Mark Willardson on wed 12 feb 97
Dear Clayarters,
We just bought a new controller for our kiln, (a Paragon TnF II) and of
course now I realize that I have no idea how fast we were firing before
(degrees/hour-- how fast is too fast?)
Naturally, I'd like to fire as fast as is safe for our pieces, to avoid
wasting electricity, but without pushing the limits until we start
losing pieces, how do we know?
Most of our pieces are small; mugs, 10-12" vases, 8-14" bowls, all
thrown or hand built, with medium to thin walls, cone 6 stoneware.
If anyone has a favorite firing schedule for bisque (cone 06) and/or
glaze (cone 6) that they could share, it would be greatly appreciated.
Of course, we would test very carefully anyway, but it would help to
know what others do; to use as a starting point.
Thanks in advance,
Marianne and Mark Willardson
Englewood, NJ
Patsy Catsos on thu 13 feb 97
I use my own TnF Paragon as follows for small pieces:
Dry greenware for 1-3 weeks, depending on humidity (in Maine, 3 wks in
summer, 1 or 2 weeks in summer.
Bisque to cone 03 on "slow" setting. As I understand it, the computer
figures out the "goal" temperature based on the specified cone and the
specified firing speed. The time it takes depends on how densely the kiln is
packed, how cold the air in the room is, etc.
Glaze to cone 6 on "fast" setting. Hold for 30 minutes at peak temp.
The only time I use the "ramp" setting is when I am not sure the pots are
truly dry enough for bisque firing. Then I raise the temp 25 degrees per
hour up to 200 or so. Leave it till the next day, then fire as above.
Patsy Catsos
Cape Elizabeth, ME
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