Hello,
Thought maybe someone else could use this information.
I just installed a pid and thermocouple on the propane forge. The whole set up was less than $60 plus shipping. I made the box to house the pid. Heat treated 4 blades today, and was able to regulate the temperature within a few degrees of my target temp of 1500 degrees. Had to play with the gas and air but it really worked well. This will not regulate a forge automatically like it will salt pots. Strictly for reading the temperature. But, it proved my suspicions that I was running the forge way too hot, and wasting expensive fuel. I'm hooked into my 500 gallon tank for the house. The picture shows the forge slowly heating up. Once it gets close to the target, I just made some small adjustments and was able to hold it between 1510 and 1520.
That's my lazy Lab on the floor. Didn't take her long to leave the shop once things got good and hot!
Thanks to MS, Ed Caffrey for his post on the forum and his website for the information on how to rig this up. Great organization with very willing and helpful folks!
Robert:
Well done!
There is a long thread on the ABS Forum on where to purchase the materials and how to do the set up for our ABS members to see. The thread was started by Master Smith Steve Culver and is at, click: http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/index.php?/topic/275-pyrometer/
Thanks again for posting.
Dan Cassidy
Journeyman Smith
Send an email to Dan
Another bit of info about the PID, if you order it off eBay, they come with zero instructions. Ed has the wiring diagram on his website. You have to go to the PID support page for instructions on how to program the thermocouple into the unit, and the set how you want the temp to read either Celsius or Fahrenheit. My PID kept reading in minus numbers as it was heating up and then positive cooling down. I located the support forum for the PID, and for some reason I had to switch the thermocouple leads to get it to read positive.
Bob
