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New Art Teacher Help Pertaining To Minding A Kiln


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I'm a new art teacher, and am still new to our kiln. I'm a little afraid of it because the last teacher destroyed the kiln last year (it was an old one with a sitter and she used the wrong cone) and I don't want to be that teacher who ruins it for a second year in a row.

Anyway, our kiln doesn't have a downdraft vent, so I prop the lid a smidgen  (like 1 inch) until it heats up like I'm supposed to. I forgot to close the lid before I left work and now I'm panicking. It's only cone 05 but I'm worried I'll have nightmares about the school exploding in flames. Will it be okay???

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It will probably take a lot longer to reach temperature, but as long as it's a safe distance from anything flammable it will probably be fine.  Make a checklist you can mark off each time you fire it with all the steps you need for a safe firing.  Then you can feel good about firing it correctly as long as you follow the list and check off all the boxes.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Blue, just a heads up I'm a Full-Time ceramics teacher in a public school and have been for over a decade.  If you need help or questions answered don't hesitate to ask. You can contact me here or directly through my e mail, DiannaMCosta@aol.com. Good Luck!

 

~Dianna

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The gnawing feeling that every Art teacher, who teaches Ceramics has, "Did I check the kiln?..."

 

It's like the homeowner worry of, "Did I leave the oven on?", just way hotter...

 

I check my kiln multiple times, before I leave. "Did I hit the right program", "Did I close the lid, after loading, or just hit the 'start' button", etc.

 

A little bit of concern, is better than saying "Meh, who cares?" Concern, makes you cautious. Meh, leads to problems.

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Seems like someone would create a "kiln minder" app that doesn't connect to the kiln, just lets you remind yourself of the steps you have taken before leaving the studio, then if in doubt you can refer to it when you wake at 3am wondering did I turn off the kiln!

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Wish I could tell you the number of times I have left home at night to come to school to check a kiln!  I've been teaching art in public schools for 24+ years, and when I taught elementary, I also had a kiln sitter, and had to prop my lid.  I had the night custodian's personal number at the time!  ;-)

 

Now, teaching high school ceramics, I fire any or all of my 4 kilns about 4 days a week.  Juggling programs and such has led me to a great trick... Now, after I program my computerized kilns, I actually take a VIDEO of my program when I hit review, so, that way, when I inevitably wake up at 1:30 am worrying about Sarah's pot that was extra thick, I can check my preheat timing to confirm the program on the video.  

 

I still make an occasional mistake, but it helps my forgetful brain to reassure me in the wee hours!  I too, like Dianna, offer my assistance to any questions you may have- teaching ceramics full time now for the past 17 years!  :-)   Oh, and if you would be interested- I invite you to check out videos I made for my high school students on my youtube channel!    https://www.youtube.com/user/KaransPotsAndGlass/featured

Best of luck!  :-)  Karan

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The only time you need to prop the lid is if your kiln only has on-off light switches for controls, like the old Evenheat kilns. There's no low setting on those, the elements are either on or off, so they tend to heat up too fast and cracking the lid is the only way to slow it down. But if your kiln has low-med-high or infinite switches, just leave the lid closed for the entire firing. Since you don't have a downdraft vent, leave the top peephole open the entire time. That will be adequate to vent out moisture and fumes. No more worries about the lid.

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