Thursday evening I loaded two of our four electric kilns, clicked on the exhaust system, closed the lids and programmed in slow cone 05 bisque firings. It really felt great to get greenware into the two kilns and on their way to finished pieces. I programmed in 4 hours of pre-heat so we’d be in the studio Friday when the kilns fired off. Friday all day I checked out the kilns progress ~ they fired away at a consistent rate with the exhaust system buzzing along too.
5:18 p.m. both kilns had reached temperature and shut off. I clicked off the exhaust system and smiled as I realized Saturday morning would be “check it out time”. By noon on Saturday both k
ilns were under 150 degrees F. so I pulled the peephole plugs and propped the lids an inch. By 3:00 p.m. I could safely unload without gloves. All was well with the exception of one tile which had broken.
Within the hour I had both kilns reloaded, witness cones in place and the exhaust system on. With another preheat we had two bisque kilns firing at Monroe ClayWorks! We’re up and firing!