glazenerd Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 I use a boat load of them when I get a new kiln. I spread them around on various shelves, from the top to the bottom of the kiln: checking for hot and cold spots within the chamber. I use them initially to help calibrate for any TC offsets that may be necessary. After that, about every 20-30 firings checking for element wear, and to ensure TC calibration. Nerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Haven't bought a new kiln in over 3 decades! best, Pres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellykopp Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 I always use cone packs, every firing, bisque or glaze, every shelf. Was how I was taught many years ago, and I don't see any reason not to. If anything fails it may tell me what's going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Haven't bought a new kiln in over 3 decades! Not bad, only means you are two decades behind.. Even Jed Clampett sold his log cabin and moved to Beverleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..... Nerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Ya know we always use cone packs for glaze BUT the last load we were running late and neglected to put it in. As always I waited until it hit cone temp and shutdown before going to bed the next day the temp dropped weirdly and then just flat-out stopped while flashing 570 degrees and it is now just stuck there. Assuming its the thermocouple because it really looks fried. It was annoying not to be able to check the cones and know for sure exactly where it hit before it turned off. Had some new glazes in load so not as familiar with look but our regular ones looked fine. I vote for at least a middle cone pack on glazes just to be able to reference when needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Bridge Pottery Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Believe in the Prophet Thermocouple and their numbers of destiny! Beware the False Prophet Thermocouple for he can lead a wayward path and his Replacement may reveal the error of his calibration (or vice-versa).I have been having bad teachings from my prophet of late. 1080c in the gas kiln with cone 10 down. Always check the reliability of your numbers of destiny with the cones of certain melt 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhumf Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 I too use cones in my electric kiln sitter kiln. When I got the kiln it was firing 2 cones below what it should be. By using witness cones I've been able to adjust my kiln sitter mechanism to compensate. I think they are good piece of mind, and a helpful judge of when the firing is nearly complete for us who don't have digital readouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_L Posted October 29, 2016 Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 Believe in the Prophet Thermocouple and their numbers of destiny! Beware the False Prophet Thermocouple for he can lead a wayward path and his Replacement may reveal the error of his calibration (or vice-versa). I have been having bad teachings from my prophet of late. 1080c in the gas kiln with cone 10 down. Always check the reliability of your numbers of destiny with the cones of certain melt Being new to running my own kiln I know I can, and do, use (and trust) my programmer to repeat the same firings again and again. By using test tiles I know what I want and use the programmer to repeat that, or if I make a change that doesn't work I can reliably revert to what I had before. However I have started using cones because I wanted to learn and observe what's going on. Now I know (1) I can compare with someone else who says something works at cone "x", and (2) if my thermostat or elements change I can get back to what I want. I suspected, and have now demonstrated my kiln overfires by almost 2 cones. This is of academic interest only as I fire by numbers on the controller, but it might matter one day when using a different kiln or comparing notes with someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted October 29, 2016 Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 Believe in the Prophet Thermocouple and their numbers of destiny! Beware the False Prophet Thermocouple for he can lead a wayward path and his Replacement may reveal the error of his calibration (or vice-versa). I have been having bad teachings from my prophet of late. 1080c in the gas kiln with cone 10 down. Always check the reliability of your numbers of destiny with the cones of certain melt Being new to running my own kiln I know I can, and do, use (and trust) my programmer to repeat the same firings again and again. By using test tiles I know what I want and use the programmer to repeat that, or if I make a change that doesn't work I can reliably revert to what I had before. However I have started using cones because I wanted to learn and observe what's going on. Now I know (1) I can compare with someone else who says something works at cone "x", and (2) if my thermostat or elements change I can get back to what I want. I suspected, and have now demonstrated my kiln overfires by almost 2 cones. This is of academic interest only as I fire by numbers on the controller, but it might matter one day when using a different kiln or comparing notes with someone else. If it's overfiring at every cone, set a thermocouple offset to compensate. If it's only overfiring at a certain cone, set a cone offset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_L Posted October 30, 2016 Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 Neil> If it's overfiring at every cone, set a thermocouple offset to compensate. If it's only overfiring at a certain cone, set a cone offset. ok. I'll need to do some more investigation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted October 30, 2016 Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 I've had a kiln fail at around bisque temperatures and when unloading the underfired cone 6 glazes it is surprising how the glazes high in frits are already quite melted looking. I'm not so sure I could tell by glaze surface alone whether a glaze got to cone 4 or 5 as opposed to 6 for the early melting ones. I like putting a cone in a kiln every 5 or 6 firings just to verify thermocouples are reading properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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