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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 02-04-2009, 06:11 PM
fatzombie fatzombie is offline
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HT oven 120 or 240?

Hey guys,
I am in the middle of constructing a heat treating furnace with the inside dimensions of 4" x 5" by 15". I am building it based on a few threads I have found on this forum. I have almost all of my materials but I am trying to decide what voltage I should make it for. I was hoping for some input. Here are the facts so far:
> I have 120 all over the shop but I would have to run a new circuit for 240.
> My controller has ramp/soak capability.
> based on my inside dimensions ,2 elements seems a little tight after they are streched to the recommended length.
> Im not in a race to treat knives but if a recipe calls for the temperature to ramp up in a certain time period I want my furnace to handle it.
> since I started trying to make knives 8 months ago I have spent more time making equiptment ,ie 2x72 grinder/ ovens /kydex press/rivet tools etc. and have produced exactly 1 knife. I have 2 or 3 blades ready for the oven and by now I am reluctant to run that new 240 cicuit based on laziness.
Will a 120 oven work fine or should I invest more effort in a 240?
Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys ~Dan
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  #2  
Old 02-04-2009, 08:38 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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An electric furnace can run on 120, a few of the smallest ones do. But, any of the larger furnaces like my Paragon or even you own home stove run on 220. The amperages aren't huge for these things but they are high enough that your equipment will benefit by being built around 220. From your description of your oven with the two element design I'd sure want 220 ....


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Old 02-04-2009, 09:07 PM
fatzombie fatzombie is offline
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Thanks for the input Ray. If I finish it for 120 it will only have one element. I forgot to mention that in my original post. I guess I should have simplified the question as: Based on the size of my oven, would it be acceptable to make it a single element 120 volt. It doesn't escape me that a 2 element 240 volt would obviously be better. But would it be worth the extra effort? BTW what size is your paragon?
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Old 02-04-2009, 09:59 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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My Paragon is about 4 x 5 x 24", it has one element but it's 220v. You could probably get by with 120v but you could find yourself tripping the breaker once in a while. Mostly, it would just be easier on your electrical wiring if it was 220v.

You'll need to know how much current your furnace will draw and then make sure your shop circuit can handle that draw on the available wiring....


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Old 02-04-2009, 10:08 PM
SIXFOOTER SIXFOOTER is offline
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Run the circuit for 220 and set the current point to 16 or 17 amps if you got the element off Ebay. I got wire for mine at .036 diameter, according to the folks at Pelican wire it is safe for 20 amps or so, that will produce 4400 to 4800 watts, more then enough for a good heat treat oven.
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Old 02-04-2009, 10:22 PM
AcridSaint AcridSaint is offline
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The chamber sounds borderline large to me. You're limited to about 1300 - 1500W on a 15A circuit, more if you're wired for 20A. Compare this to the wattage you can get out of a 30A 220 circuit, around 6000W.

Decide on your element size and then determine what circuit you need, the only way to plan your oven around your voltage is to change the draw of the element, meaning you may have to change your chamber size to achieve desired results.


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Old 02-05-2009, 06:28 AM
fatzombie fatzombie is offline
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220 it is. Thanks Guys!
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