If you have an older pottery kiln, there is a good chance you will eventually encounter a kiln sitter. Unlike a modern digital controller, a kiln sitter does not display a continuously changing temperature or run a programmed firing schedule. It is a mechanical shutoff system that uses a pyrometric cone or bar to determine […]
Tag Archives: pyrometric cones
03
Oct
Oct
Executive Summary A digital kiln controller is useful, but it is not the final authority on what happened inside your kiln. Witness cones are. A witness cone is a small pyrometric cone placed inside the kiln beside your ware. It bends in response to heatwork—the combined effect of temperature and time—not simply a temperature reading. […]
30
Sep
Sep
If you own a pottery kiln, pyrometric cones are one of the simplest tools you can use to find out what actually happened during a firing. Your kiln controller can tell you the temperature it measured. A thermocouple can tell the controller when to change the firing program. But neither one directly tells you the total heatwork […]