Help, need pyrometer/controller - electritian

mjehughes · Post by **mjehughes** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 1:00 am

I purchased a Kiln pyrometer temp controller on EBAY and received 3 separate pieces - I have no idea how they go together, I'm not an electritian.. and am getting an ATTITUDE from the seller.. says a 15yr old can figure it out..
theres a digital part with a lot of screws on the back, a black box he says is a coil with odd plugs that don't plug into anything I've ever seen and a long probe that is the pyrometer.. no wires or cords that hook to each other or into any outlet .. anybody near Portland Oregon know how to put this together.. I thought I could just plug my kiln into it and get a temp reading and it would stop the elec to the kiln when it got to a set temp.. small 110 Kiln for test firing and didn't want to spend a lot of money but need to know the temp.
Or anyone know of a good source for a 110v pyrometer at a reasonable price, and I can toss these parts and write it off .

Duane Sitton · Post by **Duane Sitton** » Thu Jun 12, 2003 9:58 am

Good Morning,

I'm over 15(way over) but will try to help. Sometimes sellers on EBAY(or any retail store for that matter) don't know much about what they are selling, it would be nice if they would admit it. Oh well.
Controllers can be very confusing, I have some experience, maybe we can muddle through. I'm actully do the same thing right now, hooking up a used controller to a small kiln.

Let's worry about the controller for now, then we'll figure out how to hook it to your kiln.

First, what information do you have:
Brand, model #, anything written on the controller that lists connections.
Pictures
Write up on the controller from EBAY
Anything else

I'm not near Portland, Independence, KS, but hooking it up may not be that big a problem if we can figure out where the wires go.

Duane

bouchette&wickart · Post by **bouchette&wickart** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 4:31 am

I have a digital (Fluke) pyrometer that reads from a thermocouple. Here's what it looks like.

1. The probe that goes into the kiln is the thermocouple. The thermocouple has a little ceramic block on the end that sits outside the kiln. The block has 2 innies into which are put the 2 ends of the "lead wire" ('leed,' not the metal 'lead'), and two screws with which to fasten the wires down tightly.

2. On the other end of the lead wire is a little plastic plug, mine is about 1/2" square, and has two slightly different width silver tongues out the side opposite the lead wire.

3. Those tongues plug into my handheld pyrometer, the instrument that translates the electric current from the probe into degrees.

Now, my unit is not a controller, it just tells me the temp inside the kiln. If you bought a controller, the connection from the thermocouple to it may look very different. And a controller would also have to connect to the 110V you have coming to the kiln, as well as to a switch "relay" that turns the elements on and off in your kiln.

I happen to be just outside Portland, OR, and can probably direct you to much better help than I can give...I am a member of the glass guild and the potters guild...

deb (& prune)

P.S. don't you dare let that seller go without posting your complaint to ebay.

Jack Bowman · Post by **Jack Bowman** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 1:54 pm

Post the brand and model number of what you bought on Ebay and I can probably help you out. I've only bought one controller on Ebay but I got a very good deal and it still works a year later. Email me if you want. A link to the page of the auction might help also.