My electric kiln is 10 years old and the thermocouples had never been replaced. Last year I started making thermocouple adjustments to account for drift. So, when my elements wore-out I figured it was time for a little tune-up.
Cone results PRIOR to tune-up.
Kind of wack-a-do.
John and I replaced the elements, thermocouples, relays and 2 power terminals that had crumbled. I ran an ^04 slow bisque to burn-in the elements. Then I ran an empty ^5.5 slow glaze test-fire to confirm that the kiln was firing in the ballpark of my target temp.
Cone results for ^5.5 Glaze test-fire
of EMPTY kiln after tune-up.
The Empty test-fire was a little warm, but still in the ballpark of ^5.5.
Next, I fired a ^5.5 slow glaze test-fire loaded with pottery.
Cone results for ^5.5 Glaze test fire
of FULLY LOADED kiln after tune-up.
The load fired on the hot side of ^5.5. I'm going to make thermocouple adjustments to slightly cool all 3 sections. Next glaze fire should be perfecto.
If you have ever asked the question.. Does an empty kiln fire hotter or cooler than a fully loaded kiln? According to my testing, the results were very similar.
I probably should have titled this post "Tales of a Witness Cone Nerd".
I probably should have titled this post "Tales of a Witness Cone Nerd".
