TIL my furnace lining hit 2,800 degrees for the first time

I was running a test pour for a new alloy and the pyrometer just kept climbing past where I usually see it. Anyone else have a number that made you stop and double-check your gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakota_rodriguez29d ago

Watched a buddy's old kiln controller flash an error code we'd never seen before. The thermocouple had finally given up after reading something totally impossible, like 500 degrees over max. Makes you trust your gut when the numbers look too wild, right?

robinl9029d ago

Totally get that "trust your gut" feeling with weird numbers. My old garage heater did the same thing, reading like the surface of the sun. I shut it off right away, which was the right call. The fix was just cleaning the thermocouple tip with some fine sandpaper. All that gunk was blocking a good reading. Sometimes the sensor isn't dead, it's just dirty and freaking out. Saved me a service call for sure.

betty_shah1d ago

That sudden jump in the pyrometer reading must have been a real heart-stopper. It's smart to stop and check everything when the numbers go that far off the map. My old forge would sometimes give a crazy high reading right before a thermocouple failed completely. That gut check to verify your gear is probably what keeps small problems from turning into big ones. Solidarity on those moments where your equipment decides to give you a mini panic attack.