Does locking the lid on a kiln crack it or save any electricity

[Denice]

I have never owned a kiln with a locking lid before,  I noticed when I was firing my new LL the lid had lifted about a quarter of a inch.  My old Skutt didn't ever lift but I did replace the lid a lot.  I just wanted your opinion if I should lock the lid.  Trying to prevent replacing lids in the future.    Denice

[neilestrick]

You should latch the lid on the L&L. If it needs to lift it can do that at the hinge side.

[Hulk]

I had the same question.
The lid's hinge has an adjustment for expansion/lifting, which needs to be adjusted properly to avoid undue stress to the lid?

The rod wasn't quite down tight like the image above; when re-assembling, I bumped it up (the bracket thing) a bit beyond where it was (will find out how that works soon!).

I sure like the notebook L&L provides (documentation), also the online articles and vids.
Good-oh!

[neilestrick]

If the main hinge rod doesn't sit all the way into the bottom of the oval hole, the lid will drop down as you open it, crushing the edge of the wall bricks by the hinge.

On all kilns of every brand, make sure you keep the body bands tight. They loosen up as the kiln ages, and when that happens they slide down and it affects the closing of the lid. If you notice that the lid doesn't close all the way at the front, it's probably because the hinge has dropped down in the back due to the body bands sliding down. This causes several problems. First, the wall bricks by the hinge get crushed or worn down. Second, the lid doesn't close all the way and you lose a lot of heat. Third, if you force the lid down and latch it, the lid flexes and could crack.