Recommendation? Which Heat Treat Kiln?

[mpcoppin]

I have a Paragon 24” (KM). I love it. It came with the Sentinel touch screen controls. It works great, no complaints.

My buddy has a Hot Shot. He paid significantly less than what I paid and didn’t have to wire a special 220 outlet. He is very happy with it. I’ve used it and I can’t say that there was much of a difference between his oven and mine, other than depth. Mine may have heated up faster but not enough so that it made a difference in my head.

 

[Larrin]

Are they fairly accurate with respect to the set/display temp and do they hold their temps consistently? My current oven is generally 20-30 degF off of the set temp (if I want it at 1465 I have to set it at like 1445) but will hold the temp within about 3 or 4 degF once it gets there. I use a separate thermocouple to watch the temp. Not sure if there’s a way to calibrate the one on the kiln.

How Even is an EvenHeat? How to Operate Furnaces Effectively - Knife Steel Nerds

I measured the temperature distribution in an EvenHeat furnace, and I have recommendations on keeping the temperature even.

knifesteelnerds.com

 

[Larrin]

Would you say that there would be a measurable difference in steel properties with knives heat treated in a fiber kiln vs brick kiln?

The properties are based on the thermal profile the steel sees. So if it is the same it doesn’t matter what material the furnace is made of. If there is a very uneven temperature distribution or some other issue then of course it is anyone’s guess.

 

[LCoop]

I'll give to all the more intelligent folks than me. I built my own heat treat kiln myself. I used Pottery kiln bricks that was damaged from improper glazzing used. It had a additional 2' of insulation on the outside of the soft bricks. It will come up to 1975 in 25 minutes. The outside temp is basically room temp except the door which is single door K bricks. The rebound is incredible. So yes I believe insulation is important. FYI I built a super insulated house that pays for itself every year.

 

[ScarFoot]

How Even is an EvenHeat? How to Operate Furnaces Effectively - Knife Steel Nerds

I measured the temperature distribution in an EvenHeat furnace, and I have recommendations on keeping the temperature even.

knifesteelnerds.com

I don’t understand how with all of my googling the last few weeks I didn’t find that article. Exactly the info I was looking for. I’m starting to think I might get a KO and a tempering oven.