UK build of a Controleo3 based reflow oven...

[nickds1]

I'm looking for a suitable oven to be used for a Controleo3 reflow project.

The oven must be available in the UK - every oven I looked at in the past and ran by Peter Easton (Whizoo) was rejected and I lost heart eventually.

Now is the time to resurrect this project!

Peter's basic criteria are:

• about 10lts
• about 1150W
• must use quartz elements - generally these are shielded to prevent direct IR
• top and bottom 230VAC element - not 2x110VAC in series
• no convection fan

Has anyone found an oven in the UK that is a suitable donor?

...also, source on eBay or wherever for decent additional quartz elements...

Many thanks

[trevwhite]

Can I ask why no convection fan?

[nickds1]

Can I ask why no convection fan?

Peter (the author of Controleo3) doesn't like them as they are mainly used on larger volume (>10lts) ovens which have too high a thermal lag for accurate and fast control. If there's one on a 10ltr oven, it can just be disconnected though there are not many small ovens with them. Not a show-stopper.

[trevwhite]

I always assumed it was good to circulate the air to get a uniform profile across the whole area. That’s why I converted one of these. It’s feels well made but might be more power than you were after.

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-8-in-1-flip-mini-oven-sp101uk-zidSP101UK?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=176013&utm_campaign=Redbrain+Ltd&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=176013&awc=8059_1722290932_61f07ec8a049111897cfdff9022cb5dc

[nickds1]

I always assumed it was good to circulate the air to get a uniform profile across the whole area. That’s why I converted one of these. It’s feels well made but might be more power than you were after.

https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-8-in-1-flip-mini-oven-sp101uk-zidSP101UK?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=176013&utm_campaign=Redbrain+Ltd&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=176013&awc=8059_1722290932_61f07ec8a049111897cfdff9022cb5dc

Nice oven but very expensive...

[Doctorandus_P]

I started a build on a quarts oven I rescued from a landfill. It has a nice small form factor and a glass door so I can see what's happening inside.

It does have quarts tubes, but they were of low quality, and their power was a bit low.

So I bought a bunch of tubes from Aliexpress. These are not the cheapest, (Around EUR10 each) but they have a much better quality. They have cemented on ceramic end caps and you can buy them in different lengths. And you can buy a few spares of the same size.

The metal of the oven was very thin, so it was not very difficult to take the whole thing completely apart, punch some extra holes in the sides and replace the 2 old tubes with 6 new ones. Because the end of the ceramic end caps is thinner, if the hole is the right size, you can put both sides of the  oven over an end and don't need any other mounting materials.

[trevwhite]

I was in the middle of a job and had some oven issues. I needed to get an oven immediately and that one had good power, a fan and was available same day from Argos.

It was a bit pricey but it’s well made and I think it performs really well. I didn’t need to add any insulation to it.

[nickds1]

I was in the middle of a job and had some oven issues. I needed to get an oven immediately and that one had good power, a fan and was available same day from Argos.

It was a bit pricey but it’s well made and I think it performs really well. I didn’t need to add any insulation to it.

Do you know which one it was?

[trevwhite]

They have it on Amazon. There is a returned unit with a decent discount on there.

I don’t think it fits your requirements though. It might be too powerful. I found with the fan I got really consistent temperature across the whole oven

https://amzn.eu/d/05BbyB01

[nickds1]

They have it on Amazon. There is a returned unit with a decent discount on there.

I don’t think it fits your requirements though. It might be too powerful. I found with the fan I got really consistent temperature across the whole oven

https://amzn.eu/d/05BbyB01

Thanks. You're right - it's too big for me - about 30ltr and I only need 10 - if I had 50cm wide boards to cook, I'd go there! Around 10ltr is my target.

[Aspartame]

 I am also building one, but i have determined different criteria:
1. At least 2kW resistor (no quartz)
2. Convection fan
3. Good isolation
4. Double glass door  (if possible)
I assume this setup will heat more evenly while the quartz version will only heat the center.