MarkS

Yes, it's a type K thermocouple. Mated up to a unit I put together with a PID. Looking at getting another from Omega and the correct extension wire. We'll see....

John, The thermocouple and wire was an Ebay find. But I'm not sure about the wire. Could it make that much difference? I didn't consider 9 1/2 hours total firing time unreasonable.

I've been trying to decide what's going on so I thought it would be best to get some knowledgable persons opinions. I did a glaze firig last weekend and use my new toy - a "homemade" pyrometer. I noticed the temp build about 200/hr until the kiln sitter( with a ^7 cone) tripped at which time the temp read 1840. I pushed the button back in as my ^6 witness cone had not bent. The temp dropped about 75 and after about 45 minutes the cone was well bent so I shut it off. The hottest the pyrometer ever shown was the 1840. Total firing time was about 9 1/2 hours. A recent ^04 bisque firing was a similar scenario although max temp was about 1650. Now my dilemma. Is the thermocouple bad or maxing out? Or are the temp readings correct and the elements getting old? I welcome your thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

The firebrick sounds like a good idea. You could drill holes or cut grooves for the rods. Stable

Been curious about this myself. The one thing I'm not sure about is how malleable the wire will get at cone 6 i.e. will it bend with the weight. I've got a stand like the attached picture but the last batch was too heavy and tipped over when fired. I'd be interested in how your stand looks.

Curious if anyone has any suggestions about mixing mason stain to add to clay. Before I've mixed it with water and then kneaded into the clay. But I was always seem to get some undissolved stain lumps. Would it work better to add some clay clay to the solution and if so should it be the clay I'm mixing with or EPK, OM-4, etc? Any suggestions as to how to get lumps out? Sieve?

The stain is a good idea. Is that number a typo? Came up as a yellow I think I'm really looking for a deeper turquoise.

I'm gonna try 1 1/2" of so - just have to make sure it won't interfere with anything. How far away do you have to keep pots, posts, etc?

Sorry. To clarify four times the diameter of the thermocouple.

Looking for a good Robin's egg blue glaze - cone 6 oxidation. I've thought about taking an existing commercial glaze - Mid South Turquoise and perhaps adding a little copper carbonate and/or cobalt carbonate. I know it would be an experiment but it's not quite turquoise enough for me. Any thoughts?

Before I order a thermocouple and especially before I install on question. How far into the kiln is it supposed to project? Paragon, I think, suggested four times the diameter. Comments?

I also have a Cress kiln and it is supposed to cycle on and off especially when on the lower settings. As time goes on and as the power dial - i.e. the one with the 0-9 increases, this will eventually stop. I would to their web site and download the manual. It helps explain everything.

Thanks for all the info! Now it makes me wanna go back and review some chemistry. I am looking into GlazeMaster - I guess it could figure this out for you.

Thanks Marcia Just to clarify do you mean that I need 1.5 times as much oxide as carbonate or the other way round?

Is there a substitution ratio to substitute cobalt carbonate in place of the oxide? I know generally the oxide is a more powerful colorant but I can't remember if its about 2x the carbonate or 1.5X etc. Or is it just not doable? Another question in trying to decipher a recipe - is magnesium carbonate considered an addition?