Small Kiln Survey Part I

One of the most frequently asked questions on the Yahoo Beads-of-Clay group is what kiln should I buy to get started in making ceramic beads. 
Over the next few weeks I will be looking at several small ceramic test/bead kilns.  I thought I would start with the most frequently recommended kiln back when the Beads-of-Clay group was new and there were not many options out there.
So here we go:  AIM 88 kiln

I have had mine for at least  6 years.  I bought it from Bailey Ceramics.  The AIM company is located out west and it often takes quite a while to get the kiln.  I was advised at the time to buy through a ceramics supply company since they are better equipped to handle customer service.   I purchased mine with a Bartlett digital controller since I wanted to be free of having to turn it up every few hours.  I know that  quite a  few folks have this kiln and find it to be extremely reliable and fast.  I trust mine and it can fire a load to cone 06 in just under 4 hours.  I do not use it for any higher cones since it doesn't work well for me at those higher heats.  But it is more of a wiring problem than a kiln problem as most folks purchase this kiln in the first place because it is rated to fire to cone 10 (porcelain) on 110v  household current.

Here are the specs on this kiln. 

The New AIM Model 88/D is the computerized version of their popular Model 88 Test Kiln. The 8”x8”x9” deep chamber fits lots of test tiles or miniatures: even small to medium-sized pieces. It fires easily to Cone 10 on 110V household current. The AIM 88/D features a Bartlett 3-Key Controller with both ConeFire and RampRate software for the greatest programming flexibility. Also includes a hinged lid, metal kiln stand and (1) spy hole with plug. The 88/D has a standard 110V cord with a 3-prong plug.

You can also purchase this kiln without the Digital controller.  Price without the controller is about  $240 less.
Price range including shipping for the digital version of this kiln is around $606-$650.

This is a top loading kiln.  I believe that the  ConeFire Option on the digital controller is a great advantage.  Mine does not have this.  ConeFire lets you pick the cone you want and the kiln knows what to do.  I had to program mine on a schedule I got from the Bartlett company. 

So this is our first part of the series on small kilns.  Please ask questions so that I can plan answers for them in subsequent posts.

Thermocouple Woes

Just in case you have a digital AIM Computer and your Thermocouple fails, here is how to get the right new one. Now that AIM is not taking any orders it has been hard to find out how to replace this. Luckily I found a helpful person at Bailey, who I could talk with once I had learned from Marla James that I needed a K type thermocouple.

Very specifically this is a 7" 14 guage thermocouple. However, it has to be cut down about 4 inches. The sheath on the wire is in sections and we left 3 on. We also took off the porcelain block since the one in the kiln was fine. It is important to keep the yellow and red wires in the right part of the block. The wire comes with a red and yellow sheath and under the sheath the wire has a red mark on it. When you take off the high fire sheath in order to bend and cut the wire the red make will no longer be there. So it is important to bend the wire in the control box of the kiln so that you know the red wire can only go where it is supposed to be. We must have done everything right because the control read out lit up immediately and I could get the program I always use to come back.

Specifically the order number at Baily is C-172-50. Here is the catalogue page link.

Now the woe part. Actually, not that bad. I ordered the wrong part the first time, I made several calls to Aim and looked around quite a bit on the internet before I ran into the nice person at Bailey who let me return the wrong part and told me about the right one. It has been about 4 weeks since I have been able to use my AIM Kiln. Although, I have other kilns, I love my AIM and am not willing to put a small load in the big kiln. It is so great to be able to do that again.