neilestrick
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Posts posted by neilestrick
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The wedge has to split the air, so the alignment of the mouthpiece and the tip of the wedge is critical. Adjusting the wedge up or down usually solves the problem. The width of your mouthpiece slot may be a problem, since the slot appears to be wider than the wedge hole. Could be a lot of the air is just going into the cavity without ever touching the wedge. I used to do a lot of whistles with my kids classes, and we just used a sharpened popsicle stick to make both the mouthpiece slot and the wedge hole, so everything was the same width. Beyond getting it to whistle, I cannot offer any help with actually tuning an ocarina. I've only ever made whistles.
- Min and cmeiselman
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All dark brown/black bodies do odd things with glazes. You have to do a lot of testing to find glazes that work well with them. Those that do can be really striking, though, especially if you leave areas of the clay body visible. My students use a fair amount of Standard 266, and it's a wonderful body to work with. Has a great feel. Don't go past cone 5 with it, though, or you risk bloating.
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4 hours ago, semidoomed said:
I think my biggest concern was more so regarding any fumes that could result from the firing
Raku glazes are often high in metals, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll fume any worse than a regular glaze. I assume the kiln is vented?
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@alaphair The 500C wire will work, assuming the listing is legit and that's what you'll actually get. It's one of those random Chinese brands which sometimes have iffy quality. It's a plenty high temp rating, though. SRML wire is pretty standard stuff for most kilns, so look at that, too. You'll need 12 gauge wire. Regular house wire is not appropriate for this application, it must be high temp wire.
Is the existing short wire already connected to the element with the crimp barrel connector?
The barrel connector at the element has to be a high temp connector. The slip on terminal at the other end of the wire can be a standard connector.
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Interesting design, elements set into the fiber. I've seen that on very small kilns, like the little Paragon table top jewelry kilns, but never in something this large. Due to its construction and the fact that these are no longer made, when the elements are dead the kiln will have to be tossed. There's no replacing those elements. It would be good to figure out if all the elements are working before you put any money into wiring it up. Do you have a multi meter? If not, you can get one at the hardware store for like $20, and with that you can measure the resistance of the elements. Just make sure it's digital and can measure ohms (the little horseshoe symbol). With that number we can math out if the elements are worn or if any of them are broken.
At 9600 watts it will pull 40 amps, so by code it would need a 50 amp breaker using at least 6 gauge wire for the circuit.
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On 2/5/2024 at 1:44 AM, PeterH said:
As Jeff mentioned the appearance of this glaze is affected by its thickness.
I fire to cone 6 in my studio, and I have not seen Palladium look like any of those 3 tiles. When thin it goes green, not lighter metallic. When thick enough to go metallic it runs off the pot. I'm not willing to change firing schedules to satisfy one glaze, so my students won't touch it any more because it has been nearly impossible for them to use successfully.
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I think it's probably an application issue. How long are you waiting between applying the two glazes? My guess is that the inside is still too wet when you apply the second glaze, and it's failing to get good adhesion, which is causing the crawling. I imagine the ash glaze takes forever to dry?
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ConeArt, L&L, and some other kilns all have multiple zones, where each section of the kiln is firing independently of the other. They typically fire a little slower than single zone kilns because they are working to keep the sections even in temperature. As long as the results are okay, it doesn't matter. And only the final ramp rate, the last 100C degrees or so, is really what affects how your glazes turn out. That is typically the slowest ramp rate in the firing, so it is most likely on schedule at that point.
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@Tammyt What model kiln is it, and which firing program did you use?
In general, not all kilns can keep up with all programs. The controller will allow the firing to lag behind the program as long as it doesn't get too far behind.
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Start reduction somewhere around cone 012-08. Your wife can fill you in on cones if you're not familiar with them. I wouldn't waste much time on automating it, because adjustments to the burners are almost always paired with an adjustment to the damper. And every firing is a little different, so adjusting according to what you see happening is very important. You'd need a lot of different sensors to effectively automate a gas kiln.
If any of the fiber behind the bricks is exposed where the bricks are broken, I would cover it with new bricks since it may not be rated for high temps.
Most people use a kiln shelf as a damper. Google search should turn up some examples.
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Lots of little patches or something on the bricks when you zoom in.
