neilestrick

Sure thing. Just putting it out there in case you or someone else needed it.

If you need it for glazes, just about any kaolin will work. I've used Sapphire, grolleg, Tile 6, etc, without problems.

I would expect a little variation in your settings, but it shouldn't be anything major. Just make sure you get a big enough propane tank.

The clay suppliers cannot control the quality of their raw materials, nor can they test each bag of raw materials, nor can they really inspect every batch of clay to find chunks in it, especially if the chunks not a certain percentage of the mix. It would be impossible to find them. They rely on their raw materials suppliers to provide quality materials, and they take a risk with every batch of clay they make. But it's they're job to acknowledge that there's a problem and make it right, either through refund or replacement, just like the raw materials suppliers will have to do for them. That's all they can do- be nice about it and make it right. If they can't do that, I would consider finding another supplier (I know that's not a simple thing). Clay is cheap, even when it's expensive, and replacing one ton isn't going to hurt their bottom line at all when they're selling a few million pounds a year.
I used to run the clay production lines at A.R.T. clay, and if we found a problem that was not the fault of the potter, we would replace the clay body. One person who bought 100 pounds and had a problem is probably not the clay's fault. Several reports from different studios is probably a clay problem. Chunks of rock would definitely fall into the replacement category, regardless of how many people found it. We once found a hole in the stainless steel liner of our mixer, meaning there was a quarter-sized piece of metal (or several smaller pieces) somewhere in the clay. Bad news. We had to throw out all the clay we had mixed since we last cleaned out the mixer completely and knew there wasn't a hole in it, something like 12,000 pounds.

The last 100C degrees are the most important in terms of how your glazes will melt. Take a look at a cone chart and make sure the final ramp is at the correct rate and target temp for the cone you're trying to achieve.

I agree with Neil, however reduction and your visuals likely will change a bit. That nice blue flame is not something you will see so much with propane. Propane literally has double the btu output per cubic foot used, but proper orifices will compensate for this. You should be firing on temperature and rate so manually controlling will compensate for slight faster or slower. For reduction, your visuals will change a bit but not something you will not grow accustom to.

The last 100C degrees are the most important in terms of how your glazes will melt. Take a look at a cone chart and make sure the final ramp is at the correct rate and target temp for the cone you're trying to achieve.

I have used Weebly for a long time and it works well. I use their shopping system, too.

Low fire clay remains porous even after firing. If the glaze has any crazing (crackling) in it, then the water can seep through the small cracks in the glaze and soak into the body.

Congrats! It would be worth getting a cone 10 to build them from, as it will be less likely to bend at cone 6. You may be able to add more wires then.

Low fire clay remains porous even after firing. If the glaze has any crazing (crackling) in it, then the water can seep through the small cracks in the glaze and soak into the body.

Low fire clay remains porous even after firing. If the glaze has any crazing (crackling) in it, then the water can seep through the small cracks in the glaze and soak into the body.

You'll have to take off the control box to get it apart, but then you can move the upper and lower sections separately, which will be much easier and safer than trying to move it all at once. Just label the wires as you unhook them so you can put it back together properly. Set it on a piece of foam when you move it so you don't break the bricks. House insulating foam board works fine. Did they include the stand? If not, buy one or use cinder blocks.
HERE is the manual. Most all manual kilns work the same. Set up the Sitter with the proper cone, then do 1 hour with all switches on low, 1 hour on medium, then high until the Sitter shuts it off.  Set the Sitter timer to about 1/2 hour longer than you expect the firing to take (you'll have to do a firing to figure that out).
I assume this is going in your home? That kiln currently has elements for 208 volt electrical service. In order to use it at your house you'll need to change them to 240 volt elements. The amperage draw will probably be slightly lower with the new elements, but it will probably need a 60 amp circuit. Call Paragon for elements and to confirm the amperage draw. Kilns must be on a breaker that is 25% greater than the draw of the kiln. If Paragon's elements are pricey, also try Euclids.com.

