neilestrick
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Status Replies posted by neilestrick
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I recently purchased a used "Duncan - The Teacher" kiln and cannot get it to work. I am powering it with a NEMA plug and 8/3 wire to a 40 amp breaker [unit is rated at 2700 amps]. It is only 8' from the breaker panel. I have tested the outlet and it has power. Can anyone advise me with this problem?
Thank you,
Fred Y.
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Go to the Equipment Use and Repair section and click Start A New Topic.
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I recently purchased a used "Duncan - The Teacher" kiln and cannot get it to work. I am powering it with a NEMA plug and 8/3 wire to a 40 amp breaker [unit is rated at 2700 amps]. It is only 8' from the breaker panel. I have tested the outlet and it has power. Can anyone advise me with this problem?
Thank you,
Fred Y.
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I put a huge bowl of water out at the edge of our driveway during the summer for dogs out for a walk. Went to change the water just now and somebody has stolen the bowl. Hmmm, back to using a bucket rather than one of my bowls.
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I had that happen once on Halloween. I left a bowl of candy out because we weren't home to hand it out, and someone took the bowl. I was bummed because it was one I'd had for 20+ years.
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Ordered a new LL kiln today from Neil. He helped me decide on the model that would work for me in my elderly years. Great service and price. Now I have to sell my old kilns and wait. Denice
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Thanks, Denice!
Cone offsets allow you to adjust the temp for any cone. So for instance if you notice it's firing too hot at cone 6 but not at cone 04, you adjust the temp for cone 6 without affecting any other cones.
Thermocouple offsets allow you to individually adjust the thermocouples if it's firing too hot or too cold at all temps, or if you notice that one section of the kiln is firing too hot or too cold. Larger kilns often need the bottom thermocouple adjusted to prevent the bottom from running cold.
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Old Gare Kiln Model 2329A
Had to replace to cord with the proper sized one. But, while doing that one of the element leads on the bottom came loose on the end not attached to the element and i am not sure where it connects back too. I have not been able to find any images for the back of the controller, or a diagram showing how it is wired up.
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The wire should have a ring terminal on it if it goes to the block. Check that it didn't pull out of the ring terminal. If it's bare wire it may go to the relay. I'm not familiar with that model so I can't say for sure though.
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Old Gare Kiln Model 2329A
Had to replace to cord with the proper sized one. But, while doing that one of the element leads on the bottom came loose on the end not attached to the element and i am not sure where it connects back too. I have not been able to find any images for the back of the controller, or a diagram showing how it is wired up.
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Compare that element set to the others as they are usually all the same.
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Work bench surface: Hi Neil! You've written on other posts that your excellent work bench surface is 3/4" MDF with 5-6 coats of Linseed Oil. I'd like to copy your method, and am currently planning a to build a workbench. Quick question, does the MDF need to be on top of a sheet of plywood so that it won't sag or warp, or is that not necessary? My workbench will be 3' x 8' with 4x4" legs and 2x4" braces. Thank you! ---Nan
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If you use 3/4" MDF it will be just fine without plywood under it.
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I saw a post from you in 2018 that said you fire many different types of pottery together. I did that and now I am completely unsure of what is my low fire and what is my stoneware. Some of it I can tell apart bc I can see the grog but some of the stoneware doesn’t have grog! I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I was thinking. I could tell them apart by the color when they were wet. Most of my pieces are utilitarian. Thank you so much.
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You'll definitely need to figure out which is which, because if you fire a low fire white clay to stoneware temps you'll have a big mess of melted pots. The best you can do is take a sample of each that is known and start comparing. When in doubt, only fire it to low fire temps.
I always recommend to my customers that they use clay bodies that are easily identifiable if they're working at two different glaze temps, like a low fire white and a stoneware brown.
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I have now been asked to design a mobile gas kiln to be carried about in a 20' container that would fire eight 50+ gallon qvevri or 4 larger ones at least to bisque. Of course I have never built a kiln before. I imagine the greatest problem is to keep the kiln from grinding itself to death on the road, and of course keeping it down to a doable weight. I was thinking about building walls that could be assembled on site, then I saw John Britt's kiln made from refractory cement and I wondered if it might be the solution. He gave me some suggestions, but I would really love to hear from you guys
The person requesting the kiln design is looking for someone who wants to move to his place outside of Austin, TX, to run a studio and a really, really big kiln he plans to build. See The Qvevri Project. Is there a more appropriate place to post this information?
Thanks again,
You guys make my day.
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Go ahead and post this in the Equipment section and you'll get lots of great ideas.
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No.1 Pottery Plaster vs Plaster of Paris for wedging boards
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Yes, status updates are just for letting people know what you're doing. If you want answers to questions you should post them in the discussion topics.
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I've been doing fused glass for the past 30 years and have an old front loading Paragon kiln with elements in the door. The past year or so I've gotten hooked on pottery, and am ready to purchase a pottery kiln (the Paragon I have can handle low fire clay and glazes, but not anything above that).
I really like the quality of L and L kilns, and am thinking about buying one of their front loaders (I'm only 5'3" tall and don't think I could reach the bottom of their traditional round kilns). I'm concerned that their front loader doors (except for the industrial versions) don't have elements in them. They say the extra insulation in the door eliminates the need for door elements. Have you found this to be true?
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Yes, the EFL series work very well, even though they don't have elements in the doors. They use a microporous insulation in the doors that prevents that area from running cold. I've seen the results of all their testing and there are no cold spots due to the lack of door elements. None of my customers have ever said they had any problems.
