boardbutproductive Posted September 3, 2020 Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 I recently ran my very first cone 6 glaze firing in a small, older manual kiln that I inherited (Paragon A-66B). The cone 6 bar dropped in the kiln sitter as expected, but when I opened it all up the next day, the witness cones I’d placed inside don’t look like the reached the same temp. The 5 (left) is bent all the way over, but the 6 (middle) is hardly bent at all. The 6 bar that was in the sitter is bent nicely, however. Pics here: https://imgur.com/gallery/pd3Aao4 Does this mean that the kiln didn’t actually get to cone 6? Do kiln sitters ever trip early? I realize that there can be temp differences inside the kiln, but this is a very small one (the interior is just 15” wide by 13” tall) so I find it hard to believe the disparity would be that great in such a small space. Any insights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted September 3, 2020 Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 Sitter bar only measures heatwork right where its at. Some people find they need to use a cone higher in the sitter or a calibration using the kiln sitter calibration tool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted September 3, 2020 Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 Perfect cone 5 fire. take above post advice on the one cone higher and try again with some test cones in fire to see what happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted September 3, 2020 Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 Good advice from @liambesaw and @Mark C.. I wonder how you turned up your switches? When I was firing the HS kilns back in the day, I would turn on the bottom switch to be about 1/4 turn higher than the second switch, and 1/2 turn more than the top switch. This allowed me to get a more even heat in that kiln with some adjustments in the temp. I always used a cone 6 mini cone or bar in the setter, and watched the peeps for heat color compared to a good chart. Firing, even though mechanical/electronic, is really an art where the fireman has to be aware of all of the little nuances of the kiln, the hot spots and the placement of pots. With good notes, and careful observation you will find the quirks of your kiln and make adjustments accordingly. best of luck, Pres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardbutproductive Posted September 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 @Pres The kiln only has 1 switch (it's super small). I definitely need to try placing another set of cones inside to see if there is a hotter spot near the sitter, though. @liambesaw I definitely didn't receive a calibration tool with the kiln, but I'll look it up! Interesting tip on using a bar one step hotter in the sitter, too.@Mark C. Yeah, I might try that. Also debating just shifting my focus to Cone 5 firings instead of 6, as my glazes came out great from this firing anyway. Is there any real advantage to making Cone 6 work instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick White Posted September 3, 2020 Report Share Posted September 3, 2020 The sitter bar is not "bent nicely." In a properly calibrated sitter, the bar or mini-cone is bent to a 90° angle for the claw on the outside to release the drop plate. Yours is bent less, so it released early. Hence the hard cone 5 not yet cone 6 result. If you don't have one, get a calibration disk and adjust the sitter claw and drop plate. There are uToob videos how to do that. dw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted September 4, 2020 Report Share Posted September 4, 2020 3 hours ago, Dick White said: The sitter bar is not "bent nicely." In a properly calibrated sitter, the bar or mini-cone is bent to a 90° angle for the claw on the outside to release the drop plate. Yours is bent less, so it released early. Hence the hard cone 5 not yet cone 6 result. If you don't have one, get a calibration disk and adjust the sitter claw and drop plate. There are uToob videos how to do that. dw Yes you must do this to calabrate the sitter.Its a must do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardbutproductive Posted September 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 @Dick White @Mark C. @Rockhopper ok great! I’ll pick one up and try my hand and getting this thing running more accurately. Thanks so much for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted September 11, 2020 Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 Good product is good product. IMO. I'd test the clay bodies and if it's not too absorbent.....leave it! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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