Rebekah Krieger Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I was reading the manual for the kiln I have. It says to keep the lid open until 1000 degrees. WIth my old kiln (small 1960's paragon) I kept the lid proper with a 1" furniture for the first hour. Is it necessary to prop the lid open on an electric programmable kiln? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 The reason to keep the lid propped, is control the rise in temperature, as well as to let moisture out. If you have a programmable kiln, and have dry wares, there's really no reason to prop the lid, except to expedite the end of the cooling process. I just usually pull a couple plugs, to vent the moisture, and allow quicker cooling, at the beginning and end of the firing respectively. I will also note, that in my first classroom, the lid was propped with a bit of a broken post. i continued to do so, with my firings, and it slowly damaged the lid. it was putting stress on the brick, where the screws were drilled in for the metal banding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Stuart Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I'm sure every manufacturer knows their product best. With our Cress e-23 we leave the top peephole unpugged with the lid closed. I don't even prop the lid open for pre-heats, as the steam and moisture seem to have no problem escaping with the lid closed. The only exception to this is when we're doing a gilding firing where we leave the lid propped-open until around 500 F to let the volatile and toxic fumes escape, per the instructions on gilding material. When we previously used a very much older Cress kiln of the same size, but with 24 amps instead of 36, someone in our studio got it into their head that "all dampers have to be open for an oxidation firing". Of course he was reading about gas kilns, but to him this meant both peephole plugs had to be open. With both peepholes open the Cone 6 firing timed-out and never reached anywhere close to Cone 6 as the heat loss from both peepholes being open was greater than the heat the kiln could generate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Computerized kilns should not have the lid propped. If it's vented with a downdraft vent, you should also keep the peep holes plugged. If you leave the computerized kiln propped open it can cause an error code. I've seen it happen. One of the reasons they used to recommend the lid be propped was to slow down the rate of limb when the kiln was first started, to prevent steam explosions. This was especially true in old kiln that just had on-off switches, not 4 position or infinite switches. But even with those, 'Low' could get hot enough to cause problems. With the computer, the rate of climb is precisely controlled so it's not an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 So what I said, only more smarterily...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebekah Krieger Posted February 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 HA- Ben! Thanks for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebekah Krieger Posted February 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Ok- Now I have another question. (i hope I am not annoying everyone with all my questions) When I am setting the kiln with the option to sound an alarm for a temperature, I would like to have it beep when the kiln is at 200 degrees (safe to open) - would it sound when it reached 200 as it was heating or would it sound when it cools to 200? Is it loud and obnoxious or is it a little beep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 It would sound as it was heating. And it's a little beep you won't hear unless you're in the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biglou13 Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Why does skutt , in. Manual, instruct to prop lid until 1000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Probably just never changed it when the digital controllers came out. Even with manual kilns I personally have never propped the lid except when doing a preheat with wet pots. If your pots are thin and dry it isn't necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 The two kilns I use have a "safety device" that prevents switching on if the lid/door isn't shut ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebekah Krieger Posted February 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 thanks Neil you are always there to help with my questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Happy to help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyAmores Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 I stopped propping my lid a while ago after I saw another thread here, but I usually keep both peeps out until red heat to allow better circulation as I have no vent (small test kiln). Is this a waste of energy for me to do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 15, 2014 Report Share Posted February 15, 2014 Just the top peep open will be sufficient, and leave it out through the entire firing to vent gasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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