Firing Ceramics After An Extended Power Failure; Thermocouple Offset (Tcos); Setting Thermocouple Offset; Options Quick Reference List - Paragon DTC 1000 Operation & Maintenance Instructions Manual

When the power failure message appears, press
ErrP
ENTER . The hours fired and temperature reached before the
power failed will appear, then
To resume firing, press ENTER twice. The kiln will begin
firing again from its present temperature. For example, the
kiln reached 1000°F/538°C before power failed. When you turn
the kiln back on, the temperature is 700°F/371°C. Firing will
resume from 700°F/371°C. You need not cool the kiln to room
temperature before starting over unless you use new witness
cones. (See next section.)
When you resume firing by pressing ENTER twice, the con-
troller begins firing again from segment 1. If the temperature
is already higher than that of segment 1, the controller skips to
the next segment. When it finds a segment with a higher target
temperature, it begins firing in that segment. For this reason,
a power failure during a ramping down (cooling) segment can
confuse the controller. When you resume firing, the controller
will begin firing from a ramping up (heating) segment rather
than a ramping down segment.
Firing Ceramics After an
Extended Power Failure
1) The firing was interrupted below 100°F/56°C of matu-
rity: Fire the ware again. It is okay to use the same partially
fired witness cones, even if they cooled back down to room
temperature. So long as the cones did not heat to within
100°F/56°C of maturity, they can be used again.
2) The ware fired to within 100°F/56°C of maturity: Fire
the ware again. Do not use the same witness cones. Use new
ones.

Options Quick Reference List

RSEt
Sets the Thermocouple Offset to 0 and
turns error codes on; page 15.
PrHt
Used in Cone-Fire only: Pre-Heat; page 7.
Id
Identifies the kiln for interface with a per-
sonal computer. Ignore.
CnoS
Used in Cone-Fire only: Cone Offset;
changes the temperature shut-off of individual
cones; page 8.
ChG°
Changes temperature read-out between
°F and °C.; page 12.
ErCd
Error Codes: Turns error codes Err1,
Err2, Err3and Err4 off. Designed for applications
where the furnace door is opened at high tempera-
ture, such as heat treating; page 15.
tCoS
Thermocouple Offset: calibrates the ther-
mocouple read-out; page 14.
bd t
Board Temperature: shows the temperature
of the circuit board; page 13.
14
.
IdLE

Thermocouple Offset (tCoS)

The thermocouple is the
the firing chamber. It measures temperature. Thermocouples
can "drift" as they age, causing inaccurate temperature read-
ings. (This may be so slight that you won't notice it.) To cali-
brate the controller to compensate for drift, use "Thermocou-
ple Offset."
TIP:
Before using Thermocouple Offset, check that the
thermocouple is protruding into the firing chamber by at
least " - ". Sometimes bumping a shelf against the
1 5
2 8
thermocouple pushes it out of the firing chamber,
thereby preventing accurate temperature readings.
Thermocouple Offset for Ceramic Firings
In ceramics, Cone Offset (see page 8) adjusts each pyro-
metric cone without affecting the other cones. Thermocouple
Offset, on the other hand, affects all cones equally, and all
Ramp-Hold firings. A 5°F hotter setting in Thermocouple
Offset fires everything 5º hotter.
If you find that all your cones are consistently under- or
over-firing, adjust Thermocouple Offset. If you need to adjust
only a particular cone, use Cone Offset.
Calibrating Thermocouple Offset with a
Thermocouple Standard or Pyrometer
A thermocouple standard is a device that calibrates pyrom-
eters and controllers. If you do not have a thermocouple stan-
dard, you can calibrate Thermocouple Offset using a cali-
brated digital pyrometer. One way to calibrate your digital
pyrometer is to take it to a heat treater or other location that
has a calibrated controller you can trust. Take a reading with
your pyrometer. Either zero it out to match the other heat
source, or write down the temperature difference between
your pyrometer and the reliable source. Store your pyrometer.
Use it only for calibrating controllers. Thus, it remains a reli-
able calibration standard.
Adjust Thermocouple Offset to compensate for any tem-
perature difference between the controller and the calibrated
pyrometer or thermocouple standard.

Setting Thermocouple Offset

You can enter a temperature change up to 50°F/28°C higher
or lower than the zero factory setting. If the kiln fires too hot,
enter 00 and a temperature from 01 - 50°F/1 - 28°C. If the kiln
fires too cool, enter 90 and 01 - 50°F/1 - 28°C.
The chart below contains seven examples of Thermocou-
ple Offsets. Program any temperature in the 01 - 50°F/1 - 28°C
range, hotter or cooler, using these examples as a guide:
Thermocouple Offset Examples*
0001
0030
0049
0000 or 9000
9005
9040
9049
*Cone Offset works in °C the same as in °F. In the
above examples, replace °F temperatures with
equivalent °C.
" diameter rod protruding into
1
8
Kiln will fire 1°F Cooler
Kiln will fire 30°F Cooler
Kiln will fire 49°F Cooler
No Adjustment
Kiln will fire 5°F Hotter
Kiln will fire 40°F Hotter
Kiln will fire 49°F Hotter