Ovens are notorious for incorrect temperatures. It is best to use a thermocouple to confirm the temperature.
At T5 it's no biggie fellas. ~440F for 8 hrs and you're no where near melt temp. You just need to make sure you don't park your casting next to a red hot heating element. It's pretty much accelerated aging but does add some temper and a marked improvement in mechanical and machining properties over as cast for 356......but you need to know what alloy you're working with. Considering the objective, I actually think a kitchen oven would do just fine. +-20F for 8hrs.......and call it a day. Agreed that T6 takes better control but also produces better results. For T6 in my set up, I roll a hoop of sheet metal and line it with 1/4" ceramic fiber/paper and place the casting inside that hoop in my pid controlled electric furnace. It shields the casting and makes for more uniform temp. The temp control is actually quite good but like I said, few parts that I make really need or would benefit from T6. I would think the same would hold for any pid controlled kiln as well. Best, Kelly
