Kiln Controller

[sgraber]

Howdy!  Hey, I'm finding that I need to retrofit my very basic kiln with a kiln controller to control temperatures and soak times.  

Presently I've mapped the thermistor to its corresponding temperature (resistance varies from 0.5 ohms @ RT to 80 ohms @ 2250°F) and have an 16x2 LCD setup and working for reporting the temperature.  Now I just need to figure out how to control the temperature...

This is what it looks like:  www.ebay.com/itm/Vulcan-Ceramic-PMC-Glass-Kiln-115V-Pyrometer-/252296106423
 

To control it, you turn the dial to LO, 2, 3, etc to increase the temperature.  You essentially plug it in to a standard 110VAC outlet and it's a 10A kiln.  I can hear the element click on and off and it's using nichrome wire in the kiln for heating.  I know that setting it at 4.5 will get it up to 2100°F in about 2-3 hrs.  

I'm pretty sure I need to use a SSR, but I'm not sure how to wire it up at the kiln side.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[BeeAmaker]

I, assuming the knob temp control is simply a Thermostat style temp control like my hot plate on my printer. So you would use the SSR to interrupt the incoming hot lead. The knob could then be set to it's max temp you want and control cool down times using the SSR.

OR, you can use the SSR to replace the knob temp control all together. If you want to do that I can draw you a simple sketch.