New Kiln!

We did the first firing in the new kiln yesterday.....I'M I LOVE!!! wow, what a difference this kiln made to the whole experience.....i loaded it up yesterday and we turned it on at 5pm. The manual states that a fast glaze firing (you can do a slower one!) would take about 4 1/2 hours.....I was to say the least, skeptical!
My old, very old....kiln used to take, on a good day...13 hours! anyway, we programmed it, hit all the right buttons and continued on with the evening. Usually near the end of the firing I have to go check cones (the things that tell me what temp is going on in the kiln...techie stuff you don't need to understand!), fiddle with knobs (not so techie stuff!), and generally hang about thinking about when it might or might not reach temperature. Instead of all that, i headed for bed around 10.30pm....and the only thing we had to consider was that it might not turn itself off....unlikely situation, but i'm still skeptical about this whole computerized thing!!! so, Terry, who stays up way past my bedtime was the official kiln sitter!!! It did take a bit longer than the manual suggested, but it was done in 6 1/2 hours......that's half the time of the old kiln!!!

Not only did it fire evenly the work looks great...i'm so happy, and the whole process was so much faster! I was able to unload it today around 4pm....this puts a whole new spin on firing back to back!!!

If you have a chance, you can check out my blog for a few more shots inside and outside the kiln!