Vent Kiln During Cooling

[SharonnaMM]

Do you guys ever vent your kiln during the final cooling stage? My kiln is so well insulated that it takes forever to cool. Once the temp cools to around 350 degrees, I’ve tried leaving the kiln cracked open. It still cools at a rate much slower than the 300 degrees per hour that my firing schedule calls for, so it should be ok – right?

[Becki]

A lot is going to depend on what you’re firing. I personally don’t but some do.

[Kirschartglass]

If I am firing 1″ square or round tiles, I turn my kiln off at about 750 degrees. I pull the peephole cone out then…I’ll come back and crack the lid about an inch….My tray is 20″ square. never had a problem. Bigger pieces I don’t vent until the temp is around 300….

[Edpal247]

On thick pieces(1″/25mm+)in a thick mold or dam setup the kiln temp can be quite deceiving compared to the glass temp. I’ve pulled out thick glass blanks when the kiln read 75-80f, wrapped them in a thermal blanket and then shot them with the infra-red thermometer 10-15 minutes later. Close to 150f. 3-6mm flatwork on a ceramic fiber shelf your glass and the thermocouple will be in much closer agreement on temp.
You know the suggestion – buy another kiln if you need to keep working.

[SharonnaMM]

Becki, Kirschartglass and Edpal247, Thanks for the feedback! I love hearing what other people are doing. When it comes right down to it, I’m not much of a risk taker, so I guess I’ll have to learn patience.

[Author]

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