Liz Gowen on thu 20 apr 00
Some things that should help prevent this type of overfiring:
I keep a book of the firings since my mind isn't what I think it should
be, ( still do mostly manual but have an automatic) since I fire at night I
record the temp at start, 2 hrs and 4 hrs. I know about how long it should
take to fire so again record when I get up in the am( I set my alarm a
couple hours before it should go off)
Cone packs at the peeps are a must even in the bisque and I check them
also when I get up in the am. If you can't see them as would have been the
case if the kiln shelf fell I would think, turn that puppy off.
Tough lessons are generally not so easily forgotten. I have had my
share.
Liz Gowen
-----Original Message-----
From: centa
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Monday, April 17, 2000 4:14 PM
Subject: kiln disaster! or what not to do...
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hello,
>I share with you my experience to save you from it! I have an old semi -
>automatic kiln in that it has a different switch system that will
>increase the power incrementally depending on the setting. Anyway,
>beside the point. What happened, I believe, is that I put a heavy large
>wide platter balanced on one kiln shelf (half the width of the kiln) at
>the top of the kiln, balanced by tall, not very stable threee sided
>stilts. What I imagine happened is that at some point in the firing the
>shelf with platter toppled onto the kiln sitter and broke the mechanism
>and from then on everythingproceeded to melt with the ever increasing
>temperature, collapsing the shelves, the stilts, .... so that I have
>quite a mess on my hands that I will attempt to hammer out to see if I
>can save the kiln, minus some elements and brick. Sooooo, the lesson is,
>to make sure you give enough support to your wares in the firing or
>else! Fortunately, I have another smaller new Skutt kiln that I have yet
>to really use because it is the 3 switch type (normal, but that I have
>no experience with) with only the kiln sitter and no pyrometer. Think I
>will get a digital pyrometer. Any current recommendations? Aside from
>this disaster I can sort of see why the attraction to a fully automatic
>deal, computerized and all. Has this discussion been beaten to the
>ground? I mean, if you are going electric anyway, why not have as much
>control as possible? Or is it only an illusion of control? Whatever, I
>would like to have some control at some point!
>
>Thanks for listening,
>Centa
>
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