Observation hole Plugged?

[tready]

Hi everyone. Have already learned so much as a newbie combing over questions/answers on this forum. Thanks for all your comments!

I did my first bottle slump and my glass kiln seemed to take forever to get to the high temp of 1430. I have just purchased this used Olympic kiln and there was not a peep-hole plug with it. Do I need to plug the observation-hole (it’s cone-shaped) at the start of the firing or when I get to a certain temp to retain the heat to ramp faster?  One bottle on a flat slump did pretty well, the other in a mold was dull and seemed to devit.

Also, I used the body firing setting and think from reading comments here that I should have used the top lid for firing?

 

[TheMacdonald]

From everything I’ve read (much) and in my experience (somewhat limited) the hole does not need to be plugged. Only a minimal amount of heat will escape through the hole.

Likely you can order a plug from Olympic. I have two kilns, and don’t use the plugs in either.

TAM

[Anonymous]

That’s correct. At fusing temperatures, air expands considerably resulting in a very thin atmosphere in the kiln. The lack of air means there isn’t anything to carry a lot of heat through the hole.  The glass, on the other hand, is  heated by radiant heat (line of site from the coils) so the absence of a lot of air isn’t an issue.

If you want to plug the hole, some scrap fiber blanket or paper will do the trick.

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Paul
FusedGlass.Org
Helios Kiln Glass Studio
PaulTarlow.com

 

[Author]

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