Im looking to buy a kiln with a limited budget for wax burnouts. The
two models i have found that seems to be among the cheapest is;
Paragon sc2 and neycraft jff2000. Paragon sc2 is a few hundred
dollars cheaper, which is good for me but it seems to be advertised
and used more by people who work with glass/enameling/fusing/pmc. I
will only use it for lostwax burnout (and perhaps some ceramics).
Can anyone advise me what kind of kiln is best suitable for wax
burnout
Is Paragon sc2 a good kiln? Any other recommendations?
I find both to excellent kilns. The difference I see is the JFF-2000
has the element in the muffle. The Sc2 has the element exposed and
has bricks. Either would be a good choice.
Any kiln that can be used to fire enamels can be used for burnout
for lost wax casting. It needs to be sufficiently large to hold as
many flask as you might wish to use in one casting session but
ideally not so large that it wastes energy in heating a larger space
than you need. Any kiln on the market should be able to get up to
earthenware ceramics firing temperature (1100C) or enamel firing
temperature (up to 800C) For burnout you only need to get up to 650C.
Though some people go up to 700C to me this uncomfortably close to
the gypsum breakdown temperature of 730C and I found that I reliably
get a clean burnout at 650 with an adequate soak time.
An important feature of a burnout kiln is accurate temperature
control. A good multi stage ramp controller is nice because you can
program in your whole burnout cycle however it can add considerably
to the cost of the kiln.
You can manage quite well with an adjustable set point controller
and manually control the cycle. However don’t buy a kiln that simply
has an energy controller (normally a dial that can be set from 0 to
100%)
All the best
Jenifer Gow
Tears of the Moon Artisan Jewellery
I agree with Andy that these are both excellent kilns. I do think
that Andymay have mistakenly referred to the E series Paragon kiln
though instead of the SC series. The E-series is brick with exposed
elements while the SC-series is a fiber muffle with internal
elements. Also as Jenifer mentioned, having a reliable controller is
essential as you should be using a burnout cycle that ramps and holds
over many hours. You do not want to be running to the kiln to adjust
the temp throughout the day or night. Although the fiber kilns tend
to be less expensive, and you are on a budget, I do want to make sure
you are thinking about long term as well. Fiber kilns heat up quicker
than brick kilns, however, this translates to the reverse also. They
cool down quicker. A fiber kiln, as it is holding temperature, will
be clicking on and off more often. A brick kiln will heat up slower
as the bricks need to be brought up to temperature, but that also
means that they hold temperature longer. As they are holding
temperature, they do no click on and off as often. And, as the
elements will eventually wear out, you can replace just the elements
in a brick kiln while you have to replace the entire muffle on a
fiber kiln. There are many good manufactures of both fiber and brick
kilns out there, just make sure you know what you want and need
before you make the final decision. And best of luck with your
casting.