Doreen P. Diamond on mon 27 aug 07
I am in the process of purchasing an L&L kiln, (thanks to wonderful advice
from fellow artists!), and wanted to know how limiting is a cone 8 kiln as
opposed to a cone 10 kiln. This will be my first kiln purchase and a
large investment, so I don't want to have to replace it in the near future.
Thanks,
Doreen
John Rodgers on tue 28 aug 07
Hi Doreen,
I got new Paragon cone 10 kilns last year. I fire mostly to cone 6, and
only rarely to cone 8, and never to cone 10. I did a few test fires to
cone 10 just to see how it performed,. It got to cone 10, but above cone
8 it was very slow going. Since I don't go there, the kiln works great
for me through cone 8.
The one thing I did NOT count on was the increased time necessary for a
complete firing cycle. The cone 10 kiln has 3 inch bricks where the Cone
8 kilns had thinner bricks. To get to that cone 10, Paragon needed those
thicker bricks to slow the energy loss, so the kiln could get to
temperature in a reasonable time. The trouble arises when that extra
mass has to cool. It simply takes longer to cool than a thinner brick.
With my cone 8 kilns I could fire one day and open and empty the kiln
the next. Not so with the cone 10 kilns. I fire one day and it is the
third day before I can open the kiln. So keep this in mind when getting
a kiln.
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
Doreen P. Diamond wrote:
> I am in the process of purchasing an L&L kiln, (thanks to wonderful advice
> from fellow artists!), and wanted to know how limiting is a cone 8 kiln as
> opposed to a cone 10 kiln. This will be my first kiln purchase and a
> large investment, so I don't want to have to replace it in the near future.
>
> Thanks,
> Doreen
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
James and Sherron Bowen on tue 28 aug 07
Do you notice a difference in your glazes in the slower cooling kiln?
JB
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Rodgers"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 9:23 PM
Subject: Re: Cone 8 kiln vs. Cone 10 kiln
> Hi Doreen,
>
> I got new Paragon cone 10 kilns last year. I fire mostly to cone 6, and
> only rarely to cone 8, and never to cone 10. I did a few test fires to
> cone 10 just to see how it performed,. It got to cone 10, but above cone
> 8 it was very slow going. Since I don't go there, the kiln works great
> for me through cone 8.
William & Susan Schran User on tue 28 aug 07
On 8/27/07 11:21 PM, "Doreen P. Diamond" wrote:
> I am in the process of purchasing an L&L kiln, (thanks to wonderful advice
> from fellow artists!), and wanted to know how limiting is a cone 8 kiln as
> opposed to a cone 10 kiln. This will be my first kiln purchase and a
> large investment, so I don't want to have to replace it in the near future.
Well, the manufacturer's limit for the ^8 kiln is ^8 and for the ^10 kiln is
^10.
Now that we've gotten the smart ass remark out of the way, if you're fairly
certain that you will only fire to ^6, never much higher, then either kiln
will probably suit your purposes.
On the other hand, if you ever think you'd might like to fire higher, then
go with the ^10 kiln.
Also consider that if you only fire to ^6, there should be less stress on
the brick and electrical components for the ^10 kiln than there would be for
the ^8 kiln.
We have L&L's at school and I use them in my own studio. Some of the older
models had a bit of a strain getting to ^6 on a continuing basis, but the
newer models are more powerful and get to temperature well.
All in all, I'd suggest the ^10 model will be your better bet.
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Marcia Selsor on wed 29 aug 07
Dear Doreen,
I'd go with the Cone 10 just because the insulation is superior. I
got 2 cone 10 Axner Super kilns. They have ITC (I am a believer)
extra thick bricks, and fiber insulation. They take a good 24-30
hours to cool from a Cone 6 or a bisque. One is a huge oval and the
other is an 18 x 27.
I dropped my reduction firings to cone 6from cone 10 in 1980 because
I was teaching. Several reasons moved me to that conclusion.
Time reduced in hitting temperature-I had an assistant for only 2
years but we had to hit temperature within his evening hours and my
morning hours. I built kilns that could hit cone 6 soak, and clear
within 7-10 hours start to finish. I fired those kilns for 20 years
to cone 6. Beautiful glazes. (see Michael Bailey's Oriental glaze
book to see them- red, tenmoku, celedon, iron red.
Fuel consumption- if you ever see a pyrotechnics chart of fuel
consumption, you will see that consumption from ^6 to ^10 increases
dramatically on the curve.
Firing student work for 25 years really makes you think about fuel.
If I read the chart correctly, the consumption doubles from 0 to 6
then 6 to 10.
Just something to think about in our age of going Green. It was
something I could do personally to reduce consumption.
I doubt I will ever fire my cone 10 kilns to that temperature, but I
am very happy with their performance, fuel consumption and insulation.
I think insulation is imperative and reduces wasted fuel.
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
Doreen P. Diamond on tue 4 sep 07
Dear Marcia,
????? Thanks so much for your reply.? I ended up going with the cone 8 simply because the cone 10 was almost $1,000 more, and my husband was already about to have a heart attack at what I already was investing in my little 'hobby'.? My kiln should arrive tomorrow and I can hardly wait!? A good friend of mine is an electrician and contractor and he has installed a couple kilns so he should be here on Thursday to get me set up.? I've had my wheel for a couple years.? I would love to pick up a nice extruder next.? (Of course, the slab roller would be next on my list...)? Thanks for all the sound advice.? I'll post some pics of my first firing as soon as I'm done!? (As long as I don't blow everything up!)
Doreen
-----Original Message-----
From: Marcia Selsor
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:09 am
Subject: Re: Cone 8 kiln vs. Cone 10 kiln
Dear Doreen,?
?
I'd go with the Cone 10 just because the insulation is superior. I?
got 2 cone 10 Axner Super kilns. They have ITC (I am a believer)?
extra thick bricks, and fiber insulation. They take a good 24-30?
hours to cool from a Cone 6 or a bisque. One is a huge oval and the?
other is an 18 x 27.?
I dropped my reduction firings to cone 6from cone 10 in 1980 because?
I was teaching. Several reasons moved me to that conclusion.?
Time reduced in hitting temperature-I had an assistant for only 2?
years but we had to hit temperature within his evening hours and my?
morning hours. I built kilns that could hit cone 6 soak, and clear?
within 7-10 hours start to finish. I fired those kilns for 20 years?
to cone 6. Beautiful glazes. (see Michael Bailey's Oriental glaze?
book to see them- red, tenmoku, celedon, iron red.?
Fuel consumption- if you ever see a pyrotechnics chart of fuel?
consumption, you will see that consumption from ^6 to ^10 increases?
dramatically on the curve.?
Firing student work for 25 years really makes you think about fuel.?
If I read the chart correctly, the consumption doubles from 0 to 6?
then 6 to 10.?
Just something to think about in our age of going Green. It was?
something I could do personally to reduce consumption.?
I doubt I will ever fire my cone 10 kilns to that temperature, but I?
am very happy with their performance, fuel consumption and insulation.?
I think insulation is imperative and reduces wasted fuel.?
?
Marcia Selsor?
http://marciaselsor.com?
?
______________________________________________________________________________?
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org?
?
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription?
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/?
?
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.?
________________________________________________________________________
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