can reach 1700F.

As for the programming, the kiln probably won't be able to maintain a ramp of 400F/hr, at least not at the high end. If you want it to go as fast as possible use 9999 because it'll just stay on and won't care how fast it's actually climbing. Also, because you're so close to the max temp of the kiln, it may have a difficult time holding temp at 1650. Expect a certain degree of fluctuation in temp during the hold.

[Bill Kielb]

18 hours ago, slee said:

The other thing I'm thinking is that I'm running the kiln off of 2 daisy chained heavy duty extension cords (intended for welding equipment) due to the layout of my garage, could that be preventing the kiln from getting enough power?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Neil pretty much summed it up but I just would add …..extension cords will likely have losses. If the cords warm at all, then that is wattage wasted not getting into the kiln. You are already challenged with not enough heating (watts … =3.41 btu per watt) so any losses here or warming of the cords could matter. Never a good idea to extend kiln power with extension cords btw.