ture Alarm, page 8.) Plug in a loud bell to alert you that
the kiln has reached the alarm temperature.
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[NONE]
None:
Use this setting if your kiln does not
have the AOP outlet.
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[SAFE]
This is for an optional safety relay and is used
with the
[LIM]
option. In
[LIM]
, program the maximum
temperature that you want for your kiln. If the kiln is 1
degree hotter than that temperature, the kiln will shut
off. See page 25.
1
From
[IDLE]
, press
OPTIONS
repeatedly until
[AOP1]
or
[AOP2]
appears.
2
Press
ENTER
. Use the
1
or
3
key to select one of the
above options.
3
Press
ENTER
. Press
STOP
to return to
[IDLE]
.
RATE / Select Preferred Type of Rate
Choose 1) Rate Per Hour, 2) Rate Per Minute, or 3)
Elapsed Time to Temperature
Rate is how fast the kiln heats or cools. Rate as degrees
of temperature change per hour is the most widely used
rate system in America.
Some brands of controllers, though, measure the rate as
an amount of time needed to reach a temperature. If you
are accustomed to that type of programming, you can con-
tinue to program with that method. Change the type of rate
in the
[RATE]
option of your Sentry controller to the
[TIME]
setting. You then won’t have to change your firing
schedules to degrees per hour rate.
1
From
[IDLE]
, press
OPTIONS
repeatedly until
[RATE]
appears.
2
Press
ENTER
. Use the
1
or
3
key to select the type
of rate that you prefer:
[HOUR]
(Degrees of temperature change per hour; the
most common rate method in use)
[MIN ]
(Degrees of temperature change per minute)
[TIME]
(Elapsed time needed to reach a temperature)
3
Press
ENTER
. Press
STOP
to return to
[IDLE]
.
How to Program in Ramp-Hold with TIME
Selected in Rate
After selecting
[TIME]
in the RATE option, program
the amount of time that each segment should take to reach
its target temperature. Hours and minutes are separated by
the center display dot. For example, 1 hour and 30 minutes
is programmed in rate as 01.30.
The Time mode in some ways is different and opposite
the standard degrees of temperature per hour rate:
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For a Full rate, or the fastest that the kiln will fire, select
a time rate of 00.00.
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After you have entered all of the segments for your pro-
gram, you will need to zero out the remaining available
segments. To do this, select a rate of 99.00 hours.
CENT / Cost Per Kilowatt-Hour from
Your Electric Bill (for Firing Cost)
The controller can figure the electrical cost of a firing if
you enter 1) the cost of electricity from your electric bill and
2) the wattage of your kiln. The cost of electricity is entered
in the CENT option. The wattage of your kiln is entered in
the KW option. (See next option below.)
Pointer:
The cost of electricity is figured in kilo-
watt-hours (KWh). A kilowatt-hour is 1,000 watts
of electricity running for 1 hour. (10 – 100-watt
light bulbs glowing for one hour consume 1 KWh
of electricity.)
To find what the power company charges you for a kilo-
watt-hour, look at your electric bill, call your power com-
pany, or visit their website. The electric rate may vary de-
pending on the time of year and amount of electricity you
use. In the summer, the electric rate may go up.
On your electric bill, you will find the cost per kilo-
watt-hour along with other charges such as a delivery
charge and taxes. Divide the total amount of your bill by the
number of kilowatt-hours on your bill.
Electric bills can get complicated. The rates can vary by
time of day or the day of the week. On an electric bill, this is
called peak and off-peak rates. You may be paying less than
the above calculation if you fire your kiln during off-peak
periods.
1
From
[IDLE]
, press
OPTIONS
repeatedly until
[CENT]
appears. Press
ENTER
.
2
From an electric bill, enter the cost of a kilo-
watt-hour. Place cents to the right of the decimal.
Round off fractions. (Example: Enter 9.25 cents per
kilowatt-hour as 00.09.) Then press
ENTER
.
3
Press
STOP
to return to
[IDLE]
.
Pointer:
You can enter the cost in U. S., Canadian,
or Euro cents, British pence, Indian paisas, or any
other money system that is based upon 100 units
(i.e. 100 cents = 1 dollar.) If your system is based
upon 1000 units, such as the Libyan dirham, the
Oman baiza, or the Kuwait fil, divide the cost by 10.
Example: Enter 140 as 00.14. Then multiply by 10
the cost of a firing shown in the controller display.
KW / Kilowatts of Your Kiln (Needed
to Calculate Firing Cost)
To figure the cost to fire your kiln, the controller needs
to know how many kilowatts your kiln uses. Look at your
kiln’s electrical data plate. It is usually on the side of the
switch box. The data plate lists the watts, amps, and volts. If
watts are not listed, multiply amps x volts. (Example: 15
amps x 240 volts = 3,600 watts.)
Divide the wattage of your kiln by 1000, which gives the
kilowatts.
3 examples:
Keep the kiln lid or door closed when the kiln is not in use.
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