Kiln question

R

Ryan J

Joined
Jul 14, 2014
Messages
233
Thanks everyone for putting up with all my questions. I've got my plan for a diy heat treat oven completed. I have all the materials saved to order. I have a question that I can't find an answer to online though.
I plan to make a mold and cast my oven with refractory cement. How thick should the walls be? The cement is rated at 2300 degrees Fahrenheit. I plan to build an angle iron cage and surround it with sheet metal for structure as well. Everything else is pretty well worked out but this.
 
VERY bad idea unless you are building a really large and high tech oven with an additional insulating layer of several inches. Do some research on refractory and ovens and you will understand why. The insulation on an oven is very different from cast refractory (cast is used for forges and such).


For an oven you want soft 2" thick firebrick ( which is also cheaper).
 
Well damnit your just not gonna let me do this wrong are you? Okay you win. I'll send them off for heat treat and try to find a used kiln. The only thing that scares me about sending them off is that I've read on here that any warpage from heat treat needs to be corrected right away. And I was concerned by the time I go it back I wouldn't be able to fix it. Any recommendations as far as heat treat service providers? I had planned on some 2500 degree heat shield on my oven as well but not as thick as you recommended. And some of the extra cost of a factory built Kiln would of course be labor and covering their overhead, but no a $20 pyrometer with $10 K type thermocouples probably won't be as accurate as higher cost and higher quality components. As always thanks for the advice. No more kiln questions I promise. While I have you here though, a forge is something I will have to have. Any recommended links to building one?
 
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All I can add is: Double, triple and quadruple check all your electrical connections and components. And insulate the coils and connections to them from everything, especially the body of the oven. (It may be the last thing you'll ever touch if you don't.)

And don't cheap out now; you'll likely pay double later to fix the eff-tard-upping whatever it is you cheaped out on caused...

(Really all that is even mentioned somewhere in the stickies... I just have quasi-personal experience with the insulation bit...)


-Eric

Edit: And High Temp Tools is a great little company to do business with. They'll answer any question you have...
 
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