Karen B Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 I have a 10 cu ft L&L Kiln. It has a spring supported top for easy opening. The problem is, it has no catch to hold it securely opened. I have to use a lot of energy to make sure it doesn't fall closed, or fall backward. I seriously miss the door rest that was on my former Skutt. Am I missing something? What can I do to secure it? Thanks, Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitchmss Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 There should be an arm like you had on your Skutt. Check the left hand side of the lid (when facing kiln) to see if there is a screw/nut fastener on the lid. Likewise, check the top band of the kiln on the same side to see if there is a "catch pin" where the hold open arm would rest. If you have both those items (screw/nut and catch pin) its likely that the arm got misplaced. Is this a new kiln? If so, Id contact L&L and inform them of the omission. If its used, then maybe L&L can supply you with a replacement part. If you dont have the screw or catch pin, you can do a number of things; either fabricate your own and install, order parts from L&L and install, or rig something else to work. You could do something as simple as a "stick in a window" kind of deal; a simple block of wood or metal to hold the lid open (make sure its not super pointy which would make a divot/hole in your brick). If you have any metal fab experience it would be very simple to fashion a hold open arm; simple 1/8"-3/16" flat stock can be drilled and cut to do exactly what the commercially prepared units do with it likely being much cheaper to make on your own. A number of styles of fasteners can be used to affix this to the metal band which holds your kiln together, but I prefer rivets in the 3/16" size. If you have some kind of structure overhead (framing of any kind) a simple chain with a caribeaner on it, could be slipped through the handle, and snapped shut to allow it to hold it up. If the lid is very heavy, you might consider an arm on other side of the kiln lid so that the bricks aren't torqued too much by only being held open by one side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 @Karen B L&L lids are made to open all the way back and rest there. No support arm needed. Your kiln must be far enough from the wall to allow it to work, though. If you have the recommended safe distance of at least 16" from the wall you should have plenty of room. Once open, there is a small pin that fits into the hinge to ensure that it can't fall forward. See HERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitchmss Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, neilestrick said: No support arm needed Is this a newer feature? One of the kilns at the University where I taught was an L&L and I remember it having an arm like a lot of the other kiln brands. Maybe my memory is poor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 Just now, hitchmss said: Is this a newer feature? One of the kilns at the University where I taught was an L&L and I remember it having an arm like a lot of the other kiln brands. Maybe my memory is poor... They've been that way for a long time, at least as long as the spring assist hinges. I started selling L&L in 2004 and they didn't have a support arm then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitchmss Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 @neilestrick Must be that either this kiln model was earlier, or because it didnt have the spring assist it had the arm. It wasnt a large kiln; 1027 size. Apologies to the OP'er on giving incorrect info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen B Posted February 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 16 minutes ago, neilestrick said: @Karen B L&L lids are made to open all the way back and rest there. No support arm needed. Your kiln must be far enough from the wall to allow it to work, though. If you have the recommended safe distance of at least 16" from the wall you should have plenty of room. Once open, there is a small pin that fits into the hinge to ensure that it can't fall forward. See HERE. Yes, I just now see the pin. I didn't previously as that side of kiln is towards the wall. So now I know. The kiln is 18" from wall in the corner of the room. I didn't like opening it beyond verticle because it doesn't seem to be weight assisted as it goes back, and would bang into the wall upsetting the alignment. But now that I know that it is supposed to go back, I can ease it back to it's intended stop point. At that point, there is no way it would fall forward, but I will use the pin. It is just extra effort to get it to that point and to close it till it gets to the weight assist point. Thank you for the help Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 @Karen B Those bigs lids can be a bit unwieldy, especially if you're a short person. Like @hitchmss said, there are other things you can do to hold it open if you prefer, like a chain and hook coming from the ceiling or wall. Just make sure it's anchored into a stud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted February 10, 2019 Report Share Posted February 10, 2019 I used to use hinged lids on my kiln, but as it is 5 sections at most, and I fire either 3, 4 or 5, I removed the hinge and added and extra handle on the 27 that I have. It can be a hassle moving it on and off, but then I can still do it with little effort. .. harder now than when I first did it as now I use the thicker L& L lid. best, Pres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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