hot pots are they worth it or am i better waiting til i can get a proper kiln ? also where is the cheapest place to obtain one ;D
I started with a microwave kiln (is that what you mean?). They are quite good for fusing small items, and I still use mine for earrings, and stuff I want textured, as you can keep looking to see how they're doing, and just stop the microwave when they're just right. You can get them on ebay, and a kit with the kiln and some glass and thinfire paper is not too expensive. You can't anneal beads in them, but you can get an idea of fusing on the cheap before you pay a lot for a proper kiln.
Nick
I agree with Nick, if you want to play around with fusing they are great but be prepared for a lot of trial and error with timings.
And another thing: do microwave kilns sort of wear out? I have one, and it's nowhere near as fast as it used to be. Or is it entirely down to the ageing microwave?
Quote from: DementedMagpie on March 26, 2013, 09:29:03 AM
And another thing: do microwave kilns sort of wear out? I have one, and it's nowhere near as fast as it used to be. Or is it entirely down to the ageing microwave?
Mine's the same, I think they do - you just have to allow the extra time. When I bought a second one (to improve the turnaround time) I seriously overcooked the first firing in the new one, through over-estimating how long it would take. i think it's something to do with the coating on the inside of the lid. I also find (with old or new) that you have to stand near it while firing and listen. If you hear a crack, then stop it straight away and have a look - you'll probably find that the underneath piece of glass has cracked and probably flown, maybe off the thinfire paper. If you stop as soon as you hear the crack or ping, you'll be fine - let it cool down as normal, and salvage, but if you fire to completion you'll end up with a horrible mess!
Nick
Do you mean hot pot aka slow cooker? using a slow cooker filled with vermiculite or cooling bubbles only cools down your beads very slowly. they do not have anything to do with annealing.....they are just to help with stopping your beads cracking before you can 'bake/anneal' them in a kiln.
if you have lots of cracked beads then go for it!
Corinne
If you mean a microwave kiln, a friend brought one round to use in my studio microwave, took it out, put it on a wire rack to cool down and I now have a rather ugly scorch mark on the new worktop where it sat above. So I would suggest not doing in your kitchen! I had only had the studio fitted out for days, so we did not fire it again there, I was not a happy bunny, especially when she said she had already done this in her own kitchen >:(
Quote from: Blue Box Studio on March 26, 2013, 06:47:35 PM
If you mean a microwave kiln, a friend brought one round to use in my studio microwave, took it out, put it on a wire rack to cool down and I now have a rather ugly scorch mark on the new worktop where it sat above. So I would suggest not doing in your kitchen! I had only had the studio fitted out for days, so we did not fire it again there, I was not a happy bunny, especially when she said she had already done this in her own kitchen >:(
You have to leave it in the microwave for at least half an hour to cool down a bit, then take it out and let it cool down a bit more (another half hour or so) before you can take the lid off to let it get to room temp. Didn't she have any instructions, or was she just impatient? If you do it too quickly it could break.
Nick
so they sound good to go but be careful with my work tops, thanks for the feed back :)
Quote from: Nicknack on March 26, 2013, 07:38:28 PM
Quote from: Blue Box Studio on March 26, 2013, 06:47:35 PM
If you mean a microwave kiln, a friend brought one round to use in my studio microwave, took it out, put it on a wire rack to cool down and I now have a rather ugly scorch mark on the new worktop where it sat above. So I would suggest not doing in your kitchen! I had only had the studio fitted out for days, so we did not fire it again there, I was not a happy bunny, especially when she said she had already done this in her own kitchen >:(
You have to leave it in the microwave for at least half an hour to cool down a bit, then take it out and let it cool down a bit more (another half hour or so) before you can take the lid off to let it get to room temp. Didn't she have any instructions, or was she just impatient? If you do it too quickly it could break.
