newbie, advice needed

Started by alhel, January 27, 2013, 10:02:45 AM

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alhel

Hi, I bought my first kiln yesterday, it's a paragon sc2. Please could someone tell me if the vent bung is needed as there wasn't one with it and I noticed it mentions it in the instructions. Also do I need to kiln wash the chamber, in the instructions it says not to. Thanks in advance.

Beadbug

#1
Hi

I have a Paragon kiln and do not use the bung when I anneal beads. I batch anneal, and when I first started I used to use kiln paper on the trays (not sure of the correct name for these), but it works out quite expensive.  I have now kiln washed each of my trays and it works very well.  I have only kiln washed them once and it has lasted months.  I have not kiln washed the chamber.

Blue Box Studio

Ooh, now I was told to not use the bung for the first 'burn off all the stuff' firing but then to use the bung every other time?  My little shedio gets hot enough when I have the kiln on, wouldn't want to be in there when it's full blast and no bung, far too hot for me.  But I may be wrong ......?!
Sue
Website ~ Etsy ~ Blog ~ Flickr

June

I batch anneal too and we do use the bung, but not sure if you need to. We don't use kiln wash, though, I thought you needed that for fusing but not batch annealing?

Blue Box Studio

When I batch anneal I just put all my beads in an old Pyrex dish and put that on the floor of the kiln.  I don't think you need paper or wash - I down own either and no kiln/bead disasters - yet.
Sue
Website ~ Etsy ~ Blog ~ Flickr

Zeldazog

Isn't the SC2 ceramic fibre lined? If so, you should definitely follow the instructions and NOT wash the chamber.   And even it it were firebrick, you should never let kilnwash get near elements.

I don't anneal beads, but I would think it sensible to either wash the shelf, or use a pyrex dish or tile like Sue does - in the very very unlikely event that the kiln did overheat or programme overshoots too far and melt the beads, it protects the floor of the kiln.

I sometimes forget to put the bung back in my fusing kiln, and it doesn't have any effect - well, it will be using a tiny bit more electricity I guess to hold the temperature - not sure how much difference it would make with a smaller kiln though - mine is a small bung in the top of a big kiln, so heat loss wouldn't be that bad.

However, you do need to to a test firing first anyway to 'burn off all the stuff' with the bung out, so get that started and ask your kiln supplier to send out the bung straight away.

flame n fuse

e I kiln wash any shelves that I use, but don't kiln wash the interior, and don't think that you should. I anneal beads as I go and put them in on their mandrels, using a home made mandrel rest made out of a bit of stainless steel mesh from a model shop. To be on the safe side - in case of drastic kiln over heating, I've put a bit of the thick fibre sheet onto the the oven floor. It lasts for ages. I've had the kiln for a couple of years and never had a problem.

I usually put the bung in to save heat (though never measured the difference) and take it out if I'm encouraging the kiln to cool down quickly. If I was fusing and using thin fire, I'd leave the bung out until the fillers in the thinfire had burned out.

fionaess

I use a bung and pyrex bowl for 104 and bung and floor for boro :)


If it's got a hole, it's a bead !

oliver90owner

As Blue Box Studio's first post.  Hot air rises straight through the hole and even faster if the door is left open (try leaving your doors open on a cold breezy day, with a window wide open in a bedroom!).

The bung is there for those occasions when gases are produced within the kiln chamber and need to be purged; that does not occur while annealing glass beads.

Any warranty will be 'out of the window' if you not only ignore the instructions but actually specifically go against them.