Soda Firing 6-15-24

The 12th Kiln Firing is full load evenly spaced throughout the kiln. I added a two-inch post to the floor as a first layer to keep all the pots on a kiln shelf. When we had pots on directly on the floor they melted down and stuck bad.

Tiny shifts to remember: I added more small posts (kept the ones added last time) within spaces in the bag wall to help the heat move up instead of through the bag wall. I continued to use posts along the bag wall to start the first stack. Last time we finished the firing around 5pm.

Kiln Log = Temps are for the Top of the Kiln.

Details from the firing will be logged here each hour. The link to this firing will be posted on Clay Q&A
Cones in our cone packs 012, 010, 06, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7

• 7:00pm - Kiln at 73ºF On top. Lit south burner to fire overnight. I was going to fire with two burners, but it is supposed to rain. If the burners are wet, they will malfunction. So we will fire with one burner this evening after all.

• 9:00pm - 404ºF , Lit the north burner! Will cover so rain cannot make it malfunction as it did before.

• 10:00pm - 623ºF, Both burners at 1#. Nice progress.

• 10:30pm - 919ºF

• 3:00am - 1341ºF Top/ 1191ºF Bottom Temp. (shutt off 2nd burner as I did not want to miss body reduction sleeping).

• 6:00am - 1431ºF/ 1140ºF Bottom (relit second burner)

• 8:00am - 1578/1507ºF
  012 down top, both burners at 2# Air on Medium/ straight up
  Bottom and top have evened out for the most part!

• 9:00am - 1708/1685ºF
  012’s are down top n bottom. Light body reduction in process. Damper at 1.5 then finishing at 2”

• 10:00am - 1769/1762ºF
  Damper out to 3.5”, gas at 3#, air on full.

• 11:00am - 1915/1949ºF
  Cone 1’s bending top and bottom. Damper at 4.25” Cruising!
  Opened damper to 5” at 11:30am

• 12:00pm - 2011/2037ºF
  Soda introduction is likely to be around 2:00pm-2:30pm
  Hope to see you all here!

• 1:00pm - 2091/2117ºF
  We are getting close to soda time. Last time we introduced soda at 2170.
  So we have about 80 degrees to go. We are waiting for cone 4 to get soft.
  We have soda solution prepared.
  I am guessing we will soda closer to 2pm.

• 3:00pm - 2199/2217ºF Cone 6’s soft top and bottom
  Soda is happening.
  3# in two Gallons of water. Sprayed in in counts of seven. We waited in between rounds to let temp regain up to 2185 or 2190.

• 4:00pm - 2210/ 2240ºF
  All cone 6’s getting soft or down! Shut the damper to 3” on last round for a push toward a little carbon trapping on rims. That’s a wrap!

Charting the Kilns Progress!