rissierae Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm a former pottery student that hasn't worked in a studio in about 4 years. Anyway, I'm looking to do a little hand building from home now to slowly get back into things. I acquired a very old Evenheat 1210, which I plan on using. I'm just looking for any advice, or words of wisdom for firing it. I've contacted Evenheat for a manual, but they said it was too old and couldn't help me, lol! It has 2 switches to control the temp. and a spy hole to watch cones. There is no kiln sitter. The lid is not attached, it never was. It just sits on top. And of course because of that, this is where the fire brick has the most damage, but I wouldn't call it horrible. The people I got it from said that it worked fine the last time it was fired, but that was probably about 15 years ago. I'll try to attach a picture so that you can get a better idea. Should I just start using it and see what happens? Or should I continue to try to learn more about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Howard Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 It has 2 switches to control the temp. and a spy hole to watch cones. There is no kiln sitter. The lid is not attached, it never was. It just sits on top. And of course because of that, this is where the fire brick has the most damage, but I wouldn't call it horrible. The people I got it from said that it worked fine the last time it was fired, but that was probably about 15 years ago. This may be a good starter kiln. It will teach you a lot about firing since you will have to watch the shelf cones. Here is an article on positioning the cones on the shelf so you can see them: http://www.paragonwe...ter.cfm?PID=291 The Paragon P Series Instruction Manual might help you, too. (It was published in the 1950s.) It is in Google Books: http://books.google....%20kiln&f=false Sincerely, Arnold Howard Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benhim Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 You can't really rely on a kiln sitter for glaze firing anyway. About half the glazes I have require a soak and a ramp down instead firing straight to cone 6. The first thing I'd do is put some furniture inside and some cone packs made up for the temperature you're going to glaze fire to and see how long it takes to reach that temperature. In the middle of the article posted below is a firing schedule that she does which is a bit long for my taste but I'm sure works great for glazing in kilns like yours and mine. http://ceramicartsdaily.org/firing-techniques/electric-kiln-firing/electric-kiln-success-how-to-get-exciting-ceramic-surfaces-with-cone-6-glazes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rissierae Posted November 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Thanks for the responses! And the links, they're very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benhim Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Oh I forgot to mention, an easy way to check your coils is to turn the kiln on with the lid open, then (with flashlight in hand) shut off the lights and watch the coils light up. Any dark spots or sections that appear darker in color are failing sections of your coils. They should be bright orange when on high with no real big changes in color through out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rissierae Posted November 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Oh I forgot to mention, an easy way to check your coils is to turn the kiln on with the lid open, then (with flashlight in hand) shut off the lights and watch the coils light up. Any dark spots or sections that appear darker in color are failing sections of your coils. They should be bright orange when on high with no real big changes in color through out. Thank you. I was wondering if I could do this. Are coils easy to replace if need be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Howard Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Are coils easy to replace if need be? Elements are easy to replace if you follow the instructions that come with the new ones. For instance, make sure the element fits all the way into the groove, tighten the element connectors properly, use the porcelain insulators, cut off the excess element pigtail, etc. Sincerely, Arnold Howard Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobg Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Talk to the people you got it from on how they fired and anyother info they have on it. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rissierae Posted November 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Talk to the people you got it from on how they fired and anyother info they have on it. Bob I wish I could. The woman who originally owned this kiln, and knew it well, is deceased. I never met her. Her daughter is the one I got it from and she didn't really use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benhim Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 There are a number of companies that specialize in kiln elements. Not sure where you are, but out here in Oregon/Washington one of the small companies that's been recommended to me was http://www.kilnelements.com/aboutus.htm I've not had the opportunity to do business with them myself, but they make their elements by hand to each kiln specification. Some companies make them on a machine that can abrade the wire and cause premature failure. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rissierae Posted November 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 There are a number of companies that specialize in kiln elements. Not sure where you are, but out here in Oregon/Washington one of the small companies that's been recommended to me was http://www.kilneleme...com/aboutus.htm I've not had the opportunity to do business with them myself, but they make their elements by hand to each kiln specification. Some companies make them on a machine that can abrade the wire and cause premature failure. Good luck! Yes, I checked the elements and they all need to be replaced, but that was pretty much expected, I guess! Thanks for that company's information, I'm still searching for a place to get them from, so I will check them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Howard Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 Yes, I checked the elements and they all need to be replaced, but that was pretty much expected, I guess! Do the elements not light up at all, or do they need to be replaced because they fire slowly? If they do not light up, it is probably due to a disconnected wire rather than broken elements. Rule of thumb: When several elements fail together, it is almost always due to a bad switch, disconnected wire, etc. rather than the elements. Sincerely, Arnold Howard Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rissierae Posted November 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 They all light up, and they light up pretty fast, but there are many dark spots on all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Howard Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 They all light up, and they light up pretty fast, but there are many dark spots on all of them. I would vacuum the grooves and fire the kiln. If it gets hot enough for the ware you are making, I wouldn't worry about the elements. Sincerely, Arnold Howard Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rissierae Posted November 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 They all light up, and they light up pretty fast, but there are many dark spots on all of them. I would vacuum the grooves and fire the kiln. If it gets hot enough for the ware you are making, I wouldn't worry about the elements. Sincerely, Arnold Howard Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com That is something to think about too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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