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Paragon S Series, Instruction And Service Manual, Page: 3 / 24

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IMPORTANT

Please read each page of this manual in
detail before you operate your kiln. War-
ranty does not cover damage caused by
failure to follow instructions.

TOXIC GLAZES

Some glazes may be toxic when used for
surfaces that will be in contact with food
or drink. When you make food or drink
containers, select a glaze that has been
formulated, tested and labeled as ap-
proved for surfaces that will be in con-
tact with food or drink. Follow the glaze
manufacturer's instructions exactly,
without any variations. You can learn
more about glaze safety in Mastering
Cone 6 Glazes, by John Hesselberth and
Ron Roy.

IMPORTANT SAFETY RULES

●

An electric ceramic kiln is extremely safe to operate
provided you follow these safety rules:

●

Unplug kiln when not in use.

●

Do not touch hot sides.

●

Keep unsupervised children away.

●

Place kiln on stand before connecting power.

●

Do not install closer than 12" from any wall or com-
bustible surface.

●

Do not open lid until kiln has cooled to room tem-
perature and all switch(es) are off. Cooling time is
usually twice the firing time.

●

Fire only in a well ventilated, covered, and protected
area.

●

Keep cordset away from hot sides of kiln.

●

DANGEROUS VOLTAGE! Do not touch heating
elements with anything.

●

Disconnect kiln before servicing.

●

Do not leave kiln unattended while firing.

●

Wear firing safety glasses when looking into the
peephole of a hot kiln.

●

Turn the switches off after the Kiln Sitter fires to
completion.

3

Contents

The Kiln Sitter and Limit Timer

4

How the Kiln Sitter Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

How to Adjust the Kiln Sitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Kiln Sitter Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Selecting Cones for the Kiln Sitter . . . . . . . . . . 9

Loading Around the Refractory Tube. . . . . . . . 9

Summary of Kiln Sitter Operation . . . . . . . . . 10

Kiln Switches

11

All Models: The Clicking Sound . . . . . . . . . . . 11

S-Series Models:
Kilns with Infinite Control Switches. . . . . . . . 11

S-Series Firing Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

How to Control the Cooling Rate
of an S-Series Kiln . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

SnF-Series Models:
Non-Digital Automatic Kilns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Operating Instructions for
SnF-Series Kilns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

General Trouble Shooter

15

Kiln Sitter Trouble Shooter

17

Maintenance

18

Maintaining the Kiln Sitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Replacing the Porcelain Tube Assembly . . . . 19

Cleaning or Replacing the
Kiln Sitter Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Replacing an Infinite Control
Switch or Switch-Timer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Summary of Contents for S Series

Page 1: ...1 Paragon Switch Operated Ceramic Kiln Instruction and Service Manual ...

Page 2: ...of the Kiln Sitter To avoid confusion we refer to the Auto Cone as the Kiln Sitter throughout this manual Even though your Paragon kiln has an Orton Auto Cone automatic shut off check the kiln at the ex pected shut off time The Kiln Sitter is reliable but since it is a mechanical device it can malfunction and overfire the kiln The warranty on your kiln does not cover damage from overfiring regardl...

Page 3: ...off Cooling time is usually twice the firing time Fire only in a well ventilated covered and protected area Keep cordset away from hot sides of kiln DANGEROUS VOLTAGE Do not touch heating elements with anything Disconnect kiln before servicing Do not leave kiln unattended while firing Wear firing safety glasses when looking into the peephole of a hot kiln Turn the switches off after the Kiln Sitte...

Page 4: ...iln when a properly inserted small pyrometric cone or pyrometric bar sags under the actuating rod When the plunger see photo and diagram is pressed a locking slide holds the plunger down closing the four contact points of the Kiln Sitter electrical contacts The kiln then receives power When the cone or bar fires to maturity and sags the actuating rod that rests on top of the cone sags with it The ...

Page 5: ...r half way between 4 and 5 so that youhavea30 minutesafetymargin Keepafiring log book so you can estimate firing time for each type of ware TheprimaryvalueoftheKilnSitter is theconvenience of relief from closely watching the large cones through the peepholes and the uniform firing that the Kiln Sitter gives from one firing to the next It is a mechanical device and cannot be considered fully automa...

Page 6: ...osen the set screw in the center of the weight move the trigger up or down until it just clears the release claw and retighten the set screw Note Check the trigger adjustment with the fir ing gauge after every 12 firings Caution If the set screw is too loose the trigger will slide out of adjustment with repeated use But if the set screw is too tight you can strip out the threads Release Claw Adjus...

Page 7: ...in brush is a convenient applicator Shake the bottle before each use WARNING You MUST apply kiln wash before each firing Otherwise the cone could stick to the metal and prevent the Kiln Sitter from shutting off the kiln Remove old kiln wash and apply new before each firing Do not al lowkilnwashtotouchtheconeortheinsideofKilnSitter tube Make sure the kiln wash has dried before inserting the cone No...

Page 8: ...ething against the Kiln Sitter or bumping into it can also move the guide plate out of alignment prevent ing the actuating rod from dropping This will overfire the kiln Set the Limit Timer dial to the estimated firing timeplus30minutes Thismustbedonebefore the plunger will lock into position Push in the plunger the button on the front of the Kiln Sitter Fireyourware Occasionallycheckthepyromet ric...

Page 9: ... the kiln cools completely in spect the cones If the large cone 05 on the shelf bent to six o clock the small Kiln Sitter cone and the large witness cone should be of the same cone number during future firings If the large cone 04 bent to six o clock use a cone rated one cone cooler in the Kiln Sitter than on the shelf If the large cone 06 bent to six o clock use a cone rated one cone hotter in th...

