Manual burnout oven

i have a manual burnout oven that is difficult to maintain 350-400 degree temperature for melting out the wax. But it runs like a champ for the rest of the burnout cycle. My question is can I do a melt out of the wax in a craft oven (or a toaster oven at 350 degrees) for the appropriate time and then move it back to my burnout oven to complete the cycle?

Yes, but buy a used takeout and put it in the shop or garage. Do not under any circumstances use the kitchen oven (or dishwasher) for shop projects.

jack vines, who learned the hard way.

Only suggestion I can make is if you use a toaster over keep a fire extinguisher nearby, and do it outside.

I have used good quality T.O.'s for "off label" purposes, including tempering, but with a potentially flammable material I'd be very cautious.

Put a cheap PID digital controller on it and ramp the temp up slow.

PID Controllers : Auber Instruments, Inc., Temperature control solutions for home and industry

Solves all the fucking around with manual controls and trying to keep from burning the house down with mis-used kitchen appliances.

trevj said:

Put a cheap PID digital controller on it and ramp the temp up slow.

PID Controllers : Auber Instruments, Inc., Temperature control solutions for home and industry

Solves all the fucking around with manual controls and trying to keep from burning the house down with mis-used kitchen appliances.

Click to expand...

Further to my last, you can program to hold the temperature at or slightly above the liquidus temperature of your wax for a period, in order that it be collected out of the oven or runs out via whatever channels are provided, then you can ramp the temps up to provide the burnout you need to vaporize off the wax remaining in the mold.

This should result in far less wax being lost as wastage.

The Auberin's controllers are cheap and pretty basic, if you want a fancier more expensive one, look at Omega. Each individual controller has it's own idiosyncrasies as far as programming goes, best is to keep a copy of the manual handy, and if possible, make yourself a cheat sheet to follow so you can program what you may need from scratch or make changes on the fly, without having to resort to tearing out hair or gnashing teeth.

Lots of these controllers being used on everything from coffee roasters to lead casting melters and heat treating furnaces. Dig around the web for Stand Alone PID Control Box Diagram and you should find a pile of sets of examples to follow.

My flasks are generally only about four to five inches high since I am just casting jewelry. I am not interested in trying to salvage the wax. However my kiln is often tied up firing investment so I now use a cheap and I mean really cheap counter top toaster oven to burn out the wax. I don't care if the wax drips down in the bottom of it or anything. Works great.