neilestrick
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Posts posted by neilestrick
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If you have the space then go big with the roller, but a 6 foot table is really big and takes up a lot of room. I have a 30" that I picked up used for cheap and I really like it, but the 6' table was much too large for my space so I cut it down by about a foot and it still functions very well. The huge outfeed and small infeed on the 69 inch don't really make a lot of sense unless you want to use the outfeed side as a work space. That said, my shorter table still functions very well as a working surface- I do all my cutting there after rolling the slab.
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Don't wrap a kiln in fiber. You'll destroy the metal that way, and fiber is not friendly to your lungs. If a kiln is working properly, then there's no need for additional insulation. Different kilns are made for different applications. If your kiln doesn't get hot enough for what you're doing, you need a different kiln or you need to swap out the elements for ones that will produce more heat. However comes with other potential issues such as needing to upgrade all the kiln wiring and service wiring to accommodate the increased amperage. If you aren't familiar with electrical circuits then you shouldn't attempt any changes like that.
Top loading kilns are a series of compromises. They can easily build kilns with 4.5" thick walls, but that greatly increases the weight of the kiln, making it more difficult to move and increasing shipping costs. Thicker walls also slow down cooling times which give you less control over the firing, and it requires more bricks which means higher costs. 3" bricks are a simple change from 2.5" bricks, though. The weight and cost increase isn't enough to have a big effect, and the increased efficiency is worthwhile. We've had this conversation several times over the years, but I'm not convinced that adding fiber insulation behind the bricks on round kilns is worth the effort. Firing costs are pretty darn low when you break it down to cost per pot, so the cost benefit is minimal and there are downsides when it comes to repairs.
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10 hours ago, Hulk said:
Added: on t'other hand, J.J. Cress and Cress may be separate and unrelated (excepting the name) companies, per archived (this) Forum threads
Cress swears that they are not related to JJ Cress in any way, even though all the kiln model numbers and construction appear to be the same. So I don't know what the real story is there, probably some legal issue, but the current Cress company does not or will not have nay information on JJ Cress kilns.
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I've never seen a kiln like that. Not sure what that part on the top is, but I'm betting it's not made for ceramics. Can you post some pictures of the interior and the lid open? Based on the size of the kiln and it being wired for 115 volts, most likely it is not going to get hot enough for ceramics. Chances are this is for glasswork or metalworking or something like that.
Also, as repair tech I will not work on kilns that have old cloth wrapped wiring. Paying me to rewire the kiln with new wiring is part of the deal if they want me to work on it. While the wiring may be okay, typically the wires and sheathing are pretty brittle when they're that old, and I'm not going to fix another part of the kiln and leave that bad wiring in place.
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8 minutes ago, Denice said:
What kind of alerts do they send? Denice
You can get push or text notifications any time there's a change to the kiln status- start of firing, end of firing, or error. Super handy of you aren't around your kilns all day while they're firing.
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As Dick said, the logs show the status every 30 seconds. The set point is the temperature the kiln is trying to achieve. It is always changing unless it's in a hold, and typically the thermocouple readings are a couple of degrees behind the set point. The logs are most handy when looking at kilns with multiple zones, as you can then see if a zone is lagging behind the others and/or causing problems.
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1 hour ago, Denice said:
I have two kilns with the Bartlett Genesis controllers, I need to sign up and pay a monthly fee to access more information from my firings. Are you a member? Perhaps you need to be to access your info. I am not very computer literate so I haven't joined. Denice
You do not need to pay for the upgrade in order to be able to download firing logs. The upgrade is to get alerts, and it's worth it IMO.
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It takes very little reduction to keep a kiln in reduction during cooling. Small pieces of wood are an easy way to do it in a kiln that's already got bricks that are glazed up from soda or salt, but I wouldn't do it in a straight gas kiln because it'll make a mess of the fireboxes at cone 10. The other option is to seal off the burner ports and just have a small pilot burner going though a small hole.
If you want the clay to be black from reduction cooling, use a clay body that has 4.5% iron in it. Letting in small amount so oxygen at various points in the cooling will cause flashing.
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The computer you're using must be connected to the same wifi as the controller. Many routers are dual band and may also have a guest channel so make sure you're not on different bands. Also try doing a firmware update, as that often fixes a lot of problems.
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6 hours ago, HenryBurlingame said:
Neil, why do you say to get square posts and not triangle? I was just about to place a large order for some laguna 1.5" wide triangular posts. It looks like it would be easier to fit more wares around triangular posts than square ones...
Better support when two shelves share a post. The space savings is negligible.
