LauraP Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 I just fired up my new Olympic 1214T-120 small kiln. I used a 06 cone bar that was with the kit from the lady I purchased it from. The cone bar was sealed in a little plastic box and they all look dry and healthy. The previous owner said she bought the kiln 5 years ago. It had NEVER been fired. The Kiln has a kiln sitter and a timer that will turn off the kiln if the cone fails. I set 12 hours on the timer and just checked on it. It has only been on for less than 3 1/2 hours. The cone is melted and when I peeked inside it is not a glowing hot. It is very hot though. The kiln was empty. No shelving or other pottery. So Help! Why did it fire so fast? I did not use test cones inside as I did not have a platform for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 What did you set the energy input at? The timer only does that ticks back to zero and stops electricity to the kiln after your 12 hours, a long time to reach c 06. Somewhere you have to turn the energy input dial to a number or low, med , high... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraP Posted July 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Thank you for responding I had it on low for 20 minutes venting, medium for 20 minutes vending and then on high for the rest. It bent the 06 cone and turned off the kiln. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick White Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 An empty kiln requires very little energy to heat just the air. Air heats very quickly. The only real value to firing an empty kiln is to either condition and temper new elements when they are replaced, or to determine if it will turn on at all. If you want to know how it will perform with the thermal mass of wares in the kiln, then you need to fill it with wares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraP Posted July 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Awesome! Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Once you are at that stage, put the timer only about 30 mins max over the length of your firing. That way not too much damage done:-/\\ if kiln sitter doesn't function properly. Don't trust the sitter. Be there as final temp approaches. Have you got a pyrometer? A worthy investment. Happy firings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Maybe try to find the firing schedules used by potters who use this kiln depending on type of firings,glazes, clay body you use. Give you a guide of sorts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Sounds like it worked fine. But as Babs said, the timer is just a countdown. When it hits zero it will turn the kiln off, but it does not control how long the firing takes. You need to fire the kiln with the same schedule every time, and set the timer to about 30 minutes longer than you expect the firing to take. That means for the first firing with pots you'll have to check it to make sure it doesn't over-fire, and see how long it takes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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