My Oven Is finally Done!

[kcenicola]

After several months and many autopsies of used washers and dryers, my powdercoating oven is finally done. It's 4'L X 2'W X 3'H top-loading. Thanks to the many posters on this board I got some very good ideas.

With this design, I didn't have to bend a single piece of metal, only straight cuts and a whole lot of rivets.

If anyone has any questions regarding the schematics or the design, I'll be glad to share with you the details and advice.

Enjoy!

[kcenicola]

Here is a pic of the inside that shows the element and the vent and a pic of the gas piston I attached that holds the lid open.

[sdold]

I think that oven looks great! It looks a lot like the one I built out aluminum, but I think yours is bigger (deeper). Have you fired it up yet?

My elements are in the bottom like yours and I had a problem where the parts were getting hotter than the air inside the oven. So if the thermostat read an air temp of 375, the part could actually be around 450. What was happening was that the IR radiation from the elements was heating the part directly, in addition to the air temp. I put baffles above the heating elements to shield the parts from direct IR radiation, and that seems to have fixed it. I haven't installed a fan yet but I have thermometers near the top and bottom and they read the same (or within a couple of degrees).

You may not have that problem, but if parts seem to get too hot that might be the reason.

That's a great idea having a timer switch. I need to add one to mine.

Steve

[kcenicola]

Thanks a lot Steve!. I have fired it up and have tested out the controller. It gets up to temperature very quickly (like 1 degree per second) and then once it converges on the temp you set it, it doesn't fluctuate more than 1 degree with that electronic controller.

I was worried that a large part that comes near the element would get too hot. Putting a baffle over the elements is a great idea. I'll make a baffle in case I need it when the time comes that I do a large part. I've got plenty of left over sheetmetal for that.

I put the timer on because I'm the type to put parts in the oven in the garage and then get caught up in the baseball game in the living room. This way I can set it for 30 minutes and there will be no fires.

[sdold]

What controller are you using? I'm using a mechanical thermostat and it's really bad, I need to replace it. Did it come out of one of the ovens?