Check out Ed Caffrey's Website. He has an article on Building a forge pyrometer, and it's not too expensive.

I put one together for my HT forge after reading his article. Nice and simple. I can't adjust the temp

Since it isn't hooked up to a solenoid but I might try that in the future.

Wesley

I used Ed's tutorial to build a read out for my forge. Works great, and allows me to maintain the temps +/- 25° of my target. It cost less than $60 to build. He tells you in the tutorial that you can not hook up a solenoid as there is no way to re-ignite the fire in a forge.

Good Luck,

Bob

John,

Here's a link for the one that I use: http://www.vulcankilns.com/KilnAccessories.html

Gary

Thank you for your help! It's more simple than I thought, and cheaper too!

You can hook it up to a solenoid, that's how most people do their salt pots. If the temp is set at forging, or even heat treating temperatures the propane will reignite just fine. Mostly I have seen this for heat treating forges, though I can't imagine why it wouldn't work for forging too.

I will add that most of the temperature controlled setups I've seen have used venturi burners, I'm not sure if having a blower would change anything.

How would a person calibrate a home built to be accurate in the upper ranges; say welding heat?

Mike

Mike, The PID is factory calibrated. When you hook it all up, it has to be programmed for the type thermocouple, etc. The unit then goes through a self check before you can use it. I suppose you could check it against an infrared unit. Ed Caffrey has all the info on his web site. See you at the hammer-in!

Bob