Gayle Swicker on mon 2 dec 96
>we go to cone 10 in our car kiln which has about an internal space of about
50 >cubic feet... We do the pre-cooling routine (pulling peeps and damper)
AFTER >the kiln sets closed up tight for about 32 hrs. or so..
You might solve your marital discord with a pyrometer - costs about the same
as one hour with a therapist. That said, I don't use one any more, but
figure if my eyebrows aren't getting singed at the peep holes it is ok to
open the door.
I also fire a 50 cubic foot gas kiln to cone 10 (the entire volume is 50
cubic feet, sounds like yours might be larger with 50 cubic foot as stacking
space.) It is entirely soft brick with a layer of fiber over all. It seems
like this kiln cools quite quickly. My rule is to pull the damper and peeps
17 hours after shutting down, open the door at 24 hours and usually unload
at 36 hours. The kiln is well below 500 degrees at that point. When I am in
a hurry I pull the damper at 12 hours and begin to unload at 20 hours.
The risks of rushing seem to be to the kiln not the pots. After really
pushing a series of three firings the kiln walls "bowed" inward, pulling
away from their sheet metal skin. I attributed the spectacularly lousy
results of that firing to the deformed walls, pounded them back into place
and vowed never to pull the damper until at least 12 hours after firing and
*never* to open the door until 24 hours.... but *who* was burning their
fingers last night, just 18 hours after shutting off the kiln! :)
Looking forward to the diversity of responses on this subject.
Gayle Swicker
Cobalt1994@aol.com on tue 3 dec 96
I cool my 36 cu ft softbrick gas kiln like this: Plug burner ports and close
damper at end of firing. Leave spies closed.
Pull damper out to half open at 12-16 hours. crack door at 34 hours and
unload 1-2 hours after that. Seems like maybe I can speed things up!
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Jennifer in Vermont
Thistle Hill Pottery
Montpelier, VT
Cobalt1994@AOL.com
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