Page 10: ...iln Sitter Shuts Off Before Witness Cones Bend Raise the weight Press in the plunger Gently lower the weight WARNING This puts the kiln on MANUAL CON TROLandpreventstheKilnSitterfromcuttingoffauto matically When large witness cones bend turn the kiln switch es to the OFF position Then trip the Kiln Sitter by raising the weight and dropping Before the next firing use the firing gauge to check the a...

Page 11: ...lns If the top switch on your kiln is an infi nite control but the 2nd and 3rdswitch es arelabeledwith HOURS read the section for SnF series kilns All Models Thewarrantyonyourkilndoesnotcoverdamagefrom overfiring regardlessofthecircumstances Itistheoper ator s responsibility to make sure the kiln turns off when the firing is completed Never leave your kiln unattended near the end of the firing Che...

Page 12: ... If your kiln has three switches the middle switchcontrolselementsinthemiddleofthekiln Toadd more heat to a section of the kiln turn the switch for that section to a higher position sooner than the other switches S Series Firing Schedules These firing schedules are only suggestions You will need to test fire your kiln to find the schedule best suited for your ware Most S Series kilns also have a g...

Page 13: ...h position the elements stay on continuously The setting on the top switch remains the samethroughoutthe firing unless you manually change it The second switch is a timer It doesnotcycleonand off like an infinite control When you turn the timer knob pointer to a number you are NOT turn ingontheheatingel ements for that switch Instead you are setting the timer for the hours of fir ing that will ela...

Page 14: ...re because the elements for that switch will not get hot enough Turn that switch to a higher setting Q Should I set switches 2 and 3 to one hour if I want the kiln to fire one hour A No The elements for switches 2 and 3 turnonwhentheswitchesareintheONposition The switches are countdown timers and the numbers they point to are hours of time that will elapse before the switches turn on Q Do you make...

Page 15: ... overnight A Engage the KilnSitter Setthe LimitTimer to the number of hours that you want to candle the kiln Leave the switch timers turned off Set the top switch to MIN Prop the lid and leave out the peephole plugs General Trouble Shooter Kiln Will Not Fire Probable Causes Tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse Cord not plugged in Kiln Sitter plunger not locked into position Limit Timer clock not ...

Page 16: ...s a good habit to place your hand on the kiln s power cord to check the temperature It is okay if the cord is slightly warm but it should never feel hot Middle Elements Do Not Glow Red The middle elements in most Paragon kilns do not glow as bright as the top and bottom elements Do not be concerned as long as the kiln is firing properly Kiln Heats Unevenly Youcanincreaseheatinasectionofthekilnbylo...

Page 17: ... Check the wires that are connected to the Kiln Sit ter contact block If they are loose or corroded they will cause the block to overheat This in turn overheats the plunger Heating and cooling of the kiln can loosen the screws over time Has anyone ever replaced the wires that are at tached to the Kiln Sitter contact block Another reason for overheating is that the wires are too light a gauge Circu...

Page 18: ...st of the three sides Placing that side down lessens the chance of breakage Note Never apply pressure to the cone when you loaditintotheKilnSitter Handleconesasifthey were extremely fragile Maintenance Caution Whenever you turn off the circuit breaker to your kiln tape the breaker box door shut and leave a note saying WORKING ON KILN BREAKER OFF Note When replacing parts mark wires with col ored t...

Page 19: ...ire After you have removed exploded clay frag ments from the firing chamber always check the refrac tory tube for debris It may not be readily apparent that fragments are inside the tube Check the travel of the ac tuating rod It should be free to move up and down without binding Note ProbetheinsideoftheKilnSittertubewith a clean artist s brush Keep the brush near the kiln for checking the tube Rep...

Page 20: ...he 2 screws holding theguideplateto the front of the Kiln Sitter Remove the guide plate Remove the 2 screws that hold the porcelain tube bracket to the Kiln Sitter 20 Prop the switch box on a chair or other ob ject Do not strain the wires If your kiln is direct wired you will also need to disconnect the electri cal terminal box ...

Page 21: ...nut Thewashergoesunderthenutonthefrontofthe tube assembly bracket Remove the release claw from the old porcelain tube and install it on the new tube Some porcelain tube assemblies have a fiber washerandspringring whichhelptopreventheat from entering the switch box Transfer the fiber washerandspringring ifany tothenewporcelain tube 21 Installing the bracket to the new tube assembly Dawson tubes Ali...

Page 22: ...loses the electrical contacts inside the block Sometimes the contact block needs cleaning It is not uncommontofindspiderwebsorbugsinsidethecontact blockifthekilnhasbeeninstorageforafewyears Dirtor otherforeignobjectsinterferewiththeclosingofthecon tact block which causes the current to arc This in turn overheats the contacts sometimes melts the Kiln Sitter button and damages the wires attached to ...

Page 23: ...ote While you are working inside the Kiln Sit ter check the condition of the wires that are at tachedtothecontactblock Replacebrittlewires Wipe the pencil eraser particles and dirt from the contacts Reassemble the Kiln Sitter making sure all the washers are back where they belong Arrange the wires inside the switch box so that whentheKilnSitterisinplace nowireistouching the kiln case or Kiln Sitte...

Page 24: ... the correct voltage Hold the new switch at the side of the switch box in the same position as the defective switch Re move and transfer one wire ata time from the old switch to the new one making sure each connec tion is tight Remove the single nut from the front of the de fective switch Some switches are fastened to the front of the switch box with two screws Re movethescrews Removetheoldswitcha...

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