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Safety
The warranty on your Sentry controller does not cover
damage from overfiring, regardless of the circumstances. It
is theoperator’s responsibilityto makesurethe kilnturnsoff
at the end of the firing. Follow these safety rules in addition
to the ones in your kiln or furnace manual.
When the kiln is not in
use, disconnect the power
and keep the lid or door
closed. (For larger kilns
with heavy cordsets, we
recommend a power dis
-
connect box near the
kiln.)
Do not leave the kiln unattended, especially
near the expected shut-off time.
Wear firing safety glasses when looking into
peephole of a hot kiln.
Do not touch hot sides of kiln or furnace. Keep
unsupervised children away.
Install your kiln or furnace at least 12 inches
from any wall or combustible surface. (See
manufacturer’s recommendation for your
model.)
Do not open lid or door until kiln or furnace has
cooled and all switches are off.
Fire only in a well-ventilated, covered and pro
-
tected area away from flammable materials.
Keep cordset away from hot sides of kiln or fur
-
nace.
DANGEROUS VOLTAGE! Do not touch heat
-
ing elements with anything. Disconnect kiln or
furnace before servicing.
Do not operate if the controller itself is hotter
than 150°F/66°C. (See instructions on page 20
for checking board temperature.) Never allow
the firing room temperature to exceed
110°F/43°C. (Measure room temperature three
feet from the kiln.)
Stop a firing by pressing the STOP button, not
by disconnecting the power. In certain condi
-
tions, the controller will interpret a power inter
-
ruption as a power failure and turn the kiln back
on when you reconnect the power.
Chapter 1
Basic Pointers
Which Instructions
Apply to Your Controller
The Sentry fires in two modes:
■
Ceramic Cone-Fire, based on pyrometric cones.
■
Ramp-Hold, based on custom firing rates and target
temperatures.
Ceramic kilns use both Cone-Fire and Ramp-Hold. Heat
treating, glass fusing, and enameling furnaces and kilns
come with Ramp-Hold only.
1 From IdLE display,press 1.If CONE appears,you
haveCone-Fire mode.Ifthe 1keydoes notrespond,
you have Ramp-Hold mode only.
2 Press STOP to bring the controller back to IdLE .
Note: FAST, MEDIUM, SLOW, CONE-FIRE,
and CONE #s printed on the controller faceplate
apply only to Cone-Fire mode.
If you have Ramp-Hold only, skip pages 8 - 11.
Room Temperature and Humidity
It is okay to store the Sentry at sub-zero temperatures.
But before operating, raise the room temperature to at least
32°F/0°C.
Note: The Sentrywill registersub-zero °F/°Ctem
-
peratures. However, 32°F/0°C is the lowest recom
-
mended operating temperature.
The circuit board is rated for 158°F/70°C maximum op
-
erating temperature. However, the maximum recom
-
mended temperature is 125°F/52°C. Open windows and ex
-
haust hot air from the room to lower temperature. (See page
20 to check circuit board temperature.)
High humidity will not adversely affect the Sentry unless
water condenseson the circuitboard. Inthis case, donot fire
the kiln until the moisture has evaporated from the board.
Thunder Storms and Power Surges
Unplug the kiln when not in use, especially during thun
-
der storms and in areas with frequent power surges. If the
kiln is part way through a firing when a storm begins, it may
be okay to continue the firing. When the kiln shuts off, dis
-
connect the power.
CAUTION: when firingthe kilnduring astorm, do
not leave the kiln unattended!
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