WHew536674@CS.COM on wed 26 jul 00
This is a question and a comment. Had an experience I could have done
without yesterday in a cone 9 glaze firing in an electric kiln. It took
almost 3 hours longer than normal to reach temp. My first thought was the
elements going, my biggest fear in life. The kiln is too new for this, and
coated with ITC. Second thought, it's in the 100s and the air conditioners
are pumping it out, could have put a strain in the current coming into the
kiln. Believe this to be the case, but was wondering if anyone else has
experienced this. Today when I unloaded the kiln, because of the extended
heat time the glazes did a great job of running on the shelf and I ended up
throwing stuff out. I mention this in the event others may experience this
at this time of the year, particularly in the SW.
Joyce A
Mission, TX
Jean Lehman on thu 27 jul 00
> cone 9 glaze firing in an electric kiln. It took
>almost 3 hours longer than normal to reach temp. ...it's in the 100s and
>the >air conditioners are pumping it out, could have put a strain in the
>current >coming into the kiln.
It probably depends on what part of the country you live in, but in
Lancaster PA, we definitely have brownouts, and the kilns take longer to
fire. To counter this, I fire at night when hopefully there is less chance
of brownouts. I try to time it so the kiln goes off when I get up in the
morning so I can moniter it without getting up too many times during the
night.
Jean, who is getting ready to leave CA tomorrow to drive back to PA. Will
be offline until mid August. And we will MISS this wonderful weather where
there is always a breeze so the house stays cool enough to leave the AC
off!!
-------------------->
Jean Lehman,
who spent the year at the Nottingham Center for the Arts in San Marcos,
California, but still worked on the Strictly Functional Pottery National in
Lancaster, PA from a distance: Check out the current exhibit at:
http://www.art-craftpa.com/exhibit.html
Cindy Strnad on thu 27 jul 00
Joyce,
I'd go with the brown-out theory, and suggest firing the highest temps at
night if it cools off at all there. As for your elements, don't be in dread
of changing them. They're not all *that* expensive. Mine run about $150
total, and that's for the largest octagonal Paragon makes. I don't pay much
attention to it--it's just something you have to do once in a while. The
first time, I had the appliance repair guy help me change them, and then
wondered, "What on earth did I pay him for? This is as simple as it gets."
Make sure you get a good connection, though--clean the ends and tighten
those little buggers up good.
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
earthenv@gwtc.net
www.earthenvesselssd.com
chris@euclids.com on thu 27 jul 00
> It took
> almost 3 hours longer than normal to reach temp. My first thought was the
> elements going, my biggest fear in life
> Second thought, it's in the 100s and the air conditioners
> are pumping it out, could have put a strain in the current coming into the
> kiln
Hi Joyce,
Best to check your line voltage at a few different times during the day &
determine if this is the case (fluctuating voltage). It is quite possible.
If the voltage is low, it would take longer to fire.
With 3 hours difference from one firing to another, i would rule out aging
elements (they will not usually age that quickly). An element burnt out ...
possibly. Checking the amperage of the kiln at full power will confirm this.
There are many other possibilities also ... intermittent switches, poor
relays, bad connections, a break in the element that only occurs when it
heats up & expands, & i wouldn`t rule out the "light bulb" scenario ....
Feel free to give us a call if you need help,
chris
chris@euclids.com
www.euclids.com
800-296-5456
Steve Burtt on thu 27 jul 00
I'm dealing with the same experience and trying to figure it out.
Friday night I was doing a high firing and a violent electrical storm
came through the area, stopping my kiln's computer at about cone 1. Then
Monday night I put on another cone 5 firing. This time power was interrupted
I assume by summer heat and the overload. I restarted from 1,000 F. The next
morning, I had an error message and once again it had stopped at about cone 1.
My electrician says voltage coming into the building is ok, but his
theory is that when power is restored after a brown out, it creates a drain
that could be enough to interrupt and firing rate. Like you, I hope he is
right and that I don't have a bad element.
But I now have a kiln load of pots that have fired for about 36 hours and
only gotten to cone 1.
Steve Burtt
Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Frederich, Tim on thu 27 jul 00
Joyce,
It is possible that your amount of current available was less than
normal and the kiln will take longer to fire. With the longer firing time at
a lower heating rate, more heatwork will take place. It is always a good
idea to have witness cones in the kiln where you can take a look at them. If
you begin to sense that there is a problem,the cones become the best
insurance that you can have.
Tim Frederich, Orton Ceramic Foundation
-----Original Message-----
From: WHew536674@CS.COM [mailto:WHew536674@CS.COM]
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 9:00 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: electric kilns & brownouts
This is a question and a comment. Had an experience I could have done
without yesterday in a cone 9 glaze firing in an electric kiln. It took
almost 3 hours longer than normal to reach temp. My first thought was the
elements going, my biggest fear in life. The kiln is too new for this, and
coated with ITC. Second thought, it's in the 100s and the air conditioners
are pumping it out, could have put a strain in the current coming into the
kiln. Believe this to be the case, but was wondering if anyone else has
experienced this. Today when I unloaded the kiln, because of the extended
heat time the glazes did a great job of running on the shelf and I ended up
throwing stuff out. I mention this in the event others may experience this
at this time of the year, particularly in the SW.
Joyce A
Mission, TX
____________________________________________________________________________
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Cheryl L Litman on thu 27 jul 00
I didn't read Joyce's post so this may not apply but my firings vary in
about a 4 hour range depending on how densely stacked the kiln is. When
I do a load of plates, have short posts, use all my shelves it takes much
longer to fire.
Cheryl Litman ---------- Somerset, NJ --------- email:
cheryllitman@juno.com
On Thu, 27 Jul 2000 11:39:01 -0400 "chris@euclids.com"
writes:
> > It took
> > almost 3 hours longer than normal to reach temp. My first thought
> was the
> > elements going, my biggest fear in life
> > Second thought, it's in the 100s and the air conditioners
> > are pumping it out, could have put a strain in the current coming
> into the
> > kiln
>
> Hi Joyce,
> Best to check your line voltage at a few different times during the
> day &
> determine if this is the case (fluctuating voltage). It is quite
> possible.
> If the voltage is low, it would take longer to fire.
> With 3 hours difference from one firing to another, i would rule out
> aging
> elements (they will not usually age that quickly). An element burnt
> out ...
> possibly. Checking the amperage of the kiln at full power will
> confirm this.
> There are many other possibilities also ... intermittent switches,
> poor
> relays, bad connections, a break in the element that only occurs
> when it
> heats up & expands, & i wouldn`t rule out the "light bulb" scenario
> ....
> Feel free to give us a call if you need help,
> chris
>
> chris@euclids.com
> www.euclids.com
> 800-296-5456
>
>
_________________________________________________________________________
_____
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
> subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
Cheryl Litman ---------- Somerset, NJ --------- email:
cheryllitman@juno.com
BTu1690922@AOL.COM on wed 9 aug 00
To Joyce,
do you by chance have a Paragon with digital controller? I had a bad
experience, overfired the kiln, got no support or acknowledgement of any
responsibility from Paragon at that time. All my kiln shelves bowed, which
was why I couldnt see the cones. So I relied on the controller, which was
way later replaced at no cost when I called a different person there. No
problems now, it had to be that controller. So it cost me a set of kiln
shelves and all my work, left my new kiln bricks with cracks. I am still
unhappy about the whole thing, have been firing electric kilns over 20 years,
and have never had this type of situation before. I don't trust the
controller now, wish I had a kilnsitter instead. So sorry to hear you had a
bad experience too.
Gail
Gilchrist, Tx
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