Instruction manual

8 Cone-Fire / Ramp-Hold
Storing Programs
The controller can retain four Ramp-Hold programs in
memory even when power is turned off. Programs are num
-
bered 1 - 4.
The first message to appear after you plug in your Sentry
Xpress is a software code and then . Press .
Then use the key to scroll through these mes
-
sages: .
To use Ramp-Hold mode for the first time, select
. You do that by pressing the key after
appears. Then follow the boxed instructions in the next
column to enter temperature, heating rate, etc.
is Program 1. When you fire the kiln again, you
can repeat Program 1 by selecting . When you are
ready to fire a different program, select , which is
Program 2. Then enter temperatures, heating rates, etc. Se
-
lect Program 3 and 4 the same way.
To over-write a program, select it and enter new rates
andtemperatures.This automaticallyover-writes the previ
-
ous program. Write down your programs in a notebook and
record firing results for all firings.
Rate
Each segment must include a rate, which is degrees of
temperature change per hour.
The kiln will fire at full power when the rate is 1799°F /
999°C. Full power displays as .
Note: To select full power from , press the
key once.
I programmed a FULL rate, yet my kiln
heated at only 550°F per hour.
The controller is limited by the heating
capacity of each kiln. Your kiln heated at 550° per
hour because that is its maximum heating rate.
Ramp-Hold Programming
Instructions
Note: You have up to 8 segments available in
Ramp-Hold. If you don’t need all 8, zero out the
unused segments. See step 6 below.
From , press (the left button).
Press the key (not the ).
and are
Ramp-Hold programs. When the one you
want appears, press . (Ignore .)
will appear. Enter firing rate (tempera
-
ture change per hour) for segment 1. (1° =
slowest rate. 1799°F / 999°C = full power.)
Then press .
or andthe target temperature from
the last firing will appear. Use the arrow keys
tochangethe temperature.Then press .
and the hold time from the last firing
will appear (Example: 1 hour 10 minutes =
01.10). Use the arrow keys to change the hold
time. Then press . (No hold = 00.00)
Continue entering values for the segments
needed. When appears for the next seg-
ment that you don’t need, select . Then
press . This will zero out the remaining
segments. (Example: You need only 1 seg-
ment. When appears, enter .)
will appear. Press to begin firing.
will appear and the Run indicator light
will begin blinking. The kiln is now firing.
To stop a firing before completion, press
. will appear, alternating with total
firing time and kiln temperature.
Note: Do not be concerned if your kiln makes a
clicking sound during firing. Kilns use relays to
power the elements. The relays click each time
their electrical contacts come together.
Note: The kiln’s actual firing ratemaybeless than
the rate you programmed, depending on the kiln
model, available voltage, and density of the load
you are firing.
When the kiln fires to completion, it will beep for 30
seconds. The display will show the following:
I
Firing time
I
Present temperature
I
= Fired to completion
To return to , press .
To fire the same program again, see “Program Re
-
view & Repeat Firing,” page 4.