tom section. (Two-zone kilns: The middle light does not
turn on.)
Note:
Though power output lights are on, mechan-
ical problems can prevent the elements themselves
from turning on.
Single Right-Hand Dot: °C
When temperature is dis-
played in °C, a dot appears in the
lower right. In °F display, it disap-
pears. You can choose between
Fahrenheit and Celsius display.
See the F / C option, page 22.
IDLE Display: Kiln is Ready to Begin
The controller displays
[IDLE]
when you first apply power to the
kiln. Operation begins from
[IDLE]
. You can’t fire the kiln
until
[IDLE]
appears. It means the kiln is ready to be pro-
grammed or to begin firing.
I
If you press STOP during a firing,
[ABRT]
will appear.
To get back to
[IDLE]
, press any key.
I
If the display shows an error message such as
[FAIL]
in-
stead of
[IDLE]
, Press any key to make
[IDLE]
appear.
(See pages 27 - 29 for error messages.)
I
[CPLT]
(firing completed) appears at the end of a firing.
To make
[IDLE]
appear, press any key.
CPLT Message: Firing Completed
When the firing has successfully completed, the Sentry
will beep for 60 seconds and shut off the elements. Then
four messages will cycle one after the other:
1
[CPLT]
(complete)
2
Firing time in hours and minutes
3
The temperature reached during the last segment
that you programmed
4
The current kiln temperature
Note:
After the kiln fires to completion, discon-
nect the power. It is okay to turn off the power to
the controller while the kiln cools to room
temperature.
Note:
If the temperature alarm sounded (see page
9) before the kiln fired to completion, you will see
[ALAR]
instead of
[CPLT]
. Press
ENTER
.
[CPLT]
will appear.
LID Display
This indicates that your kiln is equipped with a lid or
door safety switch, and the lid or door is open. This will turn
off the elements.
If your kiln does not have a safety switch, or the kiln is
closed, please see page 28.
Repeat Firings
To repeat the last firing, press
ENTER
from
[IDLE]
. The
kiln will begin firing. This works in both Cone-Fire and
Ramp-Hold. But first, make sure you are repeating the cor-
rect firing by using Program Review (see page 8). For re-
peat firings that you don’t want to inadvertently change, see
Program Lock, page 25. Program Lock is especially useful
in classroom settings.
Thermocouple Inspection
The small rod protruding into the firing chamber is the
temperature sensor, or thermocouple.
CAUTION:
Bumping the thermocouple can push
it out of the firing chamber. This could cause an
overfire! The controller does not contain an alarm
to detect this type of failure. Bumping the thermo-
couple could also cause inaccurate readings.
Thermocouples come in different widths. The wider the
thermocouple, the farther it should extend into the firing
chamber. A ¼” - ½” diameter
thermocouple should extend
into the kiln about ¾” - 1”. (Do
not be concerned if your thermo-
couple extends into the firing
chamber even farther.)
Note:
Keep shelves, posts
and ware 1” - 1 ½” away
from the thermocouple.
Keep an extra thermocou-
ple on hand, especially if
you fire hotter than 2000°F /
1093°C.
If you are using a separate portable controller, you will
need to install the thermocouple on the kiln. See the sepa-
rate TnF 2 installation instructions.
Preventing an Overfire
Even though a digital controller turns off the kiln auto-
matically, you should monitor the kiln during firing. This is
to prevent a possible overfire.
1
Remain nearby while the kiln is firing. Check the
kiln occasionally.
2
Set the temperature
alarm (page 8) to re-
mind yourself to check
the kiln. If you are too
far away to hear the
alarm, you might try us-
ing a baby monitor.
3
After the kiln fires to
completion, disconnect
the power. It is okay to
turn off the power to
the controller while the kiln cools to room temper-
ature.
6
Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold
Do not leave your kiln unattended during operation.
Pointer:
Keep shelv es,
posts and ware 1” - 1 ½” away
from the thermocouple.
Pointer:
Set a wristwatch alarm,
cell phone, or even an alarm clock
to remind you to check on your
