Charanjiv Sachar on tue 21 jun 05
Hello all,
So finally as scheduled I did my first firing (maiden firing as called in the instruction book) in my new L&L kiln, "Bijli". I should mention that Bijli is a little thick skinned,.. I mean has 3" firebrick rather than 2.5".
The firing went almost as expected (a slow bisque to Cone 5) and I was glad that the electrical/ kiln setup was good as nothing else other than the kiln got heated up and I didn't burn down the house.
Thanks to everyone who had earlier answered my questions regarding peep holes, vent and the lid. Didn't see anything weird happening with the lid other than the beautiful red glow. Thanks again to everyone letting me know what to expect.
One thing I noticed was the preheat tempearture. This could probably be a typo in the instruction manual and I will ask Rob regarding this. In the dynacontrol document it mentions preheat temp is 200F and in the first firing document it mentions it is 150F. I was expecting mine to preheat to 150F, but it preheated to 200F.
Also I don't know if I adjusted the bypass damper to the right position. I tried the "smoke test" near the lid opening and nothing got sucked in any position. But if I opened a peep hole the smoke just went through in any position of the damper. I just set it in the middle position and fired. When I start glazing in it I might have to adjust it depending on the results I get.
Also my firing took 17hours and 38 minutes rather than the expected 19-20hours. Could this be because of 3" firebrick??
And lastly, the middle of the kiln fired a little hotter than the top. Cone 5 at the top just touching the bottom but the cone in the middle of the kiln was touching the shelf by almost half an inch. I have read through the archives that kilns do fire hotter in the middle and I expect things to change with how I load the kiln.
I will post these questions to Rob at L&L as well and see what his response is.
I just wanted to update everyone on how everything went.
Thanks a lot clayart
Charan
Creative with Clay
Tel: 253 241 2245
Email: creativewithclay@yahoo.com
www.creativewithclay.com
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Charanjiv Sachar on thu 23 jun 05
Hi again,
I got a response from Rob at L&L regarding my questions and thought I would post them in case there were others poundering over them.
So the preheat temp is 200F and not 150F. This is a typo in the first firing document. Nothing to be alarmed about.
According to Rob the smoke test is difficult to do. A better test is the smell test as mentioned in the manual where you check if you can smell fumes from the kiln. The ideal location is the damper open as much as possible without the smell of fumes.
My firing took 17hrs 38 minutes rather than 19-20hrs. This is normal too. Firings are expected to take 16-20 hrs.
As far as temp changes in the top and bottom go, i answered to that myself. different loads, position of cones in kiln are all going to effect it.
Now I can actually make some stuff to fire in the kiln. Oh what fun!!
Charan
Charanjiv Sachar wrote:
Hello all,
So finally as scheduled I did my first firing (maiden firing as called in the instruction book) in my new L&L kiln, "Bijli". I should mention that Bijli is a little thick skinned,.. I mean has 3" firebrick rather than 2.5".
The firing went almost as expected (a slow bisque to Cone 5) and I was glad that the electrical/ kiln setup was good as nothing else other than the kiln got heated up and I didn't burn down the house.
Thanks to everyone who had earlier answered my questions regarding peep holes, vent and the lid. Didn't see anything weird happening with the lid other than the beautiful red glow. Thanks again to everyone letting me know what to expect.
One thing I noticed was the preheat tempearture. This could probably be a typo in the instruction manual and I will ask Rob regarding this. In the dynacontrol document it mentions preheat temp is 200F and in the first firing document it mentions it is 150F. I was expecting mine to preheat to 150F, but it preheated to 200F.
Also I don't know if I adjusted the bypass damper to the right position. I tried the "smoke test" near the lid opening and nothing got sucked in any position. But if I opened a peep hole the smoke just went through in any position of the damper. I just set it in the middle position and fired. When I start glazing in it I might have to adjust it depending on the results I get.
Also my firing took 17hours and 38 minutes rather than the expected 19-20hours. Could this be because of 3" firebrick??
And lastly, the middle of the kiln fired a little hotter than the top. Cone 5 at the top just touching the bottom but the cone in the middle of the kiln was touching the shelf by almost half an inch. I have read through the archives that kilns do fire hotter in the middle and I expect things to change with how I load the kiln.
I will post these questions to Rob at L&L as well and see what his response is.
I just wanted to update everyone on how everything went.
Thanks a lot clayart
Charan
Creative with Clay
Tel: 253 241 2245
Email: creativewithclay@yahoo.com
www.creativewithclay.com
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Sports
Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football
Creative with Clay
Tel: 253 241 2245
Email: creativewithclay@yahoo.com
www.creativewithclay.com
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