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Anyone building their own kilns?



 
 
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  #21  
Old May 14th 07, 04:35 AM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
DKat
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 141
Default Anyone building their own kilns?


"nJb" wrote in message
...
DKat wrote:
"nJb" wrote in message
...

Rob Morley wrote:

In article , nJb
says...



You still haven't dealt with the power bumps and freeze ups.


A UPS will deal with an unreliable power supply, but the right software
will recover gracefully from a power failure anyway. Only Windows users
think that machines lock up regularly. DOS would work fine for this
sort of application, and has been used for process control in science
and industry for many years. The open-source UNIX derivatives are also
used for critical real-time control. The PC hardware required to run
this sort of thing is minimal: I have some old 486 machines that would
be more than adequate, and have proved their reliability over many
years, NASA still uses Intel 386 based hardware because it works - but
you can bet it doesn't run Windows.
You may not be interested in using a PC to control your kiln, and I
wouldn't try to persuade you otherwise, but you said "A PC is not
reliable for controlling a kiln" and that's just not true. It's
probably only going to appeal to people who have an interest in
programming and DIY electronics, but it's potentially a very workable
solution.

Go for it. I prefer to spend my time melting glass, which I do everyday.
You sound like your expertise is in computers. Mine is in glass, kilns,
and building controllers that are inexpensive and the least computer
literate person can use.

Jack

http://www.glasterpiece.com

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/xmissionbobo/



Beautiful work. Why so judgmental about others using computers as a
controller? The population of potters is large enough that you are going
to have plenty of potters who are computer literate. We soon won't have
computers that are easily adaptable to run kilns but right now you still
have old computers that are probably far more stable than the new ones
and when run on DOS are the perfect kiln controller. Why pottery is such
a great 'job' is that there are so many dimensions to it. It isn't
standing at the conveyor belt packing widgets. There are as many ways to
do the trade as there are individuals to do it.


Thank you.

Not judgmental at all. Somebody asked a question about building kilns and
controllers and I answered to the best of my knowledge. A few people took
it as if I said they "can't" use a PC. I pointed out some of the pitfalls.
What I didn't point out is that the part I use instead of a PC is
2"x2"x4". There are many ways to get any job done. Hey, I don't own an
electric mixer.

Jack


You beat your egg whites by hand? For some reason the 2X4 brings to
mind a very unPC story my Dad used to tell about the mule that was told
once, twice and then.... well we will leave it at that.

Thanks for sharing your work. As I said, very beautiful. Donna




Ads
  #22  
Old May 14th 07, 12:44 PM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
Mike Firth
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 54
Default Anyone building their own kilns?

Getting back into this late, having spent the weekend chasing gasoline
chainsaws on poles, I would like to point out that anyone using a PC older
than a pentium has got to have the basic skills of replacing the back up
battery and working with analog to digital converters for interface or
building such an animal ($200-400). Then programming in a wonderful old
version of C or assembly language or working in Linux/Unix. As it happens,
I have been involved in microcomputers since my January 1975 issue of
Popular Electronics arrived and have worked with single board computers and
assembly language and various PC's (personal computers, not just IBM PC
where IBM stole the initials) for years. But the delights of putting tens
of hours into programming and into accurate analog interfaces to be cheap
have continued to escape me. Of course, so have the delights of being an
interior decorator programming Windows (still using QBasic under the DOS
window in WinXP for utility stuff, very stable unlike Win98)
The amazing choices available in the fractional DIN format (2x2x4") for
about $200 with another $50 or so for thermocouple and SSR and $40 for a UPS
along with the computer interface that allows writing a high level
monitoring program make the effort of a PC just a hobby.
More importantly, all of this is nonsense if one is talking about
controlling gas, where interfacing with the gas and air flow with proper
safety features quickly drives the basic cost up close to $1,000 just in
parts. And most potters use gas or oil because it is easy to heat a large
space with a packaged solution that heats and shuts off using cones that
take in the heating rate - longer for a slow rate, etc.

--
Mike Firth
Furnace Glassblowing Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/
"DKat" wrote in message
...

"nJb" wrote in message
...
DKat wrote:
"nJb" wrote in message
...