- HenryBurlingame and Pres
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ConeArt makes good kilns. They have zone control, and element changes are easy. Brick replacement is more difficult, but if you take good care of it that shouldn't be necessary.
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I would try substituting some or all of the ball clay with kaolin for starters, and adding a little bentonite. If that doesn't do the trick, try washing the ash at least a couple of times. Unwashed wood wash has a lot of soluble material in it that affects flocculation. Washing will probably affect the melt a bit, so it may require a recipe adjustment. FYI, unwashed ash is very caustic, so it's a good idea to wear gloves while dipping and definitely wear a respirator when spraying. Washing it will make it less caustic, so that's a bonus.
- Sam D and Kelly in AK
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15 hours ago, Russ said:
One possibility . .... It could be the breaker that is wearing out. Breakers over time become overly sensitive especially if theyre run close to the tripping point for a long time. An electrician could figure that out for you.
If the breaker is blowing immediately upon starting the kiln then it's most likely a short, probably from a connection that has fried out or come loose, causing a wire to contact metal. Or possibly from a relay that fried hard. If the breaker is blowing after the kiln runs for a bit, then it's probably a worn breaker.
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I'd call Olympic.
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I agree, the underglaze looks kinda thick. What brand of underglazes are you using? Most will give you a good solid color of you thin them down a little bit and apply 3-4 thin coats, brushing each coat in the opposite direction of the previous coat.
I find that clear glaze covers better when dipping if you apply the underglaze before bisque firing, so that the binders burn out in the bisque, leaving the surface more porous for the glaze application.
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It's quite close. Close enough that with variations from firing to firing it may actually come out perfect at times. If anything, do a thermocouple offset of +5, but like Bill said it's really not bad.
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How hot was the kiln when you propped it? You should wait until it gets down to 300F or lower before opening it. Opening the kiln for a few seconds probably didn't hurt anything.
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As for cone 7 going down, the hold at the peak is going to add a little bit of heatwork, as is doing a slow cool from the peak. If you don't need the hold at the top for glaze reasons then don't do it. If you want to do a slow cool for crystal development in your glazes, drop to 1050C at full speed, then do the slow cool. It would be a good idea to do a firing with just a few shelves in the kiln and cones at two levels, Medium speed to cone 6, and see what the cones show. From there you can do a thermocouple offset or a cone offset to dial it in so it's firing accurately. After that you can deal with the glaze issue.
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5 hours ago, oldlady said:
well, i thought i could get several 21 inch whole thermal lite shelves but at $337 each, my last sale would only buy 3 of them. a full kilnload runs about 8-9 shelves, the very heavy solid shelves i have had for 30 years or so. you can understand my dilemma.
so we discussed cordelite ones. they weigh only 14 pounds for a 21 inch whole shelf and cost $83 each. i have no experience with them. do they warp?
any opinions? my age and the prices of the work i make would make a bookeeper laugh at the question. i only care about the weight and being able to continue to work.
I've used CoreLite shelves for years, and I really like them. They stay flat much longer than standard shelves, and are as light as Advancers/Thermal-Lites. I think half shelves will last longer than full shelves, though, so if you don't need full shelves don't get them.
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2 hours ago, Elmoclayman said:
There should be a bit of yellow flame coming out of the flue right?? Same as with an updraft kiln?
Depends on how hot and if you're in reduction or oxidation, but yes, you'll get flame out the flue.
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Yeah, I'd ask them to raise it. Here there are rules about how high a chimney has to be in relation to rooflines that are within a certain distance.
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Set the gas for the rate of climb you want, set the air for the degree of reduction, and set the damper so you have back pressure out both spy holes. One will have a lot of pressure, the other just a touch. Each time you adjust one of these the other two may need adjustment as well. There is such a thing as too much gas and air, and generally the damper will only need very small adjustments. Keep notes as you go.
Gare Kiln Model 1818 Questions
in Equipment Use and Repair
Posted
https://www.clay-king.com/kilns/kiln_parts/kiln_controllers.html The Olympic Electro Sitter, or the Orton or Evenheat wall mount controllers would work. You just have to get the model that can handle the amperage draw of your kiln. The Electro Sitter replaces the Kiln Sitter, so it's a smaller package that mounts right on the kiln. For the wall mounts, the kiln plugs into the controller box, the controller box plugs into the wall. You turn all the kiln switches on high and the controller takes over. The Sitter is used as a safety backup. The nice thing about the wall mount is that the system runs cooler since it's further from the wall, so the relays should last longer. Any of them will likely cost much more than the kiln is worth, but it's still cheaper than buying a new digital kiln.