Kiln Woes

I bought my Skutt kiln two years ago when my existing kiln would not fit through the door of my kiln room (originally the maid’s room up the back staircase). This poor girl lived in a 2.5 x 3.5 meter space with a window too high to see out of, and most likely a woodstove. When we were renovating all the windows, this frame had “jungfrukamaren” written in pencil on the edge. The door is 60 cm wide, and the only model I could find ANYWHERE was made in the US, and thankfully imported by one company in Sweden. It arrives in sections that can be assembled, and I was SO grateful.

It’s been great for the past two years, but started acting up recently (mostly underfiring) . The thermocouple looked, well, fried, so I put in a new one. I was so excited to check the three witness cones (one on each of the three shelves) after the first glaze firing this morning. The results made NO sense. The top of the kiln is usually the hottest, getting cooler towards the bottom. The hotter the temp, the more the cone bends. The cone that says “top” should be the most bent. These cones - I’d say are looking pretty random - and still firing too cool.

This is a mystery, and I will be working on it with the vendor, who provides great support.