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questions about handmade electric kiln

updated wed 11 may 05

 

Jacob Runyan on mon 9 may 05


I would be careful with an annealing kiln.

Soft glass is annealed at relatively low temps, less
than 1000 deg F.

Glass is slumped at slightly higher.

Most glassblowers will use R-19's followed by a layer
of mineral wool insualtion. You want the oven to be
as energy efficient as possible.

If you can find out for sure that it is made of K-23's
or K-25's, you should be fine.

The elements will probably be made of NiChrome 80/20.
Not a problem, call Euclid, give them your element
length, resistance and gauge and they will make you a
new set out of Kanthal. The guy selling should be
able to tell you all of this if he made it himself.

The Evenheat 2300 deg F thing is quite normal. All of
Evenheat's kilns are made to go to a max of Cone 8.
The controller might still work to Cone 10, but I
doubt it. Even if it does, a K type thermocouple
isn't all that precise at the higher temperatures.
You need to go to R or S to get precision (as well as
consistency).

To summarize, if this guy made it, he should be able
to tell you what's in it. If not, you want nothing to
do with it unless you need to make a lot of pizza.

-Jacob





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Jennifer Boyer on mon 9 may 05


Hi All,
A friend is looking for a kiln and has the opportunity to get a kiln
from someone. He made it himself for annealing glass, so it has thick
walls. It has an Evenheat GT 22 controller with 2 zones that have
off/low/med/hi switches. The controller says 'not rated for over 2300
degrees". The kiln is about 5 cu ft. It comes with a pyrometer. My
only advice to her would be to make sure the pyrometer works well so
she can regulate the temperature rise.

Does anyone see any potential problems with this set up?=20

Jennifer
--=20
***********************************
Jennifer Boyer
Thistle Hill Pottery
Montpelier, VT 05602

Arnold Howard on tue 10 may 05


Before buying the kiln, I would fire pottery in it, taking the kiln to the
highest temperature that you will ever need.

If the glass kiln has roof elements, it may not be suitable for pottery
temperatures.

Also, I would price a set of replacement elements. Custom-made elements may
cost more than standard elements.

The kiln is not UL Listed. Will that be an issue with your friend?

Your friend can also find great bargains in used ceramic/pottery kilns. One
time a customer discarded an A-82B Paragon kiln here at the factory because
they decided they didn't want to have it repaired after all. (It needed an
element.) Someone had wheeled it out to the back door on a dolly, ready to
be thrown away. I rescued the kiln and gave it to a grateful employee.
Bargains like that are not uncommon in used kilns.

Sincerely,

Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
arnoldhoward@att.net / www.paragonweb.com

-------------
From: "Jennifer Boyer"
A friend is looking for a kiln and has the opportunity to get a kiln
from someone. He made it himself for annealing glass, so it has thick
walls. It has an Evenheat GT 22 controller with 2 zones that have
off/low/med/hi switches. The controller says 'not rated for over 2300
degrees". The kiln is about 5 cu ft. It comes with a pyrometer. My
only advice to her would be to make sure the pyrometer works well so
she can regulate the temperature rise.

Does anyone see any potential problems with this set up?