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  1. Thanks for the responses! It's a Skutt 1027 and I'm aiming for a cone 6. Thanks!
  2. My kiln fires very unevenly, and I'm wondering if there's something I can do. I have four 'levels' of shelves, evenly spaced apart (ie I usually use a similar height of shelf stilts between levels). I leave about a 1/2 inch space in the middle of each half kiln shelf to try to move air between levels. The bottom three layers have half kiln shelves, the very top layer I use a full kiln shelf. I also use an envirovent. The kiln pack on the bottom layer shows a fully fallen cone 5 and a 1/4 way fallen cone 6. The next layer up shows a fully fallen cone 6, with 1/4 fallen cone 7. The next layer shows a completely fallen cone 6, and almost a fully fallen cone 7. The top layer is a completely fallen cone 7, and in fact I suspect goes higher as I was getting some serious bloating on a couple of pieces. I do a slow to medium speed ramp, hold for 15 mins at 2185 degrees and slowly cool. I have experimented with slightly lower and higher temps, but always get the same difference in temps between kiln shelf layers. Any thoughts? Is it simply the envirovent? Thank you!!
  3. I (unfortunately!) know what cat pee smells like and this def isn't it. It's more of a nail polish remover type smell. I was hoping to get a hold of the woman who sold it to me, but I bought it off craigslist and don't have her email address. Any other suggestions?
  4. Hi there, I bought a used kiln a few months ago and have bisque fired in it twice so far. I have noticed a very chemically/toxic smell even when the lid is down and the kiln is empty and hasn't been fired in weeks. I have no idea what this smell is- I have an envirovent that works when the kiln is on, but as I say it's when the kiln's off that it smells too. It definitely is a different and much stronger, more toxic smell than any smell I have ever encountered firing any kiln. I can actually smell it inside the house when the kiln is off (the kiln is in a well-ventilated garage). The kiln is a Skutt 1027 if that matters- it is digital and I've no idea how old it is. It actually makes me feel a bit heady when I'm working around the kiln when it's turned off. Does anyone have any idea what this smell is?? The only thing I can think is maybe someone fired with lustres, but are they potent enough to be in a kiln that hasn't been fired in weeks/months and eminate from a closed kiln?? Thanks!
  5. I have started working out of a pottery studio run by the local pottery guild. The glaze room is very small- glazes are made and people glaze pots in this room. There is no ventilation. No windows, no nothing. The man who makes the glazes wears a respirator, but people are walking in and out of that room within minutes/hours of him making glazes and are spending hours in there glazing their pots. We will be upgrading our space within the next two years, but I would like to do something now. We need some sort of dust collection system or something to avoid dust and neurotoxins such as chrome and manganese. We have a tight budget, but anything is better than nothing! Nothing's been put into place as education on the dangers of exposure has been lacking. Any thoughts or suggestions? thanks
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