Evenheat KF or LB

I have an Evenheat KF and am conflicted about it. The coils in the back are a huge design flaw, and I don't understand why they ever thought that was a good idea in the first place; I keep a firebrick in the back to help deal with this. Definitely go with the LB, if you're going to get one. I also do not understand why they designed it with the coils exposed, except that it's cheaper to do it that way. I do my best to prevent rapid heat ramps when the blade is inside (otherwise infrared from the coils will way overheat the blade), but I feel like I'm always fighting it. I have to put the blades in the preheated oven, watch the temperature drop, wait for a little bit, end the program and then restart it, in order to ensure I'm getting a slow ramp for the temperature drop recovery. If I don't restart the program, it will try to recover at full ramp speed, regardless of what I programmed.

Maybe I'm overthinking things (wouldn't be the first time), but to my knowledge, these are all big problems.
 
It seems Evenheat LB with TAP controller will avoid all these past issues. I ordered one with the automatic turn-off when opening the door.
 
Tenebr0s said:
I also do not understand why they designed it with the coils exposed, except that it's cheaper to do it that way.
Click to expand...
I have a Thermolyne lab furnace which is a muffle furnace, which basically means that the coils are behind the refractory.
The only issue with this is that it seems to take longer to heat up to initial temp than the standard knifemaking furnaces.
These type of lab furnaces are extremely expensive.

anmfkVP.jpg
 
HSC /// said:
I have a Thermolyne lab furnace which is a muffle furnace, which basically means that the coils are behind the refractory.
The only issue with this is that it seems to take longer to heat up to initial temp than the standard knifemaking furnaces.
These type of lab furnaces are extremely expensive.

anmfkVP.jpg
Click to expand...
Sorry , but few brick , couple foot of heat elements and shiny chrome steel for cover DON T make standard HT oven for knife steel ......
I like your oven :thumbsup:
 
So, I have the ko line, with the exposed rear coils. I’ve never had any issues that I have noticed. But now I’ll be putting a few fire bricks to cover the rear coils. Is there any benefit to cover the side coils too?
 
I went with the 27" since the price wasn't that much more than the 22.5. I haven't had it that long but it work great. I bought the ramp master and that is my only regret. If I did it again I would get the TAP control. I didn't like that it only worked with apple products though

Its probably to late now but evenheat is a sponsor for the knifetalk podcast and they have a discount for it.
 
rodriguez7 said:
So, I have the ko line, with the exposed rear coils. I’ve never had any issues that I have noticed. But now I’ll be putting a few fire bricks to cover the rear coils. Is there any benefit to cover the side coils too?
Click to expand...

Just keep at least a couple inches between the bricks and coils (is what I've been told). I don't believe you can just cover them up.
 
skillgannon said:
Its probably to late now but evenheat is a sponsor for the knifetalk podcast and they have a discount for it.
Click to expand...
Yep, too late. I did check into just now. Looks like SoulCeramics is the sponsor of KnifeTalk and they are offering the discount on Evenheat ovens. So yeah, I could've saved $44 if I'd bought it from SoulCeramics.
 
I have discussed the issue of direct radiation in a HT oven with a few folks that know a lot. If you want to get some superb info from a person who deals with these issues daily, contact Tim Gunn.

What I have discussed with some folks (but not with Tim yet) is the ways to diffuse the direct radiation. The simplest method seems to be a metal "cage/box" to place over the blade rack. A simple "U" of 16 gauge metal will suffice. If you have rear coils, it should have a back on it. The box should not be closer than 2" from any of the coils. You absolutely need a door switch to the controller with this setup. When discussing how necessary this box is, most agreed that if the oven is fully soaked prior to inserting the blades, the issue is minor to moot. What I may experiment with is putting a fan with a 3"" stainless steel blade and long shaft through the back of my oven. This should eliminate any hot spots in the chamber.
 
Looks like I messed up pretty dam good!!! I think when I put in some fire bricks to cover the rear coils, one touched the coils and shorted it out
 
I doubt the brick shorted the coil. What it did is concentrate the heat back onto the coil and melted it at the bend.
What is that vertical round object in the corner over the coils???
 
Looks like ceramic rod , probably to hold coil in place ......
 
Last edited:
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I doubt the brick shorted the coil. What it did is concentrate the heat back onto the coil and melted it at the bend.
What is that vertical round object in the corner over the coils???
Click to expand...
It looks like a ceramic post of some sort, the coils route behind it. I pulled some slack on the coils, and wired it together, it seems to be working ok. The brick was to close to the coil, so what you said makes sense.
 
kmf600 said:
Can I ask why you chose USAKnifemaker over Kilnfrog?
Click to expand...
I will say the lady I spoke to at kiln frog was very nice and helpful. It just came down to both had the same price and I had to make a decision. I like to do business in one spot if I can and usaknifemaker offers more stuff I might need. I see it like if I buy quite a bit of stuff from one person it can be used as leverage if you ever have an issue. Maybe my thinking is wrong. What might make a person choose Kiln Frog over USAknifemaker?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top