Maid O'Mud Pottery on wed 7 mar 01
You know what's going to happen now, don't you? I've never kiln washed my sitter -
ever. My kiln is about 12 or so years old. Been firing it as a production kiln to
^10. So, now you tell us - quite rightly - how to correctly maintain the sitter.
Guaranteed, my kiln will "know" and I'll have a sticking problem next firing. AND
it'll be *your* fault.
sam - bored in Melbourne, waiting for the electricians to finish up.
Dave Finkelnburg wrote:
> Hi All you electric kiln folks with sitters on your kilns!
> The quesion came up, why would a kiln sitter fail to trip? One poster
> pointed out the need to put kiln wash on parts of the sitter. Without that
> thin coat of wash, the small cone or bar can, and often does, stick to the
> bare metal of the sitter. Such sticking can prevent the sitter from
> tripping! :-(
> My old Olympic manual states, "Apply a thin coat of kiln wash to the top
> of the cone supports and the bottom of the sensing rod where they will come
> in contact with the cone. Allow the wash to dry thoroughly."
> For what it's worth, after every single firing I inspect these parts,
> and if necessary, recoat them with kiln wash. Then they are dry and ready
> for the next firing.
> This doesn't relieve you of the need to watch the kiln, use cone packs,
> check and adjust the sitter per factory directions when needed. It is very
> helpful if you want the sitter to work reliably, at least in my limited
> experience.
> Good firing!
> Dave Finkelnburg
> Idaho Fire Pottery
--
Sam, Maid O'Mud Pottery
SW Ontario CANADA
http://www.geocities.com/paris/3110
scuttell@odyssey.on.ca
"First, the clay told me what to do
Then, I told the clay what to do
Now; we co-operate"
sam, 1994
"Effort does not always equal output"
sam, 1999
Dave Finkelnburg on wed 7 mar 01
Hi All you electric kiln folks with sitters on your kilns!
The quesion came up, why would a kiln sitter fail to trip? One poster
pointed out the need to put kiln wash on parts of the sitter. Without that
thin coat of wash, the small cone or bar can, and often does, stick to the
bare metal of the sitter. Such sticking can prevent the sitter from
tripping! :-(
My old Olympic manual states, "Apply a thin coat of kiln wash to the top
of the cone supports and the bottom of the sensing rod where they will come
in contact with the cone. Allow the wash to dry thoroughly."
For what it's worth, after every single firing I inspect these parts,
and if necessary, recoat them with kiln wash. Then they are dry and ready
for the next firing.
This doesn't relieve you of the need to watch the kiln, use cone packs,
check and adjust the sitter per factory directions when needed. It is very
helpful if you want the sitter to work reliably, at least in my limited
experience.
Good firing!
Dave Finkelnburg
Idaho Fire Pottery
Frank Gaydos on wed 7 mar 01
Good advice below, also, the little flat cone supports can slide out of the
tube assembly where you can sand them if needed to get firing debris off
them. Sometimes glaze will splatter on them during a firing. They also
oxidize over a long period of time. The kiln atmosphere is very nasty to
metal. Make sure they are sanded down to the metal. And just a little dab of
kiln wash. Too much and you will defeat the purpose and the cone may stick.
Frank Gaydos
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Subject: Kiln Sitter -- care and feeding
> Hi All you electric kiln folks with sitters on your kilns!
> The quesion came up, why would a kiln sitter fail to trip? One poster
> pointed out the need to put kiln wash on parts of the sitter. Without
that
> thin coat of wash, the small cone or bar can, and often does, stick to the
> bare metal of the sitter. Such sticking can prevent the sitter from
> tripping! :-(
> My old Olympic manual states, "Apply a thin coat of kiln wash to the
top
> of the cone supports and the bottom of the sensing rod where they will
come
> in contact with the cone. Allow the wash to dry thoroughly."
> For what it's worth, after every single firing I inspect these parts,
> and if necessary, recoat them with kiln wash. Then they are dry and ready
> for the next firing.
> >
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