Cones bending badly, cones bending goodly

Ware is not turning out as expected and a potter needs to verify the temperature in the kiln. The standard cones on the upper right are misleading. The cone 7 is telling one story but the cone 6 and 5 another. On the lower right is a better way: Self supporting cones. They are always at the right angle and this set of three is bending as expected. To be a full cone 6 the middle one needs to bend just a little more until the tip is even with the top of the base (maybe 2 or 3 degrees). On the top set, the cone 6 is clearly totally flattened and the 5 is a pool of glass, this firing went way beyond cone 6.

Related Pictures

What temperature do Orton cones actually indicate in our kilns?

The blue line on this graph is from the Orton cone chart for 108F/hr. But those are not the target temperatures for our cone firings. We use the red line to program our controllers to produce accurate firings for each cone. Where is that red from? We made it. The self-supporting cones we put in every firing verify that red line, time after time, for thousands of firings (we routinely fire at every cone shown, manually maintaining programs for them all our kiln controllers). One caveat: As pyrometers degrade and are replaced there is need to adjust the final temperature a few degrees. Should you use that red line? No. Use self-supporting cones to establish your target temperatures.

Cones bending badly

We sometimes see customers doing this with cones: Putting them in the plaque backwards! Of course, they are not going to be accurate. Actually, self supporting cones are much better, they are idiot-proof because they enforce the 8 degree angle and bending direction.

What cones do at low fire is different

The tip of the firing cone 03 on the left has just touched and it is beginning to deform. Yet the guard cone 02 is not moving at all and the cone 04 is practically melting. However the tip of the cone 7 firing cone on the right has not quite touched. But the cone 8 is already well on the way and the cone 6 touched not long ago. Yet cones separate by about 30 degrees in both ranges. Why the difference here? At low fire the kiln can climb quicker so less heat-work is done (that is what bends cones). Also, the iron-based low fire cones are more volatile and begin and complete their fall through a narrower range. So at low fire cones can be an absolute measuring device. But at high temperature their use is more about comparing behavior firing-after-firing and adjusting procedure by that experience.

Are you using your expensive kiln like a pop-up toaster?

A small controller-equipment kiln and views of programming it

Put the pots in, select a cone, press start. It is time to rethink that approach! The Bartlett Genesis kiln controller is standard equipment on hobby and production electric kilns now. It is not meant to be run like a toaster! Good glazes are about much more than recipes, they are about firing schedules. None of the built-in "toaster schedules" have hold times on any segments, drop-and-hold sequences or controlled cools. Or even fire-to-cone accuracy. Yet such are a must for defect-free glazes, enhancing the effects of reactive glazes that must develop crystallization or variegation or firing accurately. It is easy to program: Tap the blue edit button to edit a program, tap a column of any segment to edit its value. Tap a segment number to delete or duplicate it. Search "bartlett genesis controller" on YouTube for videos on creating and editing a schedule.

Bloating with multiple bodies at cone 6: Why is this happening?

Four pottery pieces with bubbles and bloating

The problem occurred with standard Plainsman M340, M390, M350, M370 and P300. The stonewares have porosities of 2-3%, the M370 1% and the P300 0.5%. Thus, all of these have comfortable margins for overfiring. The G2926B glaze, used on all of them, does seal the surface pretty early so it can contribute to over-fired ware bloating sooner than typical. But the problem here is
likely the cone-fire modes on hobby kiln controllers. For this kiln, the cone 6 program goes to 2236F. That's cone 7. Adding the error of the thermocouple and the misinformation from poorly set cones the temperature overshoot could be more. That means this ware is likely just over-fired. Manually programming your kilns in consort with calibration using self-supporting cones, that is the way to get control. Add to that the benefit from firing schedules like the drop-and-soak PLC6DS and slow-cool C6DHSC.

Links

Glossary	Kiln Controller In ceramic kilns the firing schedule is typically managed automatically by an electronic controller. But that may not mean that ware gets automatically fired to the correct temperature and atmosphere.

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