Reddit reviews Auber Instruments PID Temperature Controller,W/ 30 RAMP/SOAK,SSR Output
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30 programable steps for ramp, soak and other logic actionsPID control with fuzzy logic enhancement for the best stability controlDisplay in either Fahrenheit or Celsius temperature unitSupport both heating and cooling mode.Model: SYL-2352P. US Seller, ship from GA!
The kill-a-watt is handy because it's cheap, and will totalize power usage, even if you're running at varying power levels. So it would tell you how many kWh total you used across an 8 hr run, for instance, even if the coil was cycling on and off to maintain temperature. But it's a 120V thing, I don't know of a 220V / 30A capable version that's cheap.
I'd definitely invest in a temperature controller. There are a number of inexpensive units available that will control your heater coil with a solid state relay and thermocouple probe, and can do multiple set points on a schedule with a ramp rate. This sort of thing, but there's probably options that are closer to what you want and/or cheaper. The biggest savings here would be from not having the coil on 100% if you're trying to maintain a temperature lower than the max you're capable of. Good for burnout type stuff, less critical for tempering your steels.
Even at 220V x 30A, if you left the coil on the whole time, that would only be 53 kWh, or $7 per run. You can likely improve that by not running full blast and by adding some insulation.
What are you paying for propane? Propane heating value is ~ 19420 BTU/lb (net heating value). That's about 5.8 kWh equivalent, or the same as about $0.75 worth of electricity. And the propane will lose heat up the chimney (especially when the kiln is hot), so your achieved value will be worse than that, even if both electric and propane versions had equivalent insulation. So if you're paying more than about $0.50/lb (~= $2/gal), I'd guess the electric option is cheaper.