EFirnkes Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 Good morning! I am a teacher in Maine and someone donated a Paragon Kiln. I am working on trying to get it going, and I have an electrician scheduled to come out and look at it, but I am wondering if anyone is operating a kiln this old. I am assuming it is from the mid-70's. The inside is very clean, the heating elements seem to be in place, and there are no cracks. I have attached some pictures and would appreciate advice. Is it worth trying to get it up and going again? Any advice for this model? *****PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES AND MANUAL***** Thank you in advance for your help! ~Elizabeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 I am retiring my old Paragon this summer, it is older than this one. I have had mine for 45 years and it was used when I bought it. I would rewire it if I could but the bricks are crumbling. I noticed that one doesn't have a kiln sitter on it, it might be required in a school for safety reasons. I just priced a set of wires for my kiln and they ran $200. If you have to buy a kiln sitter for it have it rewired you will have at least $500 in the kiln, maybe you will get lucky and the elements have been replaced. I just bought a kiln that size that has a manufacture date of 1969 but it looks brand new. It was from a estate sale at a house where the owner made porcelain doll heads, there was three other smaller kilns that were really worn out. I think this one was to big for her, she had to make a lot of dolls before she could fill it and fire. Every kiln has it's history. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Howard Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 I love the pictures you posted. Your kiln appears to be in mint condition. Judging from the outside of the kiln, it has been taken care of and will probably give you many years of useful life. You can test the kiln with these instructions: http://paragonweb.com/ManualInfo.cfm?CID=197 Sincerely, Arnold Howard / Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFirnkes Posted May 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 Thank you, Denice. We are keeping this kiln at my family camp because it doesn't have a kiln sitter. We are planning on just opening the giant barn doors and sitting with it, along with a fire extinguisher, while firing. I agree, the electrical does need to be replaced and thankfully we have an electrician willing to donate time. We will just need parts. We are hoping to get this baby to work for a year. Next year, we will put a brand new one in our school budget. We are a start up charter school with big dreams and not a lot of cash. We have to do things in stages! Thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFirnkes Posted May 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 Thank you, Arnold. I appreciate your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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