ShanRums

Hello! I wonder if anyone is able to help me. I can't seem to get consistent results with this glaze I have bought (Terracolor Iberia). It comes as a powder and I mix it up and dip my pots in using tongs. The insides of the pots usually come out how I want them (a sort of dappled brown, please see pictures in the link) https://imgur.com/a/JroEs8U . But the outsides get these sharp blisters, and sometimes also look like the glaze has applied too thinly (it goes a dull solid brown colour). I'm thinking the insides of the pots are getting a thicker coat, as it takes me an extra second to pour out the glaze. But from what I've read, blisters are more likely to occur when the glaze is thicker? So I'm not sure how that makes sense. When I did test tiles they came out perfect, so I'm v confused about where these blisters are coming from. I fire to 1220C (170C/hr to 1120C, then 60C/hr to 1220C) and hold for 5 minutes. I could try pouring the glaze into the pot, letting it dry, and then dipping the outsides, but I'm unsure how I would avoid leaving gaps where my fingers hold the pot. Thank you for any help! Shannon

It's because the kiln didn't come with a controller, and so my friend let me have their old one! I remember reading it in the manual before I got the kiln but then completely forgot! Loads of experience, thank you all so much! Just watched the footage back and the kiln followed the ramps pretty much spot on, can't wait to open it up.

Ah.... so I was just rereading the controller manual, when I realised that I never set the type of thermocouple I have with the controller. It's set to an r type, when I have a s type. I'm guessing this is going to have a big impact on what temp the controller displays... I'm so sorry for wasting all of your times :') I feel so silly aha. Will update tomorrow once it's finished firing!

Hello! Just checked the elements and they are all working. The multimeter has also arrived, and all the elements are reading between 9.2-9.4, I emailed the manufacturer and they said the resistance when new should be 9 - so that all seems good. Something we noticed was that the other thermocouple wire was damaged (see pictures here https://imgur.com/a/wbN9bBX). The white wire was the one that was completely detached and we rewired it when I first got the kiln, so it's annoying we missed the orange wire! But oh well, we've found it now. Do you think this could be the culprit? I couldn't find any other loose wires. Am excited to do another test tonight and see if it works! I only have 2 cones left though and they're sold out everywhere, so I hope this works :') Thanks for your help everyone!

Hello everyone and thank you for your responses! Hopefully I'll answer all of your questions. The controller is an Ipco Studio 3000, it only lets you input a target temp and not a target cone. Unfortunately, my kiln doesn't have a peep hole, so I'm not able to watch until the cones bend. The kiln can fire to 1260C and it has one thermocouple. I wasn't able to get a multimeter from my local store yesterday, so I've ordered one online instead. I thought I'd do a bisque firing while I wait for that to arrive, as I had lots of pots ready to go. And I recorded the temperatures again. Weirdly, the controller shows that the temperatures rises at 100C/hr no problem, until it gets to about 800C and then it starts to slow down again, by 35C/hr, and then 50C/hr for the last 100C. Which confuses me, as when doing the glaze firing it was able to get to 1170C before slowing down. I didn't have any cones for this temp, but the pots came out fine, nice and pink. When we got the kiln, we noticed one of the wires connected to the thermocouple had snapped off, so we removed the bit stuck in the hole and wired it back in again. Perhaps it has something to do with this? (Sorry, should probably have mentioned this earlier!) I'll get my partner to check again later for any loose wires, and report back. What I don't understand though, when the kiln is cooling down, I wait for the controller to get below 50C before I start taking stuff out, if the temperature reading was incorrect, wouldn't everything inside be way too hot to touch? Thanks for your help everyone.

Ahhh okay, interesting. So the extra 15 minutes makes a big difference! The ebay seller said that they had recently changed the elements, so I was hoping it wouldn't be them. But I'll buy a multimeter today and give them a check over. Thanks for your help!

Hello, Thank you so much for your reply! That's great, thank you, I'll try dropping another cone and see what happens. Hmm, I wonder if the elements are worn, as I set up a camera and checked the temp every hour against what it should have been. I found that the kiln follows the ramp spot on, until it gets to about 1170C and then it slows down, and added about an extra 15 mins to the total time. Would lowering the final temp help with this too? I didn't have an accurate room temp at the time, but when comparing the kiln against the outside temp, it seemed about right! I'll have to try and measure that more accurately. Thanks again! Shannon

Hello! I recently got a second hand kiln, and I've done around 4 glaze test firings now, but they keep overfiring. I wonder if anyone has any tips? My target is cone 6 1220C. For each test, I have put in a 6 and 7 cone (please see pictures https://imgur.com/a/fxAzkLB ). They are definitely improving, as more and more definition can be seen in the cones. I think test 4 shows that the kiln is getting to about cone 8 now, maybe? But the clay is still blistering a little, and it's suppose to be ok between 1140-1280C. Test 1: 1st: 190C/hr to 1100C (5hr47) 2nd: 60C/hour to 1220C (2hr) Hold: 20mins This was the worst, the test pot I put inside bloated and got quite toasty in colour on the base. Test 2: 1st: 160C/hr to 1000C (6hr15 ) 2nd: 60/C to 1220C (3hr40) No hold Test 3: 1st: 160C/hr to 1110C (7hr03) 2nd: 60C/hr to 1195 (1hr24) No hold Test 4: 1st: 180C/hr to 1110C (6hr06) 2nd: 60C/hr to 1190C (1hr30) No hold. I'm thinking it could also be affected by only having one pot in the kiln, instead of it being full? It's a 50L Keramikos kiln. But I'm scared to put a whole kilns worth in incase they all get overfired! Aha. Could it also maybe be a problem with the thermocouple? Thank you for any advice, Shannon

Hello! I have just bought a Keramikos kiln from Ebay, not including a controller, which wasn't a problem as a friend has given me one which they had spare (ipco studio 3000). The kiln has come with a han 15D plug, which we want to wire into the controller, it appears to be as simple as replacing the colour coded cables that are already wired into the controller. However, all the manuals suggest you should consult a professional kiln engineer before attempting rewiring. Also, the current wiring in the controller appears to have an extra earth cable which isn't present on the 15D. Would appreciate any thoughts, link to pictures below. https://imgur.com/a/CzivFhF Thank you in advance!