Nick
Heaven knows Nick, I just walked into my nice clean new studio and found this. But then she did a bit of damage to my glass shedio too within days of that being fitted out and my ventilation fan fell apart shortly after she'd used it so I think she was a bit of a walking distaster area. I don't see a lot of her now ::)
Quote from: Blue Box Studio on April 05, 2013, 05:34:26 PM
Quote from: Nicknack on March 26, 2013, 07:38:28 PM
Quote from: Blue Box Studio on March 26, 2013, 06:47:35 PM
If you mean a microwave kiln, a friend brought one round to use in my studio microwave, took it out, put it on a wire rack to cool down and I now have a rather ugly scorch mark on the new worktop where it sat above. So I would suggest not doing in your kitchen! I had only had the studio fitted out for days, so we did not fire it again there, I was not a happy bunny, especially when she said she had already done this in her own kitchen >:(
You have to leave it in the microwave for at least half an hour to cool down a bit, then take it out and let it cool down a bit more (another half hour or so) before you can take the lid off to let it get to room temp. Didn't she have any instructions, or was she just impatient? If you do it too quickly it could break.
Nick
Heaven knows Nick, I just walked into my nice clean new studio and found this. But then she did a bit of damage to my glass shedio too within days of that being fitted out and my ventilation fan fell apart shortly after she'd used it so I think she was a bit of a walking distaster area. I don't see a lot of her now ::)
Don't blame you :D
Nick
Can anyone tell me why I can put three identical pairs of tekta rectangles (30mm x 8mm, two 3mm pieces one on top of the other to give 6mm thickness) into a Hotpot at the same time, all at exactly the same distance and angle from the centre, and get one full fused, one tack fused & one half way between the two?? Any idea what's going on?
Also, why does a full fuse take 25 minutes one day & 50 minutes the next day (both at 539 watts, the medium hot setting in a cheap Sainsburys microwave)? ???
Hi - I'm quite new here but I started fusing last January, with a hot pot - learned a lot from it.
Quote from: GorgeousGlassGifts on January 23, 2015, 10:47:34 PM
Can anyone tell me why I can put three identical pairs of tekta rectangles (30mm x 8mm, two 3mm pieces one on top of the other to give 6mm thickness) into a Hotpot at the same time, all at exactly the same distance and angle from the centre, and get one full fused, one tack fused & one half way between the two?? Any idea what's going on?
I came up with two reasons for this:
First; microwaves work by creating standing waves, so there are areas that become super duper hot and areas that don't, based on whether the waves are in phase at that point or not (which is why all those microwave dinners say 'leave to stand for 1minute before serving' - it allows the heat to even out). I found that if I fused on a lower microwave setting for longer, this 'unevenness' was reduced, as the microwave turns the 'heat' off for a period of time, which allows the temperature inside the hot pot to equilibrate a bit.
Second, I thought that maybe the coating on the inside of the hot pot (which is what generates the heat) might be of variable thickness, so I used a pencil to make a mark on the top and bottom of the hot pot in the same place. I did a test fuse, and then noted in pencil on the base where the 'hot' and 'cold' areas were, and this was to some degree repeated in future firings as long as the lid was aligned where I'd made the mark (if that makes any sense!! Sorry if it doesn't! :) )
Quote from: GorgeousGlassGifts on January 23, 2015, 10:47:34 PM
Also, why does a full fuse take 25 minutes one day & 50 minutes the next day (both at 539 watts, the medium hot setting in a cheap Sainsburys microwave)? ???
I found this variability too, and couldn't really find a reason for it. I did find that the 'first fuse' of the day was always much slower than subsequent fuses, even though the hot pot had cooled down.
Quote from: Nicknack on March 26, 2013, 07:38:28 PM
You have to leave it in the microwave for at least half an hour to cool down a bit, then take it out and let it cool down a bit more (another half hour or so) before you can take the lid off to let it get to room temp. Didn't she have any instructions, or was she just impatient? If you do it too quickly it could break.
Nick
According to the manufacturers, the heat coming out from the hole in the top of the kiln can melt the roof of your microwave - the info. I got with mine told me to make sure you take it straight out when it's finished. I put mine on some broken tiles on a wooden floor and it was OK - presumably the wire rack didn't do much to stop the radiant heat from the base of the pot burning the worktop. I'd always recommend old tiles or some bricks as a heatproof layer rather than a wire rack for this reason. It usually took about an hour to cool down enough to open it.
Hope that helps a bit.
Kathy.
Thanks Kathy. Some useful hints.
Apologies for the long delay in my finding your post; I've just spotted the "show new replies to your posts" feature on the forum. I'm a bit of a luddite- it's a miracle that I use a grinder & not a carborundum stone :D