KILNS & FURNACES
Electric in air to 1800°C • Research • Heat treatment
Controlled atmosphere • Melting • Gas, Natural/LPG to 2300°C
Tetlow Kiln Pty. Ltd. ABN: 26 166 832 300 54 Howleys Road, Notting Hill, 3168 Victoria Australia
T: +61 3 8545 8296 F: +61 3 9544 2723 E: info@tetlow.com.au www.tetlow.com.au
10.2 SECOND STAGE (GLAZE) FIRING:
As the ware has already been fired it can handle much higher temperature ramp rates. This
means that even through a glaze firing is generally to a higher temperature the total cycle time
can be more or less the same.
To ensure the best results, especially with glazes, we would suggest adding a soak at the top
of the cycle. This has two effects. Firstly, it allows the whole kiln to ‘catch up’ or even out to a
uniform temperature. Secondly, it allows the glaze time to mature. For most glazes a 30 min
soak would be typical.
Remember just like a recipe for an oven you may need to tweak the speeds and temperatures
to get the best results for your particular application.
Opening the kiln after firing
We'd advise against opening the door at temperatures over 200°C. This is for personal safety
reasons and also to protect the kiln from thermal shock, which could reduce life expectancy of
the kiln.
To speed up cooling it is acceptable to remove all bungs from the door and roof, and below
300°C you can loosen the door latch and crack the door open slightly. At 200°C you can fully
open the door. Note: that ware can be susceptible to thermal shock if they drop in
temperature too quickly.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) should always be worn when operating the kiln.
SECTION 11 - FITTING OF ELEMENTS
Please note, as this is electrical work, it must be performed by a licensed electrician.
Make sure the kiln is disconnected from power – unplugged from wall socket, fuses out or isolator
off, whichever applies.
Remove cover(s) from kiln to enable you to have access to element terminals. Undo brass nuts on
terminator remove end of old element from terminal, cut though old element at the point where it
comes out of the ceramic insulating tube, remove any residual insulating fibre from the opening of
the ceramic insulating tubes and then slide ceramic insulating tube outwards from the outside of
the kiln wall - do this on both ends of each element. Then from inside the kiln carefully remove the
element from channel, being gentle so as not to damage brickwork.
If element has blown out and there is molten metal embedded in brickwork make sure all of metal
is removed by digging out with a screwdriver or something similar. Make sure element channels
are spotlessly clean before installing new elements (vacuuming is recommended).
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