Help programming a Skutt GM10F to ramp up AFAP

[speedingpullet]

I've recently bought a Skutt GM10F and want to use it in a slightly unorthodox way...

At the moment, all I"m interested in doing is creating small cabochons - none of them bigger than a 10p piece/US quarter, using 90COE scrap glass and also 90COE frit in very small frit moulds.

I'm trying to find a way to get the kiln to fire up As Fast As Possible (AFAP), but don't know how to program it to do so. Thermal shock isn't a problem, these are very small pieces, so I don't need to ramp up and hold.

I just want to get to about 1650F (900C-ish) in as short a time as is possible, keep an eye on the fusing through the bead door, and then manually stop once the desired fusing has been achieved.

In other words, I'm sort of wanting it to work like a simple jewellry kiln.

My problem is that I can't seem to find a way to heat the kiln other than degrees per hour. Ideally, I'd like to get it up to top temp in about 20 minutes, but I don't know how to program the Ramp/Hold cycle to do that.

If you understand what I'm on about, and can help me - I'd really appreciate it!
At the moment, its taking about two hours to get up to max temp....one and a half hours too long as far as my leccie bill goes ;-)

Thanks in advance for n00bie hand holding.

[Zeldazog]

Hi

Welcome to the Forum.  It's customary to introduce yourself in the Hello and Welcome area of the the board.

I'm not familiar with your kiln - have you tried contacting the manufacturers, or wherever you bought it from?  I could be wrong, but I don't think it's a kiln commonly sold in the UK, of which the majority of members here will be.

Most kiln controllers operate in two ways - they either ramp up in degrees per hour or you programme in length of time to reach the desired temperature (although I've found this more common in ceramics kilns than in glass controllers).  So, in your case, you just increase your degrees per hour to the highest number it will go to - in the case of my Skutt Kiln (Hotstart) that was 9999 degrees per hour.... although of course it couldn't actually go *that* fast....

At the moment, its taking about two hours to get up to max temp....one and a half hours too long as far as my leccie bill goes ;-)

Regards this, if a kiln is not heating up at it's fastest possible rate, then it's using virtually no more electricity than if it is - the way a slow ramp works is by switching the heat on and off and a measured rate.

[speedingpullet]

It's customary to introduce yourself in the Hello and Welcome area of the the board.

Appols, I didn't realise this was so. Thank you for replying nonetheless.

I've sent an email to Skutt in the hope that they can answer me, but of course it being sunday, there's probably no one there till tomorrow. ;-)