Gail Turton on mon 13 dec 99
Hi Everyone,
I have mostly been a lurker for about 4 months, but now I could use your
advice. Had my first glaze firing in my new Paragon DTC-800C, and it was a
total disaster. Evidently, the calibration of the digital controller is way
off. I placed cones 7 thru 10, everything was fine till the temp reached
2100. Then, being unable to see the cones at all thru the peekhole, thinking
the kiln atmosphere was just murky, continued to let the controller do it's
job...big mistake! Every shelf near the top cracked, or warped beyond
belief, being held up by the pots, which were totalled. I have never had
this ever happen before, and will never fire without a backup pyrometer again.
The cones showed ^10 flat but not melted, so I guess this was a ^11 firing.
Has anyone else had a similar disaster? Any possibility that Paragon might
replace the shelves, or is that just a farfetched dream? I have a smaller
Paragon that I fired last week, with no problems, same clay, glazes, etc. I
can't believe this happened just before Christmas! Am I wrong, or shouldn't
the shelves have withstood ^11? I am hoping to hear your opinions and
feedback before I contact Paragon or buy new shelves. What brand of shelves
are best for ^10 ox. firing?
Thanks,
Gail
Who is still in shock and wondering if this is just my bad karma or what?
BTU1690922@aol.com
Cindy Strnad on tue 14 dec 99
Gail,
Good luck, but it's my experience that Paragon representatives are only
authorized to apologize. At least your kiln made it up to temperature.
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
Custer, SD
chris@euclids.com on wed 15 dec 99
> advice. Had my first glaze firing in my new Paragon DTC-800C, and it was
a
> total disaster. Evidently, the calibration of the digital controller is
way
> off
Hi Gail,
With a new kiln, the best advice i can give is to contact the manufacturer.
There could be one of many problems ... incorrect thermocouple, poor
thermocouple connections, wrong thermocouple setting at the controller,
relays stuck in the "on" position, the list goes on...
Another note: you may want to compare the actual cone temperatures with the
temperatures inside the controller ... sometimes there is a difference.
Also try contacting Arnold Howard ajhparagon@yahoo.com, who is a Paragon rep
that monitors this list.
chris
chris@euclids.com
www.euclids.com
800-296-5456
Andrew Buck on wed 15 dec 99
Gail,
>From your description of the cones, I have to say that you could have gone
well beyond cone 11. When I goof and fire cone 11 flat in my kiln
(happens sometimes) cone 9 doesn't melt. No matter how many kilns you
have fired, a new kiln is a whole new ball game, Sigh. When I took an
electronics class, the lab instructor was always saying "Smoke, people, I
wanna see some smoke. If I don't see some smoke, how do I know you are
finding the limits." An interesting class, one that you are encouraged to
fail, just so you can learn. Life is just one big classroom like that, it
seems. Good luck dealing with Paragon. Bound to be another lesson in
life.
Andy Buck
Raincreek Pottery
Port Orchard, Washington
On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Gail Turton wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Had my first glaze firing in my new Paragon DTC-800C, and it was a
> total disaster. Evidently, the calibration of the digital controller is way
> off.
>
> The cones showed ^10 flat but not melted, so I guess this was a ^11 firing.
>
> Gail
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