Power for the kiln...?

[Dwaa]

Well, Im all set up ready to go but I have a major problem!
No power in my garage yet! I don't want to start and waste any beads by not being able to anneal
so was wondering, has anyone got away with using their kiln via an extension lead?
Im only thinking for a couple of weeks as we're looking into the permanent power thing but I want to get going!!!!!!!!
And this is the only thing now thats stopping me, its there waiting to be used but sadly no life in the paragon as yet!

I have a feeling I'll have to wait!!   

[glassworks]

which kiln do you have?.. check the little info plate at the back, and that will give you the maximum "draw" required 9in watts).... get a good quality extension from the local builders merchants and you should be fine.. make sure it is as short as it can be, and make sure it is completely unrolled when you use it.. coiled extensions heat up like mad!!!

better would be to get a tame leccie to run you a seperate armoured cable down to your shed - but that is budget permitting.. second best would be to cool beads in vermiculite or glass mat whilst beading, and batch anneal in the evening before you have dinner and that means your beads will be ready for "gloating or anquish" first thing in the morning!..

[mizgeorge]

Unless you're making anything huge, it's fine to leave them sitting in a jar and batch anneal them once you've got the leccy sorted though.

[Dwaa]

Its the blue paragon 2 something or other. Ive looked on the instr and there is no actual model no.!!!!
Anyway, its got the door at the front.

Its beads i'll be doing:

So in order to prevent them from cooling down too quickly what could i do without buying blankets and such?
Would they be fine in a jar then while i do a batch of them? i suppose i could bring the kiln into the house to anneal overnight when im done.
Re the ext cable - this would be about 25 feet away from the nearest plug socket in the outhouse.

[glassworks]

take a largeish plant pot (clay) and 1/2 fill it with granular vermiculite (also normally found in garden stores or from B&Q as insulation material or just ask on here!)... before making a bead make a little "hole" with your finger that you can stick the bead in when you are finished.. once the glow of the glass has gone out of the bead - ie it is not soft - you can gently put the bead into the hollow you have made, and you can pile up loose vermiculite around the bead to cover it completely - without singeing your finger tips!!! the bead will now cool down slowly while you carry on working..

once you have done for the day, and the beads have cooled down you can take them off the mandrels, clean them up and then run a batch anneal programme on your kiln inside the house...

25 feet should be fine with an extension cable a long as it is a "fat" one from a builders merchant ie 2,5 or 3mm thick cores...

sounds like you have an SC2 kiln from paragon, and the current draw is relatively modest - for the best safety it would be better to batch anneal indoors!..

email me if you need a programme for batch annealing on your kiln?..

[mizgeorge]

Why not just get a fibre blanket for now? Not expensive at all, and if it's wrapped in foil really slows the cooling down a LOT! Then you've got the option of batch annealing or garaging as you wish? Or vermiculite in a slow cooker (which lots of people do also with very good results).

I'll be batch annealing for a long time, partly because I don't have a bead door anyway LOL, but also because the chances of me ever getting the chance to sit down in front of a torch for long enough to justify warming the kiln up are so slim as to be pointless!

[Dwaa]

Aah, I have a slow cooker!- I'll go to b&Q tomoz and get some of these granules.
Thanks for all your suggestions and help people. x

[Caroline]

hey hun

you've got an sc2 and it should be fine

[Trudi]

You can get vermiculite in  Wilkinson's for  about £1.99 a large bag - you don't even have to use a slow cooker to keep it warm really.

Or you can get a fibre blanket from Martin http://www.tuffnellglass.com/

- I prefer the blanket (wrapped in tinfoil) but that's just me!