Rob Morley wrote:

In article , nJb
says...



You still haven't dealt with the power bumps and freeze ups.


A UPS will deal with an unreliable power supply, but the right software
will recover gracefully from a power failure anyway. Only Windows
users think that machines lock up regularly. DOS would work fine for
this sort of application, and has been used for process control in
science and industry for many years. The open-source UNIX derivatives
are also used for critical real-time control. The PC hardware required
to run this sort of thing is minimal: I have some old 486 machines
that would be more than adequate, and have proved their reliability
over many years, NASA still uses Intel 386 based hardware because it
works - but you can bet it doesn't run Windows.
You may not be interested in using a PC to control your kiln, and I
wouldn't try to persuade you otherwise, but you said "A PC is not
reliable for controlling a kiln" and that's just not true. It's
probably only going to appeal to people who have an interest in
programming and DIY electronics, but it's potentially a very workable
solution.

Go for it. I prefer to spend my time melting glass, which I do everyday.
You sound like your expertise is in computers. Mine is in glass, kilns,
and building controllers that are inexpensive and the least computer
literate person can use.

Jack

http://www.glasterpiece.com

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/xmissionbobo/


Beautiful work. Why so judgmental about others using computers as a
controller? The population of potters is large enough that you are
going to have plenty of potters who are computer literate. We soon
won't have computers that are easily adaptable to run kilns but right
now you still have old computers that are probably far more stable than
the new ones and when run on DOS are the perfect kiln controller. Why
pottery is such a great 'job' is that there are so many dimensions to
it. It isn't standing at the conveyor belt packing widgets. There are
as many ways to do the trade as there are individuals to do it.


Thank you.

Not judgmental at all. Somebody asked a question about building kilns and
controllers and I answered to the best of my knowledge. A few people took
it as if I said they "can't" use a PC. I pointed out some of the
pitfalls. What I didn't point out is that the part I use instead of a PC
is 2"x2"x4". There are many ways to get any job done. Hey, I don't own an
electric mixer.

Jack


You beat your egg whites by hand? For some reason the 2X4 brings to
mind a very unPC story my Dad used to tell about the mule that was told
once, twice and then.... well we will leave it at that.

Thanks for sharing your work. As I said, very beautiful. Donna






  #23  
Old May 14th 07, 11:11 PM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
dr.klump
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4
Default Anyone building their own kilns?

Kijiji,is a word that means trading place,In canada,we have a
network,which helps people get stuff they need for stuff they dont
want anymore,some stuff is for sale,but you are free to barter,and
trade.works good,just type in Kijiji on google search it should come
up.

  #24  
Old May 15th 07, 12:09 AM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
nJb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 187
Default Anyone building their own kilns?

DKat wrote:
"nJb" wrote in message
...

DKat wrote:

"nJb" wrote in message
...


Rob Morley wrote:


In article , nJb
says...




You still haven't dealt with the power bumps and freeze ups.


A UPS will deal with an unreliable power supply, but the right software
will recover gracefully from a power failure anyway. Only Windows users
think that machines lock up regularly. DOS would work fine for this
sort of application, and has been used for process control in science
and industry for many years. The open-source UNIX derivatives are also
used for critical real-time control. The PC hardware required to run
this sort of thing is minimal: I have some old 486 machines that would
be more than adequate, and have proved their reliability over many
years, NASA still uses Intel 386 based hardware because it works - but
you can bet it doesn't run Windows.
You may not be interested in using a PC to control your kiln, and I
wouldn't try to persuade you otherwise, but you said "A PC is not
reliable for controlling a kiln" and that's just not true. It's
probably only going to appeal to people who have an interest in
programming and DIY electronics, but it's potentially a very workable
solution.

Go for it. I prefer to spend my time melting glass, which I do everyday.
You sound like your expertise is in computers. Mine is in glass, kilns,
and building controllers that are inexpensive and the least computer
literate person can use.

