L. P. Skeen on fri 9 nov 01
CAthi,
If your elements are really 15 years old and you've been using the kiln at
all, it is, as the song says, time for a cool change. They're not hard
to change yourself, just pesky. You can do it! :)
Lisa - whose new (to me) Olympic Oval arrived today, but when the power was
turned on, the thermocouple was touching the kiln skin and shorted out (ie:
FRIED) the circuit board, so now I can't use it til the new circuit board
gets here from Atlanta.....and gets installed. AND I've got a ton of ware
ready to fire.......AND our holiday show in 3 weeks. Oy vey.
> >How old are the elements?
>
> 15 years at least
>
>
> C Newlin, typicalgirl@stinkbalm.com
Cathi Newlin on fri 9 nov 01
I have an old Skutt ^6 electric kiln, with cone sitter. I moved it to its
permanent location in my studio and did a test firing last night. The Jr
cone in the sitter was ^6, and on the shelf I put a holder with full-sized
cones 5,6 and 7.
On completion of firing, ^5 is about 1/2 way down, ^6 just starting to bend
and ^7 is straight.
As I said. the kiln is old (about 15 years) and the elements are not in
their groves is some places. Is there anything I can do to make the kiln
fire hotter?
I *have* toyed with the idea of turning it into a gas fired kiln, but am
unsure about committing to that (or can it accommodate both gas and electric?).
.
C Newlin, typicalgirl@stinkbalm.com
studiodog (for potters and others...)
http://www.stinkbalm.com/studiodog
StinkBalm! (always a work in progress)
http://www.stinkbalm.com
Jonathan Kirkendall on fri 9 nov 01
Try putting a cone 7 in the kiln sitter - those cones get hotter faster than
the ones on the shelf.
How old are the elements?
Jonathan in DC
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Cathi Newlin
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2001 1:12 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Skutt ^6 Not Hot Enough
I have an old Skutt ^6 electric kiln, with cone sitter. I moved it to its
permanent location in my studio and did a test firing last night. The Jr
cone in the sitter was ^6, and on the shelf I put a holder with full-sized
cones 5,6 and 7.
On completion of firing, ^5 is about 1/2 way down, ^6 just starting to bend
and ^7 is straight.
As I said. the kiln is old (about 15 years) and the elements are not in
their groves is some places. Is there anything I can do to make the kiln
fire hotter?
I *have* toyed with the idea of turning it into a gas fired kiln, but am
unsure about committing to that (or can it accommodate both gas and
electric?).
.
C Newlin, typicalgirl@stinkbalm.com
studiodog (for potters and others...)
http://www.stinkbalm.com/studiodog
StinkBalm! (always a work in progress)
http://www.stinkbalm.com
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Dan Taylor on fri 9 nov 01
Sounds like the sagging elements might want a holiday. If you don't know
when the elements were last changed might be a good idea to install new
ones for starters. As elements age they build up oxidation on their
surface and over time this cuts down their ability to transfer heat
properly. I find keeping a log of any maintenance I do on my kilns and a
record of all firings really helps. There have been times when a kiln
starts to slow down and I am annoyed because I'm sure I just put new
elements in that thing not too long ago but when checking my records find
it was quite a bit longer than I was remembering. ;-) Keeping track of how
long it takes to do each firing sometimes give you a little warning of
impending problems.
Dan
Cathi Newlin on fri 9 nov 01
At 02:45 PM 11/9/01, you wrote:
>Try putting a cone 7 in the kiln sitter - those cones get hotter faster than
>the ones on the shelf.
I'll do that...thanks
>How old are the elements?
15 years at least
C Newlin, typicalgirl@stinkbalm.com
studiodog (for potters and others...)
http://www.stinkbalm.com/studiodog
StinkBalm! (always a work in progress)
http://www.stinkbalm.com
Snail Scott on fri 9 nov 01
At 12:12 PM 11/9/01 -0600, Cathi wrote:
>The Jr
>cone in the sitter was ^6, and on the shelf I put a holder with full-sized
>cones 5,6 and 7...
>On completion of firing, ^5 is about 1/2 way down, ^6 just starting to bend
>and ^7 is straight.
This is normal!
A sitter cone will seldom read the same as a witness cone.
Witness cones are more accurate, since they more closely
parallel the effects of the heat on your work.
I would rather put a
higher cone in the sitter and shut the kiln down according
to the witness cones, but if you really want to let the
sitter shut it off, (not recommended) and don't want to
mentally equate, for instance, ^6 on the shelf = ^7 in
the sitter, you can recalibrate the sitter. Just loosen
the set-screw and slide the flap on the deadfall a TINY
bit further out. (If the cone in the sitter isn't bent at
about a 90 degree angle, you need to adjust it anyway.)
