Lbauer12

Yep, thanks I just did 05 again.

If I reglaze a piece that was fired to 05, should I refire it at 05 or 06? Most of the bowls are 1-2 more coats totally covered.

Interesting, I’m learning this is not a simple hobby…

That makes sense thanks. With the 02-06 clay that I have why would I experience crazing if bisquing to 04 then using 06-05 glazes? I guess the elements are 05-6, but are some glazes just not compatible with certain clays even though it says they are?

I have one more question. My kiln is in my garage. Is it ok to fire when it’s around 40 degrees outside. The thing I’d be concerned about is when I take it out if the change in temperature would damage the glaze. If I wait until it’s room temperature does it matter if it’s a little cold?

I have some stoneware I previously fired in 5-6 hours at 04 to bisque. Would it be ok to re-fire it at 10-12 hours?

Hopefully that will help. I don’t feel like I was glazing too heavily(3-4 coats brushed). Or cooling down too fast(20-24 hours).

I did an 04 test firing with the dial at 10:00 the whole time. I put covered the bottom peephole 5 hours in. After 10 hours I cranked it up because I wanted to go to bed. Will firing 10-12 hours instead of 5-6 help eliminate pinholes and crazing? For a glaze fire would it be best to do the same thing?

Do 04 or go to 03? Which will be more likely to reduce defects?

I’ve never just left it at 10 before, so idk how long that would take.

Ok, are you saying if I bisque to 03 then applying glaze too thick will show up as even more of a problem? Should I just bisque to 04 and try to extend as much as possible by leaving it on low at the 10:00 position? Should I leave both the peepholes open the whole firing to extend it?

Thanks, I’ll try 03 next time since I don’t have 02 sitter cones. Oyster shell was one of the glazes I had issues with pinholes.

What’s a firing schedule? I have this set to auto low, turn the infinite switch to about 10:00 let it go 2 hours with peep holes open, turn to 8:00, shut bottom peep, then 6:00 with both closed until it shuts off.

I’m using Sheffield mass red, I think it’s 03-05. I am using 05 Amaco Artists choice and Amaco opalescent combinations. 2 coats of opalescent under 1 coat of Artists choice. About half of them came out fine, the last several batches I’ve fired have gotten worse to the point that it’s not just pinholes it’s more like big pits. I try to fire as slow as I can and it averages 5-6 hours. This is a manual kiln so no way to do a soak or hold. I bisque to 04, I make sure there is no water vapor coming from the peephole for awhile before closing it. But again it’s 5-6 hours. The Artists Choice are out of production, I just ordered them but maybe that’s part of the problem. I also have Mayco Elements that I also got some pinholes with but overall less issues. There is also a lot of pinging going on so I know there are crazing issues as well. There are just so many variables I don’t know where to start, other than to buy a new kiln.

I have a Duncan the teacher manual kiln that fires pretty fast: 5-6 hours for cone 05. I figured the problem was that it was firing too fast, I slowed it down as much as possible but it came out with even more pinholes, even bigger, like craters. I let it cool about 20 hours before taking it from the kiln. I read that too much glaze can be a problem, which I might have put on too much. I also read firing to 04 could help. I bisque fired to 04, but again it only took 5-6 hours. Any bets on what the issue is? There are so many variables to adjust I don’t know where to start. Thanks.

I just turned back on and held the switch for a couple of minutes. Seemed to help with pinholes. I ran it about as slow as I could, on low, starting at 10:00 on the infinite switch then 8:00 after a few hours then 7:00. Took about 5.5 hours which is still pretty fast for cone 05 I think, turned out ok though.

Thanks. Reading about bisque firings supposed to be 8-10 hours and glaze 6-8 made me concerned, plus I’ve gotten pinholes in glaze and some crazing. I read on that thread about someone doing a drop hold to heal pinholes…how would I do that?

And, how would I check to see if the relays are stuck on?

When it’s on low I can tell it’s off for awhile then on again like it’s supposed to. Would that indicate there aren’t any relays stuck on?

I have an old Duncan Teacher Plus kiln. I thought because it’s old maybe it would take forever to get up to temp. I’ve fired it 4-5 times and it’s never taken longer than 5-6 hours. I have done 03-06 using witness cones and a cone sitter. The witness cones are telling me it’s getting to the right temp, but too fast I think. The last one was an 05 sitter, on auto and the lowest heat setting, I left the lid open for an hour, the peepholes for the next 2 hours and it still finished in 4.5 hours. Any ideas how to slow things down? Thanks.