neilestrick

I vote for paper as well. Because it's a simple shape, you should be able to get the edge sealed well and have minimal bleeding. The other option is to apply the underglaze first, then apply the stencil and wipe away the underglaze with a sponge. This method works well if you have large areas of underglaze or complex patterns where it's impossible to seal all the edges, and brushing evenly is difficult. It requires a smooth clay body, though. I used the wipe method for this piece, using a stencil designed and cut with my Cricut:

Have you checked out the community colleges?

Since you don't have a controller system, setting the venturi burners is going to be the same as any other brand. If you search here on the forum you'll be able to find lot of information about them. Once they're set properly you shouldn't have to adjust the air flaps on them, and you can control everything with just the gas and damper. I assume there's a pilot burner system of some sort? Those are usually just like a water heater- hold down the button, light the pilot, release the button once the thermocouple gets hot.

On a typical turn-up schedule- lo 1 hr, med 1 hr, high till done- anywhere from 5-10 hours. Depends on the kiln.

IMO, burnishing the bottom after trimming likely has very little effect on preventing cracking, because the clay is already pretty well set up to crack or not at that point. Sanding after firing is going to be necessary regardless of how well you burnish.

I agree, fire it up and see if it works before spending any money.

So sorry for your loss. I've also heard of people using plain old white glue, then soaking it with a bit of water to loosen it up when it needs to be open. I think the putty options are probably better, though. Always keep the ashes in a plastic bag, even when in the urn.

Depending on when it was made, a new head may or may not fit it. If yours is a CI wheel, it was made before Speedball took over those wheels, and I don't know if Speedball changed the design or not. You'll need to call Speedball and see what they know.

These wheels don't have the typical controls on them, , and I don't know them as well as other wheels, so I'm not going to be much help. Call Speedball.

SRML wire is perfectly fine for use in kilns. I've used it in dozens upon dozens of kiln for the last 20 years without problem, including Gare/Evenheat kilns just like this. It is very common in kilns.

If you wire the way they currently have it, it'll need to be able to handle the entire 30 amps that the kiln draws, so at least 10ga. 8ga would be better so you're not maxing it out, but it'll get kind of bulky in there. The silicone coated wire would be less bulky than the SRML. The other option would be to wire each switch individually from the Sitter instead of daisy-chaining them, and use 12 ga wire. Any connectors on the ends of the wires should be high temp connectors.

SRML wire is also commonly used in kilns, and is less expensive. https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/12-awg-srml-sewf-2-silicone-rubber-wire-high-temperature-motor-lead-wire-ul3231-3070

Describe the 'kiln alarm'. I've never heard of these kilns having any sort of alarm. Are you sure it's not a relay or switch that's chattering?

So it is a 3 wire system, no neutral. The 6-15 receptacle is for adding on another ring, which was common on a lot of the old kilns. I would just unhook that if you don't have the ring. Is the wiring really dirty, or is it the old waxy cloth wrapped wiring?

Thank you!

Thanks for all the info! I've been doing a lot of underglaze transfers over the last couple of months, and I tried using the newsprint I use to wrap pots when I sell them, and I was not happy with the results. The underglaze is much more likely to flake off when it dries, and the wrinkling is a big issue. I'm doing large patterns, not line work, so there's a lot of underglaze on the paper and it wrinkles up a lot. I've settled on half-raw rice paper, printed on the raw side. It holds the underglaze well, releases very quickly, and doesn't wrinkle much at all. I've just been buying it off Amazon, about 29 cents per sheet. I've been using adhesive vinyl cut on my Cricut to make the screens, with Speedball Screen Filler, and it has worked very well. This is a shot of the vinyl being removed from the screen once the filler has dried:

If the controller is overheating then you don't have adequate ventilation in the kiln room. Set up a fan to move some fresh air into the space.

In looking at other examples of that glaze, it appears that it does like to go metallic. The lack of color may be due to thickness issues. I'd run a few test tiles ranging from 2-5 coats of glaze and see which one gives the best color. If they all stay metallic then it's probably a temperature issue.

So it's actually a cone 8 clay. Not as tight as I'd like at cone 5, too tight at cone 10 (for a stoneware body).

I should have specified that I was referring to kilns, not other appliances, but I get what you're saying. And the serial plate doesn't specify 120/240.

Yes, pics inside the kiln. I've never seen this model of kiln with a neutral, nor have I seen a 3 wire plug with a neutral and no ground, but hey that doesn't mean they don't exist. An ungrounded kiln would not be safe, though. Even though the 10-50 is technically 2 hots and a neutral, ungrounded, they are probably using it as a 2 hots and ground. No guarantee that cord is the original. Post some pics of inside the control box and that will clear everything up.

Any time you add a plug into the system it's another weak point, so the fewer the better. Not using an extension cord is most likely a physical safety thing rather than an electrical thing. A long cord is far more likely to be tripped over, which could cause the kiln to be pulled off the stand while hot. An RV isn't going to tip over and start a fire if you trip on the cord. A 6 foot long, 3 wire, 50 amp oven cord would work fine. If you get a 4 wire that matches your outlet, just don't use the neutral wire.

That's an odd ruling, because that would mean a kiln would not be hooked up according to manufacturer's recommendations, and in the case of a UL listed kiln it would require changing the plug and possibly negating the UL Listing. @Bill Kielb have you ever heard of that rule? Ground wire should be attached to the appropriate ground terminal all the way through from the breaker box to the kiln box. The neutral should not be used at all. Adapters and extension cords are not safe for use on kilns. I wouldn't fire any pots until you test it, but I wouldn't run a test until you measure the element resistance.

Have you tried programming a different user number? There are usually 6 user numbers you can store, so try a different one and see if you have the same problem. Have you tried turning it off and back on? Not to be silly, but that often works. You could also try a reset in the system, which is under the Options menu. That will wipe out any configuration you've done so you may have to redo things if you've done anything with thermocouple offsets and such. HERE is a link to the manual if you don't have one.

Code requires that kilns be on a breaker that is 25% greater than the draw but no more than 50% greater, so your 30 amp kiln needs to be on a 40 amp breaker. The Sitter can handle up to 45 amps. The 14-50 plug is a 4 wire plug- 2 hots, neutral, ground. Your kiln is a 3 wire setup- 2 hots, ground- so you'll have an extra terminal in there that you do not need. I would change out your outlet to a 6-50, which is a 3 wire, and get a new 50 amp power cord with a 6-50 plug. It's always nice to have an oversized power cord. There's no good reason to use that old cord with a new plug. What size wiring is going from the breaker to the outlet? It needs to be sized to handle at least the amperage rating of the breaker, so if it's a 40 amp breaker you need at least 8 gauge wire. Anything smaller than that will need to be changed. Anything larger than that is just fine. Are there 3 or 4 wires going to the outlet? If there are 4, cap off the neutral because you don't need it, or if you need to run new wire then just run 2 hots and a ground. I'm not a big fan of having unused terminals in outlets and plugs because it just makes things more complicated than it needs to be when doing repairs. I would only change the elements if they need it. Unplug the kiln, turn on the Sitter and all the switches, and measure the resistance (ohms on the meter, little horseshoe symbol) at the two hot prongs on the power cord. It should be around 8 ohms- 240 (volts) divided by 30 (amps). You can also check each element by turning on each switch one at a time. Each element should measure around 32 ohms.