neilestrick

Don't buy one from Skutt, they charge a fortune for them. Search online for a Dayton 1TDP7 or Fasco A166.

The air going through the vent shouldn't be more than 140F degrees, but that's pretty hot to the touch. Make sure the cup that attaches to the kiln isn't clogged in any way so that it's not pulling in room air. The vent pulls a little bit of air from the kiln through the holes in the kiln floor, and and mixes it with a lot of air from the room through the holes in the side of the cup. As long as that's all good you're probably fine. Those motors typically fail due to everything corroding or the bearings wearing to the point that the motor can no longer make it turn. I've never seen one overheat to the point that it melts down or anything like that. They usually run very loud before failure.

The air going through the vent shouldn't be more than 140F degrees, but that's pretty hot to the touch. Make sure the cup that attaches to the kiln isn't clogged in any way so that it's not pulling in room air. The vent pulls a little bit of air from the kiln through the holes in the kiln floor, and and mixes it with a lot of air from the room through the holes in the side of the cup. As long as that's all good you're probably fine. Those motors typically fail due to everything corroding or the bearings wearing to the point that the motor can no longer make it turn. I've never seen one overheat to the point that it melts down or anything like that. They usually run very loud before failure.

If they have gaps you could try closing up the gaps. Otherwise just a couple inches will probably make a difference. Slowing down the firing at the end can also help, like for the last 2-3 cones. Given that the kiln is built and you're not going to be adding insulation or moving the burners, at this point changing the bag wall and/or target brick and making adjustments to the burner settings are your only options. And honestly, if you're within one cone, then there's no reason to make and significant changes to the kiln design itself. Bag wall and settings should be able to dial it in just fine.

Raise the bag wall a few inches.

I don't think a typical paperclay has enough fiber in it to open up the body in a way that would affect how it the body handles thermal shock. It would take a lot more fiber than is usually used to increase building strength. Fibers are tiny but have a big effect on greenware strength. I also don't think that opening up the body is the best way to go about it. You'd be better off using a body that can handle the thermal shock from a formula standpoint, as Peter and Min have indicated.

This. It takes forever for sealed forms to dry completely. The outside can be bone dry but the inside will still be leather hard. It also takes longer for the heat of the kiln to penetrate and drive off the last bit of moisture, so do a good long preheat and ramp slowly at first.

Even bone dry pieces contain water. Clay can't be 0% moisture sitting in a room that's 50-70% humidity. That last bit of moisture has to evaporate in the kiln before turning to steam, which takes longer for thick pieces, so a preheat or slower ramp is necessary. What speed did you use for the first firings? Never use Fast, especially for a bisque.

If the breaks are in the bottom row, just pin the big pieces in place, pin the elements to the floor if needed, and fire it up.

Congrats!

It all depends on how it goes together. Can you post some pics? You can cut the brick with a hand saw just fine, but you won't get very accurate cuts. For mortar joints you want very even surfaces for joining. It's generally easiest to just buy new wall sections.

What type of thermocouple? Does it have a metal sheath, or do you mean the ceramic beads, or a protection tube? Post a pic.

What Denice said. Explosions are caused by moisture. Even totally dry pots contain some moisture, which must evaporate out before it turns to steam and blows apart your work. When water turns to steam it expands 1700 times in size, so it's a powerful force. With thin pieces, the regular ramping rate of the kiln is slow enough to avoid explosions. But if you have large or thick pieces, it takes longer for that last bit of moisture to evaporate, so you need to do a preheat.

@Amanda Hummes What exactly made the first two firings unsuccessful? Explosions? Cracks?

Any wheel that is in your price range will work fine. Just don't get any of those cheap wheels on Amazon.

Yes, it sounds like they need replacing.

@EarthToMatthew A gets the hot, D gets the neutral. 4 gets a wire from both elements (2 wires total). 2 and 1 each get a wire from one of the elements (1 wire each). You might have to swap 1 and 2 depending on which element heats up when on medium. I would have the top element on the top section and the bottom element on the bottom section heating on medium.

HERE. Unplug the kiln and test the element resistance. Check your manual to see what they should be. How hot does the kiln get before it errors?

It shoudn't be related to the breaker flipping at all, but you never know. If you've confirmed that the element resistance is within specs, and the thermocouple is good, then it's probably a relay issue. Does your kiln have standard mechanical relays that trigger the mercury relays? My guess is that a relay is sticking once it gets hot.

If the pieces look okay but underfired, then go ahead and re-fire them once you figure out what's wrong with the kiln. Do you know how to use a multi-meter to check your kiln? If not let us know and we can tell you a couple of other ways to check things out.

They all use elements of the same material, but depending on the brand they will use wire of different thickness and roll them in a different diameter coil, so they may or may not fit into the brick grooves if you go with a different brand. Some manufacturers also use graded elements, where there are elements of different resistances in the kiln to compensate for cold spots. The setup can also vary from brand to brand, where some may have the elements wired in series but others will have them wired in parallel. It's always best to stick with the manufacturer, or order from Euclids, which can make them to the same specs.

In the future, get elements for the weird Skutt from Euclids, as they will not be pre-bent.

Skutt elements come pre-bent at the corners, so they may not fit exactly the same in the Olympic. Differences in the spacing between the elements, slight differences in the length of the bricks, and the angle of the grooves in the transition bricks, and the location of the pigtail holes could all add up to a real mess. If they were not pre-bent it would not be an issue. Stick with the Olympic elements.

As long as it's not so rough that it's cutting up your hands, ignore it.

Regular MDF is not good as a bat material. However Medex, which is an exterior grade MDF, is fabulous as a bat material. You can buy Medex bats from most of the online ceramics shops. It's absorbent and very durable, a nice middle ground between plaster and plastic. Every now and then I'll get some mold on my Medex bats if I leave them wrapped up a really long time, but a quick wipe with some bleach water takes care of it.