-Snail
Cindy Gatto on fri 9 nov 01
C. Newlin:
My experience with the kiln sitter in our skutt kiln is that it
tends to fire a full cone lower than the cone in the sitter. To combat this I
have taken to putting a cone 7 in the sitter and I get my cone 6 firing, of
course I have witness cones to verify what is really going on inside the
kiln.
Sincerely:
Cindy Gatto
The Mudpit
228 Manhattan Ave
Brooklyn NY 11206
718-218-9424
Mudpitnyc@aol.com
www.Mudpitnyc.com
Imzadi D. on fri 9 nov 01
I had a beautiful old Skutt kiln I got used. When put a layer of the kiln
fiber insulation) the sheets that look like cotton batting for quilts, or the
lining of winter parkas) sandwiched in between each ring, the bottom ring and
the kiln floor and the on the top ring between the kiln lid, it knocked off
about an hour and a half off my firing time. It made me realize how much heat
was excaping between those worn kiln bricks. On cold winter nites, I threw
the insulation blanket on top of the lid during firing. This helped slow down
the cooling process so I didn't get the pinholing I got on some cold nites.
You might also check to see if your kiln sitter is calibrated correctly.
Imzadi
John Hesselberth on fri 9 nov 01
on 11/9/01 1:12 PM, Cathi Newlin at typicalgirl@STINKBALM.COM wrote:
> The Jr
> cone in the sitter was ^6, and on the shelf I put a holder with full-sized
> cones 5,6 and 7.
> On completion of firing, ^5 is about 1/2 way down, ^6 just starting to bend
> and ^7 is straight.
> As I said. the kiln is old (about 15 years) and the elements are not in
> their groves is some places. Is there anything I can do to make the kiln
> fire hotter?
Hi Cathi,
The problem is not with your kiln. It is common that small cone 6 in a
sitter is really only cone 5--sometimes less sometimes more depending on how
your sitter is calibrated. Always use large witness cones in your kiln to
tell you what is really going on. Many of us never use a Kiln Sitter to
turn off a kiln--it is only intended as a safety backup device. Put a cone
8 or 9 in the sitter and turn off your kiln by watching the witness cones
fall through a peep hole (with protective eye glasses on of course).
Regards,
John
Web site: http://www.frogpondpottery.com Email: john@frogpondpottery.com
"The life so short, the craft so long to learn." Chaucer's translation of
Hippocrates, 5th cent. B.C.
Cindy Griffis on sat 10 nov 01
> As I said. the kiln is old (about 15 years) and the elements are
not in their groves is some places. Is there anything I can do to
make the kiln fire hotter?
I had a similar problem. You can turn the kiln on after the sitter
drops by partially lifting the sitter and pushing in the button.
Watch the witness cones carefully and be sure to turn off the kiln
when the cone you desire bends. (Cone 6 in this case, I suppose.)
After you've allowed the kiln to cool normally and unloaded it, it is
time to calibrate the sitter.
Take the precaution of marking the tab with a sharpie to show where
you're starting from. I left the bent sitter cone in place and taped
the sitter up. Then, using a pair of pliers to hold the tab, turn
the screw that holds the tab in position. This will allow you to
adjust the tab so that it just barely clears the hook on the sitter.
BE SURE TO HOLD ONTO THE TAB WITH PLIERS BECAUSE IT WILL FALL OUT IF
YOU don't tape the sitter and drop the tab. (It happened to me. :-l
) Then, you'll have to start over.....
Moving the tab upwards gives you a hotter temp, dropping it gives you
a lower temp. Since I made this calibration, I haven't had any
problems getting the cone I desire using the same number cone in the
sitter. (Bisque or high temp.)
Good Luck!
Cindy Griffis
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Anita M. Swan on sat 10 nov 01
Couldn't it just be that the kiln sitter prongs need to be adjusted? 'Nita
Cathi Newlin wrote:
> At 02:45 PM 11/9/01, you wrote:
> >Try putting a cone 7 in the kiln sitter - those cones get hotter faster than
> >the ones on the shelf.
>
> I'll do that...thanks
>
> >How old are the elements?
>
> 15 years at least
>
> C Newlin, typicalgirl@stinkbalm.com
> studiodog (for potters and others...)
> http://www.stinkbalm.com/studiodog
> StinkBalm! (always a work in progress)
> http://www.stinkbalm.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> 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.
Susan Ford on sun 11 nov 01
In using my Paragon kiln sitter, I also use witness
cones. Usually the witness cones have dropped as
well when the kiln shuts itself off.
Do different brands of kiln sitters work differently? I
do tend to turn the kiln back on and let it soak for a
while after it's shut itself off.
Susan
---
Susan K. Ford
Norman, Oklahoma
http://www.clueless.norman.ok.us/sf/rerhome.htm
The weakest ink lasts longer
than the strongest memory.
-- Confucious
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