Smorzando

Thanks Bill. This is really helpful. As well as getting me to understand ‘why’ things are done - and why there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to ceramics! I certainly have lots of learning through experience to do - so I will take all this on board but also attempt not to get too tangled up in overthinking. As I said above, the glaze firing I just did was remarkably successful and I have some nice test pieces to use as ideas as where to go next.

Hi Min, gosh - complexity bias! I didn’t know this was a ‘thing’. Describes me to a T! To demonstrate this, I actually had about seven different clays in the firing together with a whole bunch of new glazes I’d made (as I said, I’ve never made a glaze before, or indeed done a glaze firing in a kiln!) - surprisingly, in fact amazingly, I have got some really nice results - lots to work with going forward, and I think one of the lessons I’m taking away is that I need to simplify things for a while til I gain more confidence

Thanks for your reply Bill. I’m afraid it’s left me even more confused to be honest! I am working myself up into a bit of an anxious state about all this. Having never fired a kiln before it is all rather daunting and reading so much online where most advice seems to conflict, leaves me feeling like I am getting everything wrong and will damage the kiln, the pots, etc etc! Here’s the only info from the instruction manual regarding the vents: The vents Your IKON has an inlet port, on the lower right hand side of the chamber and an exhaust port on the upper left side of the chamber. The inlet port can be opened or closed by sliding the shutter arm forward or backwards. The outlet port has a shutter flap that is opened or closed using the black ball handle on the outlet exhaust. Move the Handle in towards the kiln to close the kiln and away from the kiln to open it. The handle can be left anywhere In between to limit the amount of air leaving the kiln. For a biscuit firing the exhaust port should be left fully open up to a temperature of around 600c in order to allow all moisture from the work to be released from the kiln chamber. The inlet port can also be open if there is plenty of moisture to be released from the ware during this cycle if not required. After the drying temperature has been reached the vents would then be closed to allow the kiln to reach its final temperature. For glaze vapour, the vents will be closed after the glaze has finished releasing. For cooling the vents can be opened at any point after the final temperature has been reached. At this point it may be of advantage to open both the inlet and outlet ports. However, when and how the vents are opened for cooling is very much a preference. I should point out maybe that the kiln is in a wooden shed (with a concrete floor), it is rather draughty in there and there is a small window always open. But there is no other specific ventilation.

Hi Min Thanks very much! I was actually mid way through the firing when I got your reply. I decided to close the vents at 600 C - I asked someone with a Rohde kiln (with a similar arrangement of vents) and that’s what he said he does. Helpful to know you also close your kiln up at 750. I don’t know why the European kilns have this set up and don’t seem to have peepholes, but there you are . I have attached a couple of photos to try and give an idea of how it looks.

Hi folks, I recently bought my first kiln - it is a Kilncare Ikon V46 toploader (I’m in the UK). It is a 13amp plug in kiln, fairly similar in design to the small Rohde and Nabertherm kilns. It has a small air inlet port on the lower right hand side and an adjustable exhaust port on the upper left side of the chamber. There are no peepholes. I’ve done two bisque firings in the kiln during which I closed both the inlet and exhaust at 600 degrees C. However I am about to do my first glaze firing and am utterly confused as to what I should do during this type of firing regarding when (or if!) to close the inlet and/or exhaust. The manual simply says ‘For glaze vapour, the vents will be closed after the glaze has finished releasing’. Um…what?? I have spent the last six hours or so driving myself nuts trying to read the entire internet to get an idea of what I should be doing in terms of ventilation during a glaze firing. Since the Kilncare Ikon is not a very widely known kiln, I’ve been trying to get an idea of what people do in Rohde or Nabertherm kilns with similar designs, but am still at a total loss. If anyone could give me some advice I’d be extremely grateful! Thank you.

I knew this would get more confusing ! The supplier I’m looking at buying from (Hot Clay, in the UK) recommends the Nabertherm in terms of customer service, from their experience of dealing with them. And from what I can tell the Nabertherm uses two elements rather than the one in the Rohde which is presumably why they are more expensive? The price does vary by supplier and I found a price difference of about 25% in a quick Google search…. I am starting to think I may as well just toss a coin

Thanks Neil! That makes sense. To risk further over complicating things - I have also been looking at a Rohde EcoTop 60 litre kiln, which is very comparable in terms of spec - also 3.6kw, 16amp, similar internal dimensions. It comes, from the suppliers I’m intending to use, with a Stafford ST411 controller which has 32 segments and can store 32 programs, The cost difference between the Nabertherm with basic controller and Rohde with ‘fancy’ controller, is £190 (the Rohde being the more expensive). If I assume that four segments would be enough, are they any other advantages of the Rohde kiln over the Nabertherm? Build quality, reliability, etc?

Thanks - that’s really helpful. I am thinking it is probably best not to overcomplicate things, certainly with my first kiln. And I’ve no intention of getting into crystalline glazes - I will have plenty to keep me occupied making ‘normal’ glazes, since I’ve never even made one before! So perhaps the basic controller will be just fine for my needs at present.

You explained it well - it’s just that having never fired a kiln, I really have no idea how likely it is that I’d want to do such a complex firing! So I suppose I was trying to get some idea from more experienced potters if they find that they often need so many ‘segments’ to a firing, or whether four would be enough for most purposes. Both controllers come with four preset programmes - but I can’t find out what exactly these presets are, in terms of exact ramps, holds etc.

Hello everyone, I’m new here and am in the exciting but daunting process of buying my very first kiln. I am in the UK, for reference. I’m looking at a Nabertherm 60-litre toploader, as they seem to be a good make, and quite energy efficient. I don’t have room for a larger kiln, and I am only a hobby potter, really, who also tends to make smaller pieces My question is regarding the controller for the kiln. The controller that comes as ‘standard’ with the kiln is a B500 which has ‘Four freely adjustable segments’ and can store 5 programs. There is also an option to purchase an ‘upgrade’ of a C540 controller which has ‘Twenty segments’ and can store 10 programs. As a complete novice to kiln firing, I would like to ask more experience members if they think the ‘basic’ controller would be suitable, or is the upgrade worth it? For reference it is quite considerably more expensive - £372 ($453) to be precise!- which is probably money I’d rather invest elsewhere, although I wouldn’t want to regret not choosing it if it later turned out it would have been useful…. Thanks in advance for your help!