Carolina Posted July 16, 2022 Report Share Posted July 16, 2022 Hi! I just bought my first kiln which is a Nabertherm top 60. It says that the max temperature is 1300 C but I was wondering how hot can I actually fire it too. In the manual It says the company recommends firing 70 degree lower than max T . Does this means I will not be able to do high fire ? Is someone using this kiln at least to 1280? I will not fire it often as it's my personal use kiln, not a student studio (probably do 2 glaze firings per month). I was hoping someone here has a similar situation and would share some advice Thank you!! Carolina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted July 16, 2022 Report Share Posted July 16, 2022 (edited) 1280 c is cone ten so I am not sure how much farther you intend to fire or more specifically what temperature (Actually what cone) your clay and glazes should be fired to fully vitrify or mature. Having said that, there are quite a few folks that fire to a temperature which to me is not a great way to fire ceramics for repeatability and more precise control of heat work which is the total work done on the clay and glaze. Sort of like baking and accounting for time in the recipe, adding an extra 30 minutes of time to the recipe likely over bakes things. FYI - firing electric kilns to max temperature or cone 10 for all practical purposes decreases element life significantly from firing to cone 6 for instance. So many folks choose to fire midrange products (cone 6 instead of cone 10 products) to save energy and prolong their element life before element replacement is needed. Previous thread with a little about cones here: https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/29121-2-segment-firing-schedule/?do=findComment&comment=222963 My reading of the manual says this kilns top temperature is 1320c. The manual I read is here: https://brannpunkt.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Nabertherm-Toploader-Instructions_EN.pdf If this is simply about your first firing in a new kiln then I would follow the manual which has a specific break in firing. My reading, 1050c if necessary to dry and burn off binders etc…. Edited July 17, 2022 by Bill Kielb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted July 16, 2022 Report Share Posted July 16, 2022 If you fire to cone 6 rather than cone 10, you're going to get almost triple the life from your elements, and the bricks will last a lot longer. Find a clay body that vitrifies at cone 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina Posted July 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2022 Thank you for the advice! I work with cone 10 clay and glazes…. I understand cone 6 would be better but where I live I can only get earthenware or high fire clay. I know the elements will last longer if I do cone 6 but at the moment I don’t have the materials for that. I will try firing to 1280 and hopefully I don’t need to change the elements often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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