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#21
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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 |
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#22
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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