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Thermocouples

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Posts: 14
Member
Topic starter
 

Does anyone have experience with using a thermocouple to monitor the temperature of your forge? I'm seeking advice about exactly what to buy and a good company to buy it from. It's for a 12" vertical forge that has a 3/4 pipe thread bung for a thermocouple.

 
Posted : 27/08/2014 3:12 pm
Posts: 0
New Member Guest
 

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

 
Posted : 27/08/2014 5:35 pm
Robert Wright
Posts: 425
Member
 

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

 
Posted : 27/08/2014 8:45 pm
Posts: 775
Noble Member Apprentice Bladesmith
 

John,

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

Gary

 
Posted : 27/08/2014 11:19 pm
Posts: 14
Member
Topic starter
 

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

 
Posted : 27/08/2014 11:24 pm
Posts: 0
New Member Guest
 

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.

 
Posted : 29/08/2014 9:16 am
Mike Williams
Posts: 263
Member
 

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

Mike

Mike Williams

Master Smith

 
Posted : 29/08/2014 1:07 pm
Robert Wright
Posts: 425
Member
 

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

 
Posted : 29/08/2014 10:06 pm
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