SECTIONAL KILN CONSTRUCTION
FOR L&L KILNS

BASIC INFORMATION

• All L&L Jupiter and DaVinci kilns are sectional.

• This makes it easy to move, set up and disassemble the kilns for maintenance.

• Furthermore the sections are completely separate from the control panel.

• Each section has its own plug that plugs into a special receptacle in the control panel.

• This makes it easy to disconnect the control panel and send it to the factory for expert service if ever necessary.
  

• Because of this unusual ease of assembling and disassembling our kilns some people over the years have used this feature to expand or contract firing capacity as needed. This can be useful for firing small loads while still maintaining a larger firing capacity.

• It can also be useful for loading the kiln. For instance you can load one section high at a time. This can still be done but there are some considerations to be aware of.
  

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JUPITER KILNS

OLD STYLE HINGE ON SMALLER KILNS

• The old style standard hinge used on the J18, J18X, J23, J230, J236 and J245 is attached to the top section only.
  
  
• It is quite easy with this style hinge to take the top off and then remove one or two sections.
  
  
• The sections are not held together with latches but rely on gravity to keep them together.
  

EASY-LIFT, EASY-LOAD HINGE AFFECTS EASY DISMANTALING OF KILN

• The new style “Easy-Lift, Easy-Load” spring loaded counterbalanced hinge is optional on the smaller 8 sided and 10-sided Jupiter kilns and standard on the larger J2900 12 sided kilns.
  
  
• This is a great hinge design but it is not easy to take apart. There is some effort required to attach the top to the hinge itself not something you want to do on a regular basis.
  
  
• One of the nice features of this hinge is that ties the upper three sections (or two sections and the bottom) together into one unified assembly. Again a nice feature but one that does not lend itself to being pulled apart.
  
  
• The control panels on four and five section kilns are also attached to two sections.
  

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THE “PULL APART” OPTION
To get around the above issues we offer a new variation in our Jupiter line, which is meant just for those people who definitely want to assembly and dissemble their kilns often. This option consists of:

• Not putting a hinge on the kiln at all
• Having four handles on the top
• Mounting the control panel on a floor stand like we do on the DaVinci control panels.
• The sections are not tied together.
• There is no charge for this option.
• We can also do this for the DaVinci Kilns
• [CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION]

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DAVINCI KILNS

• The DaVinci kilns all come with the standard spring loaded counterbalance system. This system actually supports the door independent from the kiln sections with the exception that two stabilizing arms are attached to either the second section or the third section.
  
  
• All the sections above these stabilizing arms can be easily removed from the kiln without disassembling the door system. This is primarily useful for loading.
  
  
• However, if you do want to adjust the size of the kiln all that is required in addition to removing a section or two is to loosen up the clamps holding the door assembly to the counterbalance assembly and adjust it up or down.
  
  
• You can order a DaVinci with the stabilizing arms attached to the second section (this is the way it has to come for the two-section kilns). This would allow you to remove the third section. However, only two sections can be above the section with the stabilizing arms. Therefore a DaVinci kiln with stabilizing arms on the second section can only be a maximum of four sections high.
  

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CONTROL CONSIDERATIONS

The DynaTrol is easily programmable to allow for one two or three-zone operation. So if you had a three-section kiln like the JD230 and wanted to fire the kiln as a JD23 with two sections you would simple plug the two sections into two of the receptacles on the panel and program the DynaTrol for two-zone operation.

• On a manual kiln you simple don't turn on any of the circuits you are not using.
  
  
• Keep in mind that if you want to expand your kiln size in the future you may need a new control box with more circuits. If you think you might want to add capacity in the future (for instance you want to buy a JD2927 now but may want to expand this to a JD2936 in the future) you should buy a larger panel with an extra circuit. You will need to get a special price on this from the factory.
  
  
• On DaVinci kilns the size of the control box is physically sized for either five or six circuits (the six circuit boxes are for five section kilns with powered bottoms). This means that you could have the factory add a circuit in your current box in the future.
  
  
• The J18, J23 and J2918 control panels all come with three-zone capability. Therefore you can easily add a section later to make the kiln into either a J18X, J230 or J2927. The cost is just slightly higher plus, of course, the cost of shipping.
  
  
• For larger kilns like the J230 or J2927, if you anticipate making the kiln larger, you should special order a larger control panel (four or five zones).
  
  
• Contact the factory for more information.

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