Kktbs23 Posted October 9, 2021 Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 Hi all! I'm relatively new to the glaze and firing world and could use some insight. I have fired my Skutt Kiln km-818 (has only been fired 32 times) so far with no incident. I do not have a vent for it but it is located in a decently ventilated space. During any previous firings I have noticed very minimal "smoke" or haze accumulate in the room during the burn out phase of a glaze firing. However, today I went to do a glaze fire and went to check the kiln and at 523°F there was a noticeable amount of smoke/haze accumulated which was weird as I had never seen that much. So I immediately shut off the firing cycle because I was unsure what the deal was. My question, is what gives? I was testing out new glazes that I hadn't tried before in this firing and thought maybe that could have something to do with it? I used Mayco's cobblestone glaze on a handful of pieces and then put wax resist over the Cobblestone glaze and thought maybe that could be the culprit? Although it seems unlikely something like that could cause such noticeable smoke accumulation.. I'm genuinely perplexed how to proceed with the trying to fire this batch again and would love any insight anyone has. Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadenrank Posted October 9, 2021 Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 I'm sure others will tell you the same, but you definitely want to vent it or vent the room. If there's smoke along with it, that in itself is harmful to breathe, and the other things that come along with it that you don't see are also not very pleasant. In regards to what was causing the smoke, it's hard to tell. At 523°F you'd be past the point of it likely being any moisture or anything burning out of the glazes. It could be the wax resist, or some other element of the glazes. I would of course double check it's surroundings, and maybe even double check inside the control box just to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kktbs23 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 5 minutes ago, cadenrank said: I'm sure others will tell you the same, but you definitely want to vent it or vent the room. If there's smoke along with it, that in itself is harmful to breathe, and the other things that come along with it that you don't see are also not very pleasant. In regards to what was causing the smoke, it's hard to tell. At 523°F you'd be past the point of it likely being any moisture or anything burning out of the glazes. It could be the wax resist, or some other element of the glazes. I would of course double check it's surroundings, and maybe even double check inside the control box just to be safe. I'm definitely planning to move it to my garage where it can be in open air rather than in a room in the house so as to prevent breathing in any harmful chemicals and whatnot. I've fired with wax resist before and never had an issue like this. Could it possibly be the thermocouple has gone bad? I thought it would be unlikely since it's so new, but I've noticed black flakes on the kiln shelf from the thermocouple after recent firings. Again, total newbie here and just trying to trouble shoot, so thank you for taking the time to respond! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadenrank Posted October 9, 2021 Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 1 minute ago, Kktbs23 said: Could it possibly be the thermocouple has gone bad? After 32 firings, I'd say the probability of this is pretty low. And if it was the case, you'd have an error message, or an incorrect temp reading, and not smoke. It's common for them to flake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadenrank Posted October 9, 2021 Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 Inside of the room, is there anything nearby it? What's underneath/above it? I added to verify the control box, just to be on the safe side that something inside wasn't burning like a wire, or a connection. And verify surroundings (including plug) to make sure something isn't being singed or otherwise overheated. It likely was something inside the kiln, but check those to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kktbs23 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 3 minutes ago, cadenrank said: It likely was something inside the kiln, but check those to be safe. Yeah, I didnt think it would be the thermocouple seeing as it's so new. The plug nor the box was smoking when I had checked it during the firing. But i will definitely investigate the control box further to see. And there's nothing around the kiln, it's on a kiln stand on concrete flooring with nothing around it and I always make sure the plug wire is not touching it. I did just open the kiln after it cooled enough and the wax resist I had put over the cobblestone glaze was pretty brown so I'm thinking potentially that is what was causing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted October 9, 2021 Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 42 minutes ago, Kktbs23 said: wax resist I had put over the cobblestone glaze was pretty brown so I'm thinking potentially that is what was causing it. Yes most likely. Wax resists burns off roughly from 400 - 800 degrees. The more wax, the more smoke and smell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kktbs23 Posted October 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2021 4 minutes ago, Bill Kielb said: Yes most likely. Wax resists burns off roughly from 400 - 800 degrees. The more wax, the more smoke and smell. Thank you, Bill! Instincts told me that's what was the likely culprit, but being a newbie I wanted to be overly cautious and not take any chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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