Specific Kiln questions

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blandies

Joined
Aug 18, 2011
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First, Do electric knifemaking kilns plug in to a regular electrical outlet in the house or do I need some special outlet? If so where would I get the outlet.
I was looking into a Sugar Creek kiln, the bigger model...manual control.
Would that kiln be sufficient for heat treating cpm154 steel or would I need some more special add-ons to get the most of the heat treat?

Lastly, would this kiln below work for knives? It's used/cheaper, figured I could save some money instead of paying $500 for one.

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/art/2525305145.html
 
All but the smallest ones draw too much current for a standard outlet.
While the small ones use 110VAC, they need a 20-30 amp circuit. Most HT ovens run on 220VAC and draw about 15 amps per leg. It is always best to use a dedicated circuit for a HT oven ( nothing on the circuit but the one socket.

The question on the kiln could be answered with -
"If you are asking if it can be modified, you don't have the skills to do it." that sounds a bit harsh, but 220VAC high current work isn't for amateurs. Either pass on it or enlist the help of someone who knows his electrical and PID control stuff.
A more polite answer is -
That kiln would work, but isn't a knife kiln. It can be used as is, or be placed on its side. There are two main drawbacks - one is that the chamber is much larger than needed. You will have to do some adapting to add some shelves for blades. Using it upright will be simplest, but putting blades in and taking them out is tricky and will require elbow length glass kiln gloves and arm covers. The other is that it is not regulated, and you would have to build or add a controller...which would add a lot to the cost.
 
Last edited:
bladsmth said:
All but the smallest ones draw too much current for a standard outlet.
While the small ones use 110VAC, they need a 20-30 amp circuit. Most HT ovens run on 220VAC and draw about 15 amps per leg. It is always best to use a dedicated circuit for a HT oven ( nothing on the circuit but the one socket.

The question on the kiln could be answered with -
"If you are asking if it can be modified, you don't have the skills to do it." that sounds a bit harsh, but 220VAC high current work isn't for amateurs. Either pass on it or enlist the help of someone who knows his electrical and PID control stuff.
A more polite answer is -
That kiln would work, but isn't a knife kiln. It can be used as is, or be placed on its side. There are two main drawbacks - one is that the chamber is much larger than needed. You will have to do some adapting to add some shelves for blades. Using it upright will be simplest, but putting blades in and taking them out is tricky and will require elbow length glass kiln gloves and arm covers. The other is that it is not regulated, and you would have to build or add a controller...which would add a lot to the cost.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. In regards to modification I meant the sugar creek model - I was browsing around & seen cpm154 steel requires more attention when HT & didn't know if the sugar creek kiln would heat treat 154cm good as is or if I would need some special add-on to do so.

On the amperage, how would I be able to set up a new outlet just for the kiln? How much would it cost for an electrician to install one? I'm worried it may be expensive....I remember asking for a quote on a special socket for my welder & they quoted me $300+.
 
I don't know what it will cost to add a circuit in your house, but an electrical, or a friend who is knowledgeable can tell you. I would guess from $100 to $300. It depends on where the breaker box is and how much available space is in the box. If there is an electric dryer outlet in the area, you could add a second receptacle to that circuit, and just unplug the dryer when using the HT oven.

As to the sugar creek oven. If you mean the small ones, they will do most HT, but are really slow to heat up.
CPM-154 and most stainless steels need to be held at various temperatures in steps, ending at around 1950F. A 220VAC oven with a programmable controller does this best.

If you are trying to figure the cost of a HT oven, figure $1000-1300 for the oven cost and $100-300 for installation costs. Even then you will not be able to do cryo on stainless steel without a liquid nitrogen dewar and many liters of LN. It could easily run you $2000 total to set up and operate a HT regime for stainless steels.
Unless you are planning on doing a lot of HT on a daily/weekly basis, it is far more economical and usually of better quality to sent stainless steel blades out for HT. The cost in batches can be as low as $2-3 per blade. A single blade is usually $10-15. You can get a lot of blades done for the cost of an oven.

A small HT oven will work fine if all you do is make and HT smaller carbon steel blades. Even then you can plan on spending about $1000 total.
 
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