Runaway kiln fail

[Cerberus]

Stupid thing went Chernobyl on me last nite, controller failed somehow and sent it to the max. I set to 1075 and when i came back 45 mins later the dislay showed temp at 1974, was thinking "why's that number so big?", sho nuff i peeked inside and the whole thing was glowing orange like the sun with puddles on the floor. Awesome.
These weren't great pieces but still...
88861

88862

88863

AIM kilns is not far to the south of me so i went down there this afternoon and talked to owner Grady for a bit. Super nice guy! We spent close to an hour talking about kilns and figuring out the best for me, he's legit and didn't push for an upsell, which made for nice conversation. We talked glass a lil bit too. He was all packed up for CHAMPS next week so I have to go down next week to pick up a new P-9 when the office crew is ready.

[snoopdog6502]

So did you get a new relay?

[Mike_Aurelius]

All you need is a new relay. That's what happens when a relay gets stuck in the 'on' position.

He upsold you to a kiln you didn't need.

[istandalone24/7]

All you need is a new relay. That's what happens when a relay gets stuck in the 'on' position.

He upsold you to a kiln you didn't need.

based on this cut and paste "he's legit and didn't push for an upsell", tells me that they discussed a new relay, and the OP wanted a new kiln anyhow.

[ksglass]

All you need is a new relay. That's what happens when a relay gets stuck in the 'on' position.

He upsold you to a kiln you didn't need.
Based upon the OP's message your statement is incorrect and a waste.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Cerberus]

I did want a new kiln, digital and with a bead/punty door. He began by actaully having ME convince HIM that i need digital and not just analog. We went around a bit describing my skill level and the typ eof work i do and where i want to go with it, space and power availability, even work style. I had the P9 in mind but really wanted to see some kilns in person and understand the size, shape and features before dropping that amount of coin. I am willing to pay for the items i need and always buy quality tools and equipment for long term use. He offered a larger older kiln for much less but I couldn't justify the extra space and power it would take up even at a cost savings.
We did talk about the relay and he said to bring down the old one and he would repair it so i would have a back up. I can replace a relay but I'd rather work in a kiln than on a kiln as he joked. The repaired runaway will go back to work for heat treating where it came from.

What's funny Mike is that the only thing he tried to upsell me on was to uprade my shades to Aura Lenses! He doesn't sell them, just looking out for protecting a new guys eyes and big thumbs up to Aura quality! New shades from Aura will truly be my next level up purchase in the next couple of months, I'm thinking 5/didy splits? You and I will talk soon my friend.

[Jackass Glass]

Sorry to hear abt the kiln issiues I'm gonna need to do some work to mine soon as well. Buy ur shades Second hand. There are tons on the market and you can save on the ridiculous pricing.

[jusbag]

Can't have too many kilns!

[Mike_Aurelius]

I did want a new kiln, digital and with a bead/punty door. He began by actaully having ME convince HIM that i need digital and not just analog. We went around a bit describing my skill level and the typ eof work i do and where i want to go with it, space and power availability, even work style. I had the P9 in mind but really wanted to see some kilns in person and understand the size, shape and features before dropping that amount of coin. I am willing to pay for the items i need and always buy quality tools and equipment for long term use. He offered a larger older kiln for much less but I couldn't justify the extra space and power it would take up even at a cost savings.
We did talk about the relay and he said to bring down the old one and he would repair it so i would have a back up. I can replace a relay but I'd rather work in a kiln than on a kiln as he joked. The repaired runaway will go back to work for heat treating where it came from.

What's funny Mike is that the only thing he tried to upsell me on was to uprade my shades to Aura Lenses! He doesn't sell them, just looking out for protecting a new guys eyes and big thumbs up to Aura