A customer asks: I have a question regarding this first test firing. For my previous kiln, I remember I fired the first firing up to one cone higher than I was working... in that case it was cone 6 - so I fired it it to cone 7.... I am going through the instruction book and videos (which are great and extremely helpful) and the recommendation for the first firing is to cone 5. I plan to work up to cone 6 again with this kiln - possibly higher. My question is: Should I do the first firing as instructed to cone 5 and then a second firing to cone 7 after? Can I fire the first firing to cone 7? I want to season the kiln properly - I certainly don't want to jeopardize it for the future.
Answer: The Cone 5 temperature target is somewhat arbitrary. We want to accomplish three things with the first firing:
- Fuse the reflective hardening coating we apply to the inside surface of the firebrick slabs and
- Seat the elements in the holders and
- Put an initial oxide coating on the elements (which protects them from contaminants in the atmosphere from clay and glazes).