Operating instructions

7 / Temperature Alarm
The alarm sounds and flashes when the kiln
reaches the alarm temperature that you enter. Use the
alarm to alert you to—
I
Lower the lid from vent
-
ing position.
I
Check the witness cone
near shut-off time.
I
Check the fusing or
slumping of glass.
You can enter only one
alarmtemperatureat a time.
However, after the alarm
beeps, you can set the alarm
for another temperature, as
many times as you want,
during the firing. Entering an alarm temperatureautomati
-
cally erases the previous alarm temperature.
Note: The alarm temperature that you set during a
firing must be higher than the current display tempera-
ture. The alarm is designed only for higher tempera-
tures and not for cooling temperatures.
After the alarm beeps, the alarm temperaturewill stay in
memory for future firings until you replace it with a new
temperature.
Monitoring the Alarm from a Distance
Place an inexpensive baby monitor near the kiln. From
another location in your building, you will be able to hear
thetemperaturealarm beeping and thethe relays clicking.
Setting the Alarm From Idle
From , press . will appear alternat
-
ing with the last alarm temperature entered.
Enter alarm temperature. Press . will
appear. (If you do not
want to use the alarm,
set the alarm tempera
-
ture to . This setting
willdisablethe alarm.)
Note: Your controller’s
maximum temperature is
shown in the op
-
tion (page 24). If you en
-
ter an alarm temperature
that is higher than the
maximum temperature,
the alarm temperature
will automatically change
to the controller’s maximum temperature.
When the alarm sounds, shut it off by pressing any key
except . (Pressing while an alarm sounds will
shut off the kiln.)
Note: If the alarm sounds as soon as firing begins, it
is because thealarm was set toa temperaturebelow the
current temperature.
Setting the Alarm During Firing
The alarm beeps while the kiln is firing. Press .
Enter the new temperature.
Press . The kiln will continue firing.
If you touch , enter a new temperature, and forget to
press , the controller will merely continue firing
without resetting the alarm.
8 / Estimating the Firing Cost
Note: This feature is included with software version
18D and newer controllers. To look up your software
version, see page 25.
The Sentry controller can figure the electrical cost of a
firing. Set up the controller as follows:
In the option, enter the cost of a kilowatt-hourof
electricity. See page 23.
In the option, enter the wattage for your kiln. See
page 23.
After the kiln fires to completion, will flash. Press
the key. The cost of electricity to fire the last load will ap-
pear. To return to temperature display, press .
Note: If you enter the kilnwattage in the option
but you do not enter cost per kilowatt-hour in the
option, the controller will display kilo
-
watt-hours instead of firing cost.
9 / Cone Numbers & Skip Segment
Cone Table
Look up a cone temperaturewith the key. (See page 10
for information on cones.)
From , press . will appear, then the
cone, if any, currently programmed in Cone-Fire.
Enter a pyrometric cone number. Press .
The display will show the cone temperature. If you
enter a non-existent cone number, the display will
show , ready for you to enter a different
cone number.
8 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold
If the alarm
sounds as soon
as firing begins,
it is because the
alarm was set to
a temperature
below the current
temperature.
Use the alarm to
remind yourself
that the kiln is
getting close to
the shut-off tem
-
perature. Always
check the kiln
before it shuts
off.