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New kiln user here. ...I’m trying to figure out if one of my relays are bad or if it’s my elements. I can Bisque To a 04 just fine. I did have a lose connection to the relay. I fired again and it’s taking a long time. Any suggestions? It’s a manual cress kiln.
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Your best bet is to check the element resistance with a meter. If they're more than 10% off from new then they should be replaced.
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I am setting up a new kiln. Is there any change in the advice given in 2014 to use two layers of hardy board underneath the kiln?
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No, it will work just fine. Put it on top of whatever your normal flooring is (wood?), and have it extend at least 12 inches beyond the kiln.
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Help, my shrimpo to whisper is really noisy. I mean the motor. It runs fine otherwise, but honestly I may need to wear earplugs to use it. It's been sitting idle for a couple of years and I'd really love to start my studio back up
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It could be the motor or it could be the bearings. Your best bet is to make a video with your phone and send it off the Shimpo. Chances are they'll be able to identify the sound. It wouldn't hurt to post the video here on the forum, too, as someone may have had the same experience as you.
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Hi Neil,
I just finished a glaze firing to Cone 6 in my small manual electric kiln. I used Coyote Cone 6 glazes in a SNO Industries kiln. The kiln sitter tripped after firing 4 on low with lid slightly open, 4 hours medium, and roughly 4 hours on High. The small mug seemed to be leaking water, once I washed it it is holding my cup of coffee and not leaking at all. A larger vase I made is holding some water now but leaking and water is seeping out.
Can you tell me why some pieces seep water or don't hold water after being glaze fired?
Thanks,
Eleanor
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What clay body are you using?
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Hi Neil,
I just finished a glaze firing to Cone 6 in my small manual electric kiln. I used Coyote Cone 6 glazes in a SNO Industries kiln. The kiln sitter tripped after firing 4 on low with lid slightly open, 4 hours medium, and roughly 4 hours on High. The small mug seemed to be leaking water, once I washed it it is holding my cup of coffee and not leaking at all. A larger vase I made is holding some water now but leaking and water is seeping out.
Can you tell me why some pieces seep water or don't hold water after being glaze fired?
Thanks,
Eleanor
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If you're using a clay body that isn't fully matured at cone 6, the absorption rate will be too high and it will weep moisture through the crazed glaze. Make sure your clay body has less than 2% absorption at cone 6. If you're using a body that's listed as cone 6-10, it will be under fired at 6.
Also, no need to go that slow on a glaze firing when making pots. One hour on low, one hour on medium, then high till done will work just fine.
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how do I search the forum for my topic?
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There's a search box in the upper right hand corner of the main page.
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my olympic kiln with bartlett controller was doing a slow bisque fire and seemed to have stopped heating at 1636. 18 hours after starting it, it is still at 1636 and has been for several hours now. i have rather new elements in it. it is not clicking like it is trying to heat to a higher temp as it does when it is heating. any ideas i am not getting any error codes.
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It's odd that it hasn't given an error code yet, but sometimes they just don't. Go ahead and shut it off, though. if it hasn't gotten to temp yet, it's not going to. Here's what to check:
1. Elements. They can just randomly fry out, so check for breaks, or better yet use a multi-meter to check for continuity.
2. Connections. Check all wire connections in the control box to see if anything fried out.
3. Thermocouple. If it's really worn and nasty looking it should be replaced. If everything else checks out, replace the thermocouple even if it looks good. Sometimes they can crack but it's not visible.
4. Unload the kiln once it's cool, then do a custom program- 1 segment, rate of 9999, temp of 1000. Turn it on and it'll run full on. Let it go a few minutes then carefully crack the lid and see if any elements aren't glowing. If a single element is out, then there's probably a break in that element. If both elements in one section of the kiln aren't glowing, then the relay for that section is probably dead. In that case replace all the relays if they haven't been replaced recently. If you're handy with a multi-meter, you can check the power system that way and it's a little faster.
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Packing up for Cherokee Triangle art fair! First big show of the season, and first big show with the new work. Super nervous!
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Gas prices are crazy here, $1.57 / litre, works out to $5.97 a US gallon. Expected to go up again later in the week. Glad I don't have to drive to work!!!
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Ours has been creeping up. Got over $3 a gallon this week. Hasn't been that high in a long time.
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Staring at a jug for a week, wondering how the hell to glaze it to set off the form just right.
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Post a picture here and give us a shot at it!
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Ack! My kiln with brand new elements just misfired. Now I have to wait until it cools down before I can start to investigate. Aggravation.
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Do a Vary-Fire with one segment, rate of 9999, to any temp a couple hundred degrees above where it is now. Turn it on, and check (with your meter) the outputs on the relays, or check the pairs (1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6) at the terminal strip where the relay wires and the element feeder wires connect.
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Ack! My kiln with brand new elements just misfired. Now I have to wait until it cools down before I can start to investigate. Aggravation.
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Go ahead and open the control box and start inspecting. No need to wait for cooling. Make sure everything is tight, TC connections, too.
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Hi! Quick question for you. I noticed on a post that you mentioned having worked with Standard 365 porcelain, and I'm wondering if you have any experience with 551? Also, how foolhardy would I be to go from stoneware to porcelain?
Thanks for your thoughts! (I can give you my email address if that's easier for you.)-
I have not used 551. I have tried a couple of their other porcelain like bodies, though, and was not impressed. Their 365 throws beautifully, so I don't feel like theirs any reason to go to a white body that is supposedly more plastic. I do 45 pound planters with it with the 365 with no cracking or warping problems. The transition from stoneware to porcelain can be awkward, but you'll get used to it. Any particular reason you want to switch?
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Thanks for your thoughts! (I can give you my email address if that's easier for you.)