I have been using my Evenheat now for nearly 15 years.

I have replaced the coils a couple times. They are inexpensive and are an acceptable cost to me.

There is really nothing to wear out in either company's unit.

I am certain the Paragon is a well built oven, but I have no experience with it.

Even heat has upgraded the original controls for those who want classier and mare variable programs, but the original set-pro has all of the functions we as knife makers will ever need.

If I had to buy another one - I'd buy another Evenheat with the Set-pro control.

There was a time when I would have recommended Paragon hands down, but over the last few years, their customer service has taken a severe nose dive. Personally, I own two ovens, a Paragon, and another which is a Paragon knockoff, and while both work well, I've had lengthy waits when I've need any parts, and it's taken SEVERAL phone calls to Paragon to get them to ship the parts I needed.

My main reason for liking the Paragons originally was their accuracy. Most don't know, but the main reason you see such price variances between oven brands is due to their percentage of accuracy. I had to do a lot of research to discover it, but have come to learn that prices of ovens are directly related to their accuracy. For example, Paragon has always been the most expensive brand you can buy. But! For the money, you got a 2-3% accuracy of the setpoint. For example, with a 2% accuracy rating, and a setpoint of say 2000F, the oven is considered "accurate" if the temp varies between 1960F-2040F. As price goes down, the percentage of accuracy widens. EvenHeat ovens generally are built with a 5-6% accuracy rating, meaning that they are considered "accurate", if that same setpoint of 2000F is used, and the oven temp varies between 1900F-2100F.

For me this always brought up the question.... What do I have to buy to ensure "dead on" accuracy? What I discovered that in order to get anything tighter than the 2%, I'd have to buy a "lab grade" heat treat oven..... and those START around $10K!

While I still like Paragon, simply because they offer tighter accuracy, I would have to recommend EvenHeat ovens, simply due to the "sloppy" customer service I've seen from Paragon over the last few years.

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EvenHeat ovens generally are built with a 5-6% accuracy rating, meaning that they are considered "accurate", if that same setpoint of 2000F is used, and the oven temp varies between 1900F-2100F.

So is the readout on the controls not accurate?

Because when I set my oven for thermal cycling and say I set the first cycle around 1615 degrees - it doesn't fluctuate from that point more than 3-4 degrees.

Or any setting, for that matter.

we have 4 paragons and 1 evenheat at the shop the paragons get used the even heat does not. the paragons are certainly more robustly built They have been good ovens and hold temp fine. the controller on the paragons is a bit nicer/easier to program. that is mostly due to the number pad vs the three button control. two of the kilns are set up for argon purge this has been great keeps the decarb and scale to almost nothing, even on stainless I am only getting 0.002-3 decarb total I was warned it will shorten the life of the coils but I have not experienced any issues yet.

definitely get 220v.

full disclosure Paragon has offered to give Kilns to every FIF winner thus the four in the shop.

So is the readout on the controls not accurate?

Based on what I've found, that's the catch.... the percentage of accuracy can be based on just about any component of the oven, or a combination there of. Each of the ovens I have are different when it comes to temps....using an independent temp measuring device, I found that my Paragon oven is "off" about 60 degrees to the high side, and the amount it's off varies, depending on the controller's setpoint...... meaning that the readout reads 1800F, but the temp is actually 1860F.... and that varies a few degrees up or down with the oven cycling. The paragon knockoff oven I own is closer to 75 degree "off", but it tends to be on the low side...when the readout says 1800F, the temp is actually closer to 1725F.

I often talk about "variables" from shop to shop, and this is an example. When it comes to the ovens, I just accept the fact that I need to test them with an independent temp measuring device, and then adjust the temps I set accordingly. Is it a major deal? I don't really think so. If a person is getting good results, or the results they seek, that's what matters. I've seen both sides of the coin with other makers' ovens..... some are actually "dead on", which I think is a bonus..... but I've also seen ovens of the same brand, in other makers' shops be off by the full percentage considered acceptable for that particular brand.

In the end, I don't think it's anything earth shattering, it's just how things are. What got me started chasing all this stuff down was another maker who had the exact same oven I had, who asked me for the temps I used on a specific steel....he tried it and it didn't work for him..... a few months later I made a trip to visit him, and we found that his oven was over 10% off. He ended up sending the oven back, they tested it, and said it was 12% off....and they sent him a new oven. I guess it all boils down to this.....if you're getting the results you seek, then let that dog lie..... if you're not getting the results you seek, then it's time to chase down the reason, and seek to compensate (as I did with just changing the setpoint temps) or if you find something "way off" maybe go down the road of seeking a replacement oven.

I have one of the high end laser thermometers. I have often opened the door of my oven and had the reading of the controller display and the laser within maybe 3-4 degrees of each other more times than I can count

I have complete faith in my oven and its accuracy.

the modern PID controllers are self learning and self correcting , and as long as the thermal couple is correct and in good condition, any digital controlled kiln should be accurate and consistent once the auto tune is run it has been set up. generally if a controller is Off by more than 5deg the thermo couple needs replacement. We built a few different set ups in the shop over the years (I just finished a low temp salt set up ) and the biggest issue we found we had to over come was even heating, especially at lower tempering temps. The majority of this came down to the design and lay out of the coils this is why for the most part I will pay for an oven rather than building one. the manufactures have the experience and can design a better lay out than I can.

By Karl Andersen :

I have one of the high end laser thermometers

Karl, would you mind sharing the brand and model number of your laser thermometer?

Thanks folks. A lot of good info here to consider.