terahstrauss Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Hi everyone! I am an elementary art teacher, working with an evenheat ramp master II. I did my first bisque - or rather attempted last week and I realized that my kiln was moving extremely slow after we reached 1000F. In an 1.5 hr it only increased 60F when it was programmed to be increasing 125F per hr at that point. I have absolutely zero history on this kiln - not even sure if it has been fired before. I stopped it at 1185F as I became uncomfortable not being able to check it for the following two days (weekend). I do have tons of kiln experience as my degree is in ceramics, but I've never experienced this issue before. I am actually thinking that the kiln was loaded to heavy toward the bottom as that is something I have read before, but any input would be so appreciated. Thank you! Terah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Hi Terah! Which Ramp Master model? ...just curious; looks like the line starts with smaller 120v cone 5 and tops out in medium sized 220v cone 8. Any road, how's the power circuit look - rated appropriate to the kiln's draw? What condition is the kiln in - brand new? I'm guessing the load could slow things down - and heavy at the bottom might result in uneven heating - however, not that much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terahstrauss Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 The kiln is beautiful. Looks like if it was used, only once. The circuit certainly looks appropriate as well. And it is the 220v cone model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 alot of the newer controllers will slow down around 900 F as organics start to burn off there.. i am not fimiliar with the ramp master 2 but i do see a Fast Bisque and a Slow bisque, i would not program a new bisque setting unless i was using a super gassy clay body "Black mountain" ... As long as you do not see a "error" pop up, i would say its ok. time will fluctuate due to load volume.. in a elementary school setting, i would assume they are some heavy pots though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 What is the actual model number of the kiln? There are 6 models in the RMII series. I would try it again and let it go till it finishes or fails. If there's something really wrong, it will shut itself off and put up and error code, which will give a better indication of exactly what's going wrong. The other option is to unload the kiln and do a paper test or visual test to see if all the elements are working. For the paper test, put a small piece of paper on each element, start the kiln and let it run for a few minutes. Then check and see if any of the paper hasn't burned, which indicates an element is out. If two elements in the same section are out, then you probably have a dead relay, but that will depend on how the kiln is wired. The other option is to do a custom schedule with 1 ramp at a rate of 9999 to 700 degrees. Turn it on and let it run for a few minutes, then crack the lid and see if all the elements are glowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terahstrauss Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 The model number is 2329D. And yes certainly heavy pots. Since I haven't personally experienced firing really heavy pots - could this slow it down as well? Thanks for all the input, I will definitely be doing a test on the elements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Just now, terahstrauss said: The model number is 2329D. And yes certainly heavy pots. Since I haven't personally experienced firing really heavy pots - could this slow it down as well? Thanks for all the input, I will definitely be doing a test on the elements. At 1000F the load shouldn't be affecting the firing. At the high end, yes, but it can handle anything at 1000F. It's always a good idea to disperse the load throughout the kiln as evenly as possible, though, so you don't get cold spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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