You'll have to take off the control box to get it apart, but then you can move the upper and lower sections separately, which will be much easier and safer than trying to move it all at once. Just label the wires as you unhook them so you can put it back together properly. Set it on a piece of foam when you move it so you don't break the bricks. House insulating foam board works fine. Did they include the stand? If not, buy one or use cinder blocks.
HERE is the manual. Most all manual kilns work the same. Set up the Sitter with the proper cone, then do 1 hour with all switches on low, 1 hour on medium, then high until the Sitter shuts it off.  Set the Sitter timer to about 1/2 hour longer than you expect the firing to take (you'll have to do a firing to figure that out).
I assume this is going in your home? That kiln currently has elements for 208 volt electrical service. In order to use it at your house you'll need to change them to 240 volt elements. The amperage draw will probably be slightly lower with the new elements, but it will probably need a 60 amp circuit. Call Paragon for elements and to confirm the amperage draw. Kilns must be on a breaker that is 25% greater than the draw of the kiln. If Paragon's elements are pricey, also try Euclids.com.

That should have gotten you to cone 06, maybe even cone 05. It's really more important that it's firing accurately at glaze temps, which it is, so I wouldn't make any changes to the thermocouple offsets. I would just adjust the final temp up 30-40 degrees.

That should have gotten you to cone 06, maybe even cone 05. It's really more important that it's firing accurately at glaze temps, which it is, so I wouldn't make any changes to the thermocouple offsets. I would just adjust the final temp up 30-40 degrees.

That should have gotten you to cone 06, maybe even cone 05. It's really more important that it's firing accurately at glaze temps, which it is, so I wouldn't make any changes to the thermocouple offsets. I would just adjust the final temp up 30-40 degrees.

If everything completely dry, for a bisque, ware is not thick, you could set it at 100°C/hr to 600°C.
A photo of controller would help others give more helpful answers.
 

Yes, you can use the L&L tubes, you just have to drill out the TC hole. Also, the tubes have a flange on the outside, so L&L uses little ceramic spacers behind the TC block (screws go through them). You need two for each screw, so 4 total. You can see what I'm talking about in THIS VIDEO. Technically you can do it without the spacers, but things snug up better with them.

I don't know who was selling type S for $50, but the ones I get from L&L were at least $150 at their lowest that I remember, about $250 two years ago, and are now $400. In addition to the thermocouple itself, you'll also need type S thermocouple wire all the way back to the controller. Also set your controller for type S. As to whether or not it will last, who knows? It all depends on the thickness of the wire in the sheath and the quality of the construction. Worth a try for $15, though.
The other solution to the flaking thermocouple is to install a ceramic protection tube. If you use a closed end tube you'll have to figure out what offset to program in the controller to compensate for the insulation factor (usually around 15 degrees), or you can get an open end tube that still keeps the flakes from getting in the kiln but doesn't require an offset.

If you have 18" clearance then the cement board is not needed. If you want it there just to be extra safe, then have it extend about a foot above the top of the kiln. It comes in 3x5 sheets, so 5 feet is just right. It's best to install it with a gap between it and the wallboard behind it, so nail up some thin furring strips first.

The vast majority of places I see using dry clay to recycle are not actually properly set up to deal with the dust created from using dry clay. If you don't have proper ventilation then don't do it.

Running lower amperage through a 50 amp controller relay won't harm it in any way. In fact it'll last longer because of the lower amperage.
By the math it looks like you can wire the two main elements in series which puts the total resistance at 15 ohms, and run them on 240 volts (240/15=16 amps). If the single expansion ring element is 35-ish ohms then it runs on 240 volts also.
Disconnect the switches and wire the elements directly to the Kiln Sitter terminals. Then plug the kiln into a wall mount controller and you're up and running. You can build your own wall mount with a Genesis Mini controller for about $650 and save yourself a bunch of money.

No. The top section will connect to both hots, the big section will have the two elements in series.

 

The vast majority of places I see using dry clay to recycle are not actually properly set up to deal with the dust created from using dry clay. If you don't have proper ventilation then don't do it.