Lari Ward on thu 30 jan 03
I have a 30" oval crucible kiln that I have not been able to fire to =
cone 6.
After 20+ hours I was able to nurse it to cone 5. (At 5 a.m. you start =
to
lose track of time.) Since then I have put in all new elements =
including an
extra bottom element. It has been coated with ITC. The next step is to =
add
a layer of fiberfrax to the bottom, and coat it with ITC. I haven't =
fired
it with all the new elements yet. I just want to know if the extra =
layer of
fiberfrax with ITC will make a difference before I go to the work of =
adding
it. This is a "new" kiln for me and when I bought it I was assured that =
it
fired fine to cone 6. Although after the fact I found out that the =
previous
owner did low fire and my guess he never tried to fire it that high. =
Your
input on this will be appreciated. Thanks.
Lari Ward
Marcia Selsor on thu 30 jan 03
I have a 30" oval crucible and fire it to ^6. It has ITC on the lid and
I use fiber fax/kaowool on top of the lid OUTSIDE.
It is about 8 years old.No new elements. I don't go to ^6 all the time.
I use it for bisque firing large raku pieces and terra cotta.
But I do on occasion fire to ^6. I think crucibles are good kilns.
I used them at the University where I taught. I also have a little test
kiln that I fire to ^6 very often.
I think the kaowoll in the bottom is not necessary. Try it on top. that
is where most of the heat is lost.
Good luck,
Marcia Selsor
Tuscany in 2003
http://home.attbi.com/~m.selsor/Tuscany2003.html
Toni Smith on thu 30 jan 03
Hi Lari, I can't help you with the fiberfrax question, but just by =
replacing the elements and applying ITC to my twenty year old Olympic =
electric kiln, I cut the cone 6 firing time from ten hours to a little =
less than seven. The first couple of firings seemed strange, they went =
so fast......but then it seemed to stabilize and now it is reliable as =
ever with consistent results. Good luck. Toni Smith in Ohio
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