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Welcome to the forum!
Unfortunately, the chimney isn't going to work. It may be the correct size, but the heat is going to destroy it in no time, and it'll likely be glowing orange outside the kiln. You also need a damper in it, and because you're using venturi burners it's probably far too short to provide the secondary air needed for combustion. I highly recommend looking at a kiln design book like Frederick Olsen's 'The Kiln Book'. It's a somewhat outdated but it's got some solid design work in it and it's really about the best we have. It'll give you the calculations needed for flue opening dimensions and chimney height. Your chimney needs to be built from firebrick to at least the height of the kiln, and then you could transition to metal after that if needed, but it's often easier to just keep with brick.
Where will the kiln be located while firing?
What is the BTU rating of your burners?
How thick are the walls, and what type of insulation is behind the bricks?
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Kilns 7 cubic feet and smaller will need a 60 amp breaker at most, with an actual draw of 48 amps at most. 10 cubic foot kilns, if you want it rated to cone 10 (which you do if you're glaze firing to cone 5/6) will need an 80 amp breaker, with an actual draw of 63 amps. That's a really big kiln for most home studios, though. 100 amp service will be great, and leave you plenty of power for running lights, wheels, etc. Kiln vents run on a typical 120 volt household circuit. The only thing that may max out the system is heating, depending on how that's done. Depending on the layout, you may not need to run the heat while the kiln is on.
- Hulk and Bill Kielb
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It may dry and pop loose. If it's too stuck it will crack as it dries and shrinks but there's nothing much you can do about that now. Worth a try just letting it dry. Once it's firm enough you may be able to peel off the styrofoam. In the future, lay a piece of newspaper or paper towel between the clay and tray, or dust the clay with corn starch before putting it on the tray.
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@Paulo316 For low fire clay to work it'll have to have a glaze that fits perfectly and doesn't craze. That will take some testing. Is she using commercial glazes or mixing her own?
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I use 3 versions of the same clear- one clear, one tinted light blue, one tinted light yellow. I do all my decorating with underglazes so that's all I need. I tell my students with home studios to find 3 glaze combos that they really like- each combo may be two or more layered glazes (or even single glazes if that's your style)- just 3 combos that they like and that kind of go together in style, and then use them over and over and perfect applying them so they can be really successful with every glaze load. 3 options will be plenty to offer to people when you start selling, and will be manageable for keeping different forms in stock in all 3 combos. It may take 6, 7, or 8 separate glaze to create all 3 combos, and that's manageable. Trying to maintain a dozen glazes in a home studio can get pretty crowded. Once you've perfect those 3, you can start testing other combos so that you can retire combos every few years and keep your offerings fresh.
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Which program are you using? If you're doing a Cone Fire program, try a custom program or vice versa and see if that works. What exactly does it do when you press start- do relays click? It reads 'Idle', not complete or something else?
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9 minutes ago, Paulo316 said:
My guess is that my finished bottle is too porous and that I need a different / stronger glaze?
Welcome to the forum! This sounds mostly accurate to me. The issue is more than the glaze, though. If you have a porous clay body then the glaze must fit perfectly. Any crazing (crackles) in the glaze will allow the liquid to seep into the walls of the porous pot, where it can grow mold, as well as just evaporate the liquid. While you can find a glaze that fits well, the better solution is to find a clay body that will vitrify and a glaze that fits it well. You won't have any weeping issues that way. What temperature are you firing to, and what type of clay are you using?
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Even if the materials aren't rated high enough, they shouldn't change the insulation factor all that much until they've really shrunk up. If you're getting gaps, then that could definitely be a problem, though. Only the hot face would be an issue, not anything above it. Looks like you could put another layer or two of blanket on the top.
Have you checked to make sure the burners didn't get some crud in them during the rebuild?
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I would just leave the stuff on there and put it up under the kiln. It's really just there to hold the gasket in place while placing the cup. Once it's in place the gasket won't move. The heat of the kiln will likely dry it out over time, but even if it doesn't it shouldn't affect anything.
- Rae Reich and captaincaden
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Repairing kiln bricks
in Equipment Use and Repair
Posted
Hi @BarbaraT, welcome to the forum. Please post a picture of the damaged area, and a wider shot that shows how the kiln is constructed.