mel jacobson on sat 16 dec 00
of course leave a top peep open in the early stages.
but, to leave the cover propped for hours and letting
fuel and heat go up is silly.
but, most kilns i have seen in my life have covers that are
loose enough to let most anything out. god, i have seen kilns
with gaps that you could push a pig through.
my point is:
don't heat the air. heat your kiln.
bisque is a slow process, but don't waste your heat.
in the 40 odd years i have been firing electric kilns i have
never propped a lid in the early stages. just left the top peep
open half way.( i use kaowool in my peeps.)
my major concern over the years has been to keep my electrics tight.
stuff kaowool in the peep holes, make a gasket to go around
the top of the kiln to seal it. level the top layer of brick so it
will seal tight.
a kaowool blanket on the top of the kiln, or, how about instead of
throwing away that old bottom, make it double...top too. that
wonderful trick of placing a layer of kaowool blanket inside the
bottom of your kiln...cut out places for the posts...it works.
many of the urban legends about kilns began at a time when
`electricity is penny cheap`. (the slogan for NSP power co.)
then when it got expensive, it was our fault for wasting`.)
now with souring prices, we as potters have to be aware
of our schedules...what the hell are we doing, and why?
if you have unlimited resources, fire the entire kiln with
lid open. think of the cost of firing a kiln to cone 8 with
one coil missing....god, the meter spins off the wall.
fire 45 amps for four hours...see what it costs. replacing
the coil is cheap.
rick's idea about keeping a log is important..or at least a mental
log..`hey, when did that kiln go off.?`
i dry all of my bisque on top of the firing electric kiln. it takes a
bit of work to unstack it each day, but, man do if fire dry greenware.
it just makes sense. 0 dry pots fire better than 20% water pots.
AND....DON'T SPRAY WATER ON A FIRING ELECTRIC KILN...
THANK YOU JONATHAN.. it just does not make any sense.
( i can just see wally the idiot getting out the garden hose.)
blow up like an a bomb.
all of my discussion of water has to do with anagama wood fired
kilns. (water vapor in gas kilns works, but i still hold that
it is redundant. you can get great reduction without that hassle.)
ivor, i cannot give you a scientific answer to amounts of water
in gas. i just know that some gets in there, and also comes from
the primary air ,depending on humidity.
chatting with tom wirt last night over wine....other clayarters
in and out all day...what a treat. but, the topic was
`good sense`...you have to dig into your own good sense now
and then. look at the problem, ask yourself questions....
why? what is the purpose? does the task equal the method?
HOW CAN I DO IT BETTER? THE POTTERY IS MINE, I OWN IT.
there is only one expert, it is you.
mel
FROM MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA, USA
http://www.pclink.com/melpots (website)
Snail Scott on sat 16 dec 00
At 06:19 AM 12/16/00 -0600, you wrote:
>of course leave a top peep open in the early stages.
>
>but, to leave the cover propped for hours and letting
>fuel and heat go up is silly.
>
>but, most kilns i have seen in my life have covers that are
>loose enough to let most anything out. god, i have seen kilns
>with gaps that you could push a pig through.
>Mel
I don't prop my lid to let anything out;
I prop it to keep it from heating too quickly
right off the bat. Even with only one element
on 'low', that section can get past 200 degrees
faster than I'd prefer. One hour is usually enough
open lid time; two or three only for my mondo-thick
stuff. (I hand-build large.) Also, I like to load
when still a bit leather-hard, for strength.
Yeah, I've got one of those gappy kilns. I figure
it exempts me from leaving the top peephole open!
I do chink it for high-fire, though.
-Snail
Thom Mead on sat 16 dec 00
From the painter who fires other folks' wares for over 10 years
I, too, trained NOT to prop, and leave one peep
We have fired everything on the planet, including
the kitchen sink. It has work amazingly well
and was never propped. I believe
in the "mel" way. Even works in
humid Georgia. Especially using
that top of the warming kiln to dry out green--
I wasn't taught it, just made sense
from my Granny who'd baked
for decades...use the baking oven to let the breads
rise, if it isn't too hot
diane in GA >
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