Jack

http://www.glasterpiece.com

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/xmissionbobo/


Beautiful work. Why so judgmental about others using computers as a
controller? The population of potters is large enough that you are going
to have plenty of potters who are computer literate. We soon won't have
computers that are easily adaptable to run kilns but right now you still
have old computers that are probably far more stable than the new ones
and when run on DOS are the perfect kiln controller. Why pottery is such
a great 'job' is that there are so many dimensions to it. It isn't
standing at the conveyor belt packing widgets. There are as many ways to
do the trade as there are individuals to do it.


Thank you.

Not judgmental at all. Somebody asked a question about building kilns and
controllers and I answered to the best of my knowledge. A few people took
it as if I said they "can't" use a PC. I pointed out some of the pitfalls.
What I didn't point out is that the part I use instead of a PC is
2"x2"x4". There are many ways to get any job done. Hey, I don't own an
electric mixer.

Jack



You beat your egg whites by hand? For some reason the 2X4 brings to
mind a very unPC story my Dad used to tell about the mule that was told
once, twice and then.... well we will leave it at that.


Yep, with a whisk.

Thanks for sharing your work. As I said, very beautiful. Donna


Thank you.

Jack
  #25  
Old May 15th 07, 12:13 AM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
nJb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 187
Default Anyone building their own kilns?

Mike Firth wrote:

Getting back into this late, having spent the weekend chasing gasoline
chainsaws on poles, I would like to point out that anyone using a PC older
than a pentium has got to have the basic skills of replacing the back up
battery and working with analog to digital converters for interface or
building such an animal ($200-400). Then programming in a wonderful old
version of C or assembly language or working in Linux/Unix. As it happens,
I have been involved in microcomputers since my January 1975 issue of
Popular Electronics arrived and have worked with single board computers and
assembly language and various PC's (personal computers, not just IBM PC
where IBM stole the initials) for years. But the delights of putting tens
of hours into programming and into accurate analog interfaces to be cheap
have continued to escape me. Of course, so have the delights of being an
interior decorator programming Windows (still using QBasic under the DOS
window in WinXP for utility stuff, very stable unlike Win98)
The amazing choices available in the fractional DIN format (2x2x4") for
about $200 with another $50 or so for thermocouple and SSR and $40 for a UPS
along with the computer interface that allows writing a high level
monitoring program make the effort of a PC just a hobby.
More importantly, all of this is nonsense if one is talking about
controlling gas, where interfacing with the gas and air flow with proper
safety features quickly drives the basic cost up close to $1,000 just in
parts. And most potters use gas or oil because it is easy to heat a large
space with a packaged solution that heats and shuts off using cones that
take in the heating rate - longer for a slow rate, etc.


Just received a CAL9500P today. $178 (EOM price) plus $7 shipping from
PA. Three year warranty and more memory than the end user will ever
need. It's just too easy.

Jack
  #26  
Old May 15th 07, 03:32 AM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
Moonraker
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 439
Default Anyone building their own kilns?


"nJb" wrote in message
...

The strangest thing is that the original poster hasn't checked back in.
Maybe that's not so strange.

Jack


I was thinking the strangest thing was that Brady hadn't "contributed".


  #27  
Old May 15th 07, 06:46 AM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
nJb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 187
Default Anyone building their own kilns?

Moonraker wrote:
"nJb" wrote in message
...

The strangest thing is that the original poster hasn't checked back in.
Maybe that's not so strange.

Jack



I was thinking the strangest thing was that Brady hadn't "contributed".



Looks like he just started his own discussion board. Should be interesting.

Jack
  #28  
Old May 15th 07, 02:51 PM posted to rec.crafts.glass,rec.crafts.pottery
Moonraker
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 439
Default Anyone building their own kilns?


"nJb" wrote in message
...
Moonraker wrote:
"nJb" wrote in message
...

The strangest thing is that the original poster hasn't checked back in.
Maybe that's not so strange.

Jack



I was thinking the strangest thing was that Brady hadn't "contributed".



Looks like he just started his own discussion board. Should be

interesting.

Jack


Yeah, five members and one post (his) so far. Whoopdefukindoo. All the
ISP's in the world better prepare for an immediate doubling of their
loads....

One thing is fer sure. That's the ONE forum where he won't get banned.
He's managed to get canned everywhere else.

Thankfully.


 




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