A "family" kiln?

Pelagicfun

Pelagicfun

Joined
Oct 16, 2017
Messages
245
So after fitting an inkbird PID to a 55 gallon evenheat kiln and using it a few times my wife said " it's scary, I don' like it. Get a new one." Go me right?!? Very exciting but I have 3 prerequisites. 1k or less would be nice and my wife and I want it big enough for other projects with the kiddos. The 3rd is that I would very much prefer 120. I will be posting a wtb similar to this post to see what' out there. I have my eye on a Paragon Xpress E-12T
8.5 wide x 12 deep x 9high
2000 degree
120v 2280watt
xpress 3key
How does and evenheat set pro, sentry xpress, and Olympics 3 key compare. These are there basic controllrs and all have upgrades that can be had for 75$ or so more.
A touch more height than a normal knife cooker is what I'm going for.
As for length I don't see myself moving to giant choppers anytime soon so under 12 should keep me busy. I saw Stacy without a E mention somewhere 2" from coils. I see that some Olympics and maybe others don't have elements on the back wall. Wouldn' this be prefered for knives as now you can use the whole length? Then why do the evenheats have coils on the deep end of their knife ovens?
Thanks!
CC
 
You really need to go 220V. Run a new socket if needed.
You aren't likely to find a kiln the size you want for $1000.
You need 18" depth unless you are only doing folders and very small knives.
An Evenheat HT-1 is $1500-1600, and a Paragon HT14D is about $1600-1700.
 
Do the evenheat kh series in 120v function ok? Is the rate of heat the big advantage in switching to 220? Looks like I have to settle for something with a lot less height or cough up a bit more money. The larger 220 Olympic unit is quite a bit less than the other contenders. Does it' function reflect this savings?
 
Also whats the max length you would do in an 18"? Is there a rule to stick to? Something like 2" less than depth depending on whether your kiln has elements in the rear?
 
Pelagicfun said:
I see that some Olympics and maybe others don't have elements on the back wall. Wouldn' this be prefered for knives as now you can use the whole length? Then why do the evenheats have coils on the deep end of their knife ovens?
Thanks!
CC
Click to expand...

Because it’s cheep and easy to do, but that does not make it right. Stay away from ovens with rear elements. Think about it practically. You want even heating and temps. By putting elements along the rear wall you just drastically increased the btus per cubic inch in that area compared to all the other areas in the oven. This means you have to keep you blade a good bit away from that back wall or your going to substantially over heat the tip area of your blade. So take a 12” deep oven. Your 3” in from the door and 5” at least from the rear coils. This gives you what 4” of usable length for knives. So yep folder blades. I would not get anything less then 18” deep minimum. Also I would forget about 120v ovens. Thy are going to be small and take a good bit of time to heat up plus the max temp might suffer as well. If your going to invest the money “buy once, cry once”
 
I recently got an Evenheat 120v. It has a similar depth to what you’re looking for, it’s the 18” model. I believe it’s 6” wide and 4” High (not exactly sure on the W and H, I’m away at school so I can’t measure it). I’ve used it only 5-6 times since I got it, so my experience is limited. It does take a long time to heat up, took me almost 50min to get up to 1650F, 30-40min to get to 1450. While that’s not too big of a problem for my use it may be for you. I believe the max heat on the 120v models is only a little over 2,000F.

Mine came out to just under $1,300 when I got it a few months ago.

If you have the money and are able to set up for a 220v then you should probably do that. If not then you’ll make do with a 120v, just be aware of its limits and application.

Hope this helps,
Kevin
 
Yes it helps thank you. I'll have to work a little more into my budget and get one to grow with. It will mean the sacrifice of my upgrade to a real motor from a TM motor with duct fan and filter.
 
The biggest knives I'm into making by the way are working tools around 8-10" and I don' see that changing.
 
".... and I don't see that changing ."

Those are the most said and least accurate words around. If you don't make some plan for other options, you will stagnate an or quit. The very reason you made this post was the need for an oven that was versatile.

If I could give any person one piece of advice is that EVERYTHING CHANGES. No mater what path you set, there will be diversions, re-directions, bumps, and unexpected changes.
 
Yes I have decided what I buy for knife making will stay just that. Wife agreed after seeing the options. KF22.5 vs KO 22.5. Now of these 2 the the difference is KO has + 200 max temp (2400) and the KF is 1" wider and 1 1/2" taller. Whch will I benefit more from in the long run?
 
another point to remember, esp. in today's more expensive electricity market (at least up here in Canada) -> 220v is more efficient than 120v - which means a lower overall cost of operation. There is a reason electricity companies use extremely high voltages in lines :)
 
I got the KH418 (120v) with the TAP controller and the quiet drive solid state relays about a year ago. A few observations:
For 1460°F It's about an hour and a half. That's not too bad if you mostly treat steel that reaches critical temperature around 1450°F.
For 1950°F you are looking at five to six hours, maybe more. It REALLY starts to crawl at those high temps. When you open the kiln, it takes it a couple of hours to recover. But, it WILL get there—eventually.

I like the TAP Controller. It makes it really easy to program schedules for different steels. It also makes it really easy to see what temperature the kiln is at. I don't really have anything to compare the quiet drive to, but it seems like a good investment.
 
If she is into pottery, you can build a temperature controlled propane fired pottery kiln.

Or look for a local community kiln, there are often group firings.
 
Thanks for that input. I have decided on a HT-2. It' a lot more than I originaly planned on spending. But JT had it right. It' Not something I want to buy again for a while. It's large and serves many purposes plus I can grow a bit with it. Still have to decide on controller but its nice to hear how much you like your TAP. I have also noticed it is next to impossible to find a used one and when you do it' not discounted much. They keep their value well but why not have the warranty and start a relationship with a evenheat rep? Thanks again guys!
 
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