Possible to disconnect kiln sitter and continue firing?

[Msheffield]

Hi you all, I have an ancient Paragon A82-B kiln with a Dawson kiln sitter that needs a new assembly tube. Usually I end up disregarding the kiln sitter anyways and just rely on the peephole cones, so  is it possible that I could directly wire the switches so that I can fire without the kiln sitter?  Is this a bad idea? 

[Hulk]

Good question!
Does the sitter include a countdown timer?
If so, imo it's a good backup - in case I fell asleep or somewhat - the kiln would shut down when the time's up. I used to set it to about half hour longer than projected firing time, and then adjust from there.

The button on mine, I could push it to the "on" position whether the drop weight was set or not (as long as the timer was set to greater than zero minutes).
Are you able to set the on button?
I'd do that if the cone/bar melted and the drop switch actuated when I wanted a little more heat, a drop and hold, and/or a controlled cool.

[Msheffield]

Hm.... Nope, no timer! Yeah, I did just use the power button last firing when the sitter stopped functioning, but the metal housing between the kiln jacket and the sitter box is super rusted, and I'm not sure that I should leave it there to keep disintegrating? Dunno!

[neilestrick]

Not that I recommend firing without some sort of safety shutoff system, but if the sensing rod and cone supports are still there, you can just cram a piece of kiln shelf in there in place of a cone. Or, tape the shutoff weight up so it can't fall and kick out the power button. If you do the tape method you can remove the Sitter tube and fill the hole with fiber or a soft brick plug. It is possible to wire the power cord directly to the switches, but you'll need a terminal block to do that, which is what the Sitter is so there's no good reason to get rid of it. Ultimately you need some sort of shutoff, so it would be worth fixing it.

[JohnnyK]

In my case, I invested in an external digital controller for my old Cress kiln and removed the kiln-sitter entirely, plugged its hole and fabricated and installed a cover plate to close off the opening.

[Msheffield]

On 7/11/2023 at 4:33 AM, neilestrick said:

Not that I recommend firing without some sort of safety shutoff system, but if the sensing rod and cone supports are still there, you can just cram a piece of kiln shelf in there in place of a cone. Or, tape the shutoff weight up so it can't fall and kick out the power button. If you do the tape method you can remove the Sitter tube and fill the hole with fiber or a soft brick plug. It is possible to wire the power cord directly to the switches, but you'll need a terminal block to do that, which is what the Sitter is so there's no good reason to get rid of it. Ultimately you need some sort of shutoff, so it would be worth fixing it.

I am always around with multiple timers on when firing, so I'm not so worried about lack of shutoff mechanism, but I see your point about the terminal. Maybe I'll fix it down the road! Thanks for your input. 

[Msheffield]

On 7/11/2023 at 4:53 AM, JohnnyK said:

In my case, I invested in an external digital controller for my old Cress kiln and removed the kiln-sitter entirely, plugged its hole and fabricated and installed a cover plate to close off the opening.

Nice. Could I ask what kind of controller you bought? 

[JohnnyK]

On 7/13/2023 at 8:19 PM, Msheffield said:

Nice. Could I ask what kind of controller you bought? 

I bought an Orton Auto-Fire controller and it works great. My firings with it have always been consistent and I have been using it for more than 5 years.  I had initially put a stainless steel screw in the Kiln Sitter, but ultimately decided to remove the Kiln Sitter entirely. The wiring change was pretty basic.