LakinK Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 I recently learned about kiln maintenance and found that I need a sitter gauge to make sure I'm firing to the right temp. I bought my kiln second hand so I had no idea I was supposed to have one. My question is, are all gauges the same? Or should I buy one from my kiln & sitter manufacturer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick White Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 There is only one brand of kiln sitter - Dawson, which is now owned by Skutt - and the functional parts inside the kiln are all the same. There is only one calibration gauge. You can buy one from any place that sells parts for Dawson kiln sitters, not just from Skutt or the manufacturer of your kiln. It's a little round disk that fits over the ends of the cone supports and holds the actuator rod in the exact spot when the drop weight should fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LakinK Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 Thanks for the info, much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 Hi Lakin, I believe the sitter serves as a fail safe - shut down the kiln when the target temp is reached; however, not a substitute for being on site and monitoring whilst firing. I would recommend using a pyrometer to watch the rate(s) of change and your target, and placing cone packs on each level/shelf to check for variance (and also to compare against your pyrometer reading). Others do fine with just watching cone packs through the peep holes (wearing the appropriate safety glasses - welding type, which screen harmful rays!!), even just watching the colour of the glowing wares (same glasses, of course). I'm not very experienced in firing, so I'm watching the meter readings and comparing the readings against actual Orton cones. imo, too much can go wrong with the sitter to depend on it for shutting down at target temp. Pyrometric "cones" are formulated to melt and bend over at target temperate; from there, read about and understand what "heat work" is... I have this pyro, thought it was adequate and a competitive price as well, Aardvark Clay in LA, CA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 If you don't have a sitter gauge, you can still adjust and calibrate your sitter, it just takes a couple of firings. The cone should be bent to 90 degrees after firing. If it's not, adjust the weight up or down to make the kiln fire a little hotter or cooler depending on what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.