JohnnyK

I converted to an Orton digital controller about4 years ago to fire my very old Cress manual kiln. I ultimately bought a Cress FX23 manually controlled kiln with a kiln sitter. I just plugged the newer used kiln into the controller and fired away to ^6 with the kiln sitter placed in a permanent ON mode with the use of a high strength steel bolt which would withstand the ^6 temps. ( I didn't want to spend the $$$ for a box of ^10 cones) The problem that I had with the kiln sitter was the timer knob which I occasionally forgot to reset. Last summer I removed the kiln sitter and just rewired the kiln to operate without it , fabricating a coverplate to close the hole after the kiln sitter was gone. If you want to use the wall mount for both kilns, you just need to make sure that both kilns operate at the same amperage and that they have the same plug configuration for the controller.

YUP

None...At what cone does the clay usually mature? Probably ^10. You should be OK with your pit firing...

Hi Lena and welcome to the forum...Amaco PC glazes are great for layering, but Amaco does not recommend brushing over dipped glazes. Have you purchased glazes designated for dipping or are you dipping into their brushing glaze (which is what you get with the pint size jars). They are 2 different animals. One of the things that you'll find when exploring the forum here is all kinds of things that potters have done over time, but in most cases, they recommend that what you do is test, test, test. What you can do here is try (test) what you want to do and see what kind of result you get. Record all the steps that you do from start to finish so that when you find something that works, you will be able to repeat the results. I've been using PC glazes for for more that 5 years and have come up with some really great combinations that work well for me and I'm continually experimenting with different layering combos to see what kind of results I get. Some are fantastic and some less so. You can see some of what I have done with the PC combos in my album and I'd be happy to share how I achieved what you see there. On Amaco's website under layering, you can find a myriad of layering combinations which you can use as starting points (but don't believe the photo for the PC33 over PC31...I have yet to achieve that look). Is there a particular combo that you are trying?

You've been around for a while...is there something that you're doing that was different from your previous firings? Is there something new in the mix here...a different firing schedule...different clay,,,different anything?

Here are some pix of a portable Raku kiln that I made which I have used for my Horsehair Raku over the last couple of years. I have yet to do regular Raku in it, but that is in the near future...I made my own buttons and used stainless steel wire to fasten the insulating blanket with the buttons. The single weed burner has worked fine for the Horsehair Raku getting up to 1500 degrees F in about 20 minutes... I

Your best bet would probably be to talk with your local gas supplier. Their engineers should be able to tell you what you need to know...

What is the recipe for Lees kiln wash? The pre-mixed stuff I'm using now does flake...in the kiln, not the oven...

So turn the shelf over....you don't kiln wash both sides, do you?

Check to make sure that the timer on the kiln sitter is set and has not wound down to zero...it should be set for a little more that your approximate time for the bisque firing.

Some very interesting stuff there, particularly the pieces that look like they were dug out of the ground at the base of some volcano...