Newby on the block... well, to casting anyways.

[cosmic]

You can turn it all the way up and use the pid for temp...

[avator]

I'm considering that.
But for now I'm going to put the lead pot PID back in the single box and shelf the parts for the mold oven as spares.
If the toaster oven requires that upgrade I'll address it then. As is I can pre heat mold, powder coat and have pizza. 

[Back_Roads]

 Knock the glass out , put in a metal Easy Bake like door
 . . . oh and you might want to eat the pizza first

[avator]

Ray... thanks for the suggestion. That's exactly what I am going to do. There is a foot on the back of this oven so you can tip it up and clean the bread crumbs out through a door in the bottom. I'll take that foot off and use the screw hole to insert the probe into the back of the oven. next I will take the cover off the oven and insulate it with that 2400f insulation blanket I used on the hot plate cover.
I can plug the toaster into the PID box and turn the toaster settings to "toast" which is the highest temp setting and set the timer to "stay on". Then let the PID control the temp. I only pre heat the molds to between 350 and 375 which is well within the oven's 450 range. It's a 1000 watt oven with elements at the top and bottom.
I watched videos on gutting the controls out of the oven and putting the PID inside the box but I don't think I'll go that route.

[avator]

Knock the glass out , put in a metal Easy Bake like door
 . . . oh and you might want to eat the pizza first

LOL.. I'm just going to let the mold handles hang out the top of the door and fill the gap with insulation blanket.

[avator]

Anyways... I'm gonna hit the bed and let visions of mold ovens dance in my head for the next couple hours.
I got fence lines and gates to button up tomorrow.

[avator]

Out before daylight this morning before Betty Lou got up and dictated that we get back to the fence project.
I pulled the mold oven PID parts out of the dual box and put it all into the original PID box I made.
Well, not only did I fry the hot plate when I wired it backwards, I took out the SSR as well. The REX C100 PID controller is fine. So I got online and ordered another SSR. $8 and change delivered from NJ USA. Free shipping and 5 days out.
By this time Betty Lou was up and we went back to the fence project. We worked that until the humidity had us melting.
Showered, ate and back to the Red Shed. I pulled the cover off of the toaster oven and wrapped the inner unit with 1/2" 2400f rated appliance insulation. I put the cover back on and added insulation to the bottom and back of the inside of the oven.
I'll just run the oven on it's own power and disconnect the SSR in the box. I can monitor the temps with the PID controller and see how close the toaster oven's temps settings are... just 'cuz I can.
It's a .9 sq ft 1000 watt oven with top and bottom elements. It should heat up pretty fast.

[cosmic]

Yes, that will more than do it !! I usually crack the mold open slightly and then place the middle of the mold directly over the bottom heating element...

[avator]

Yes, that will more than do it !! I usually crack the mold open slightly and then place the middle of the mold directly over the bottom heating element...

I also open the mold.
Something else I do... if I add wax or sawdust to the pot I hold the open mold over the smoke.

[avator]

Disconnected the SSR and ran the short probe into the back of the oven. PID and oven were otherwise stand alone. I set the oven at 350f and the PID at 177c. I also set the oven to 'stay on". Pressed play on both.
The temp rose slow at first as the elements warmed up. But when it got to around 100c on the PID and thee elements glowed red things began to move pretty quickly. The PID indicated 170c before the oven cycled down the first time. It dropped to 165c when the oven came back on and it rose to 172c this time.
For the rest of the test, maybe 20 minutes or so, the temps cycled between 165ish c and 170ish c.
I noticed a very small whiff of smoke coming from the vent over the controls on the oven but it didn't last long... I think it was just new oven burn in. This was the first time it had run more than a couple minutes to see if it worked when I unboxed it.
I think this is going to work out just fine. I have plenty of the insulation blanket to fill the gaps in the door that the molds will leave.The PID box sits well right on top of the oven and the insulation does a good job keeping the exterior heat down. I'm going to run that muffin fan on the PID box just to be safe.

[avator]

Considering doing this...

https://www.instructables.com/PID-Temperature-Controlled-Oven/

Basically just swapping out the thermostat with the PID.

[avator]

The SSR came in this morning. I replaced the one that I wired wrong and fried with the hot plate.
I plugged the toaster oven into the box and turned the toaster oven thermostat all the way up and turned the box on with the PID controller set at 177c (350f). The PID and the toaster oven kinda fight each other for control so I need to disconnect the toaster oven thermostat and let the PID run it. Temps were hovering at 155c.

[WobblyHand]

The SSR came in this morning. I replaced the one that I wired wrong and fried with the hot plate.
I plugged the toaster oven into the box and turned the toaster oven thermostat all the way up and turned the box on with the PID controller set at 177c (350f). The PID and the toaster oven kinda fight each other for control so I need to disconnect the toaster oven thermostat and let the PID run it. Temps were hovering at 155c.

If you don't disconnect the oven thermostat, just set it to maximum temperature.  Then the PID will control it.  That's what I did with my melting pot.  I suppose that would work too with the hot plate. 

Just an FYI, I think you can change the PID controller to display F rather than C.  On my unit, you press Set, and the button next to it simultaneously for 3 seconds.  You should see "Cod" displayed.  If you cycle through the options, you will get to the one that controls units.  If set to 0 it is in C, 1 changes it to Fahrenheit.  The weird display should be nlΓ .  The settings are in the "Instrument Engineer parameter menu".

I haven't bothered yet, but I may change mine to F.

[avator]

Thanks, I forgot about that second menu.
Yeah, I did set the toaster thermostat all the way up like we do our pots but it's still seems to fight with the PID for control. It's all good, I watched a video on running it off the PID and it just happened to be the exact model oven I have. He removed the thermostat control (dial) and the onboard probe. He then cut the square hole in the panel where the thermostat control was to mount the PID. He left the other control for the timer and on/off control.. I like that idea.
He mounted the SSR and cooling block inside the control area and the fan is mounted to the vented area.
I think I'm going to do mine like that.

[avator]

I have 2 of the REX C100 PID and that model does not offer the C to F options. It's all good, I made a chart for C to F. Basically the pot runs at 371c and the mold oven will run at 177c... 700f and 350f repectively.

I took the cover back off the oven and removed the thermostat control. I have my wire diagram laid out. Next I will mark and cut the square hole for the PID to fit in the front of the over where the T control used to be. Then I will mount the heat sink and SSR to a vented area at the back of the control space. There is another vented area in the top of the cover directly over where the heat sink will be. I will mount the fan there.
The braided TC will run out of a fin on the back vent and the probe will mount in the center of the back of the oven.
I did a test and the timer/on/off controller powers the PID as it should. Once the oven is up to temp I can switch over to the timer for up to an hour or I can set it to stay on.

Even with the Red Shed closed up and the fan running across the cool gravel floor, it's still hot out there. I came in for a break.

[avator]

After a spell under the A/C I cooled off enough to go back out.
I wired everything up outside of the box, plugged the power cord into a 20a power strip with a reset on it and turned the the timer control to the 'stay on' position.
SUCCESS !!
The elements came to life. I had set the PID to 65c and watched the temp rise to 65c and then blinked on and off trying to maintain.
Couple things I need to do...
Cut and fit the PID.
Mount the heat sink/SSR.
Mount and wire in the 12v transformer and fan.
Put the insulation back on the inner box.
Adjust the PID for a wider temp range. (tuning)
Button everything back up.

[avator]

Well, I'm pretty sure I couldn't build a submersible to successfully explore the Titanic but I can build a PID controlled toaster oven apparently.   (Too soon?)

I left the cover off so I could watch the firework show if it happened, set the PID to 177c and pressed play.
The show was something less than oohs and aahs, it was actually quite boring. The temp slowly rose to the set temp and stayed right there. I put my hand on the SSR and it was nice and cool. I'll check it again with the cover on and determine if I need the fan at all. After all, the toaster oven is design to run at 400f with an hour long timer running and that's without having insulation between the box and control space.
Pics tomorrow... I didn't have any sweat left in my body to make the effort today.
I'll also fire the whole shebang up tomorrow and cast some pellets.

If and when everything is tested and approved I need to get busy and get that Red Shed whipped into shape. The move from the bar/mancave has it looking like a PODs moving and storage unit that fell off the truck in transit.

[2A Georgia]

Next I'm going to look at Wayne's method that a few of you have referenced.

I also need to read up on what I need as far as things like Borax and wax (if needed).
I need to learn how to prep and clean.

I still want a hot plate and some way to monitor lead temps.

I think with what I have, as far as lead goes, and the items I have ordered I have enough to dip my toes in.
I'll make some of these .25 pellets and then have a look around for a .22 mould or 2.

Went back and tracking this thread.  I'm sure "Wayne's Method" is detailed on the forum.
Any links to that post?

[brewbear]

Next I'm going to look at Wayne's method that a few of you have referenced.

I also need to read up on what I need as far as things like Borax and wax (if needed).
I need to learn how to prep and clean.

I still want a hot plate and some way to monitor lead temps.

I think with what I have, as far as lead goes, and the items I have ordered I have enough to dip my toes in.
I'll make some of these .25 pellets and then have a look around for a .22 mould or 2.

Went back and tracking this thread.  I'm sure "Wayne's Method" is detailed on the forum.
Any links to that post?

Here you go https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=179522.0

[avator]

The unveiling as promised.
Pic one is the oven coming up to temp and pic two is the oven up to temp with a mold in it.
The 2400f insulation blanket does well to block escaping heat from the gap in the door caused by the mold handles protruding. The oven cycles nicely between 175 and 177 even with the mold in it. As you can se, there is plenty of room to preheat a couple molds at a time.
I don't feel any excessive heat coming from the vents in the control space. The top surface of the oven is warm but not anything near what it would be if operating as it comes out of the box without the insulation. At this point, I'm not going to add the fan. Albeit very little, I don't see a need to draw extra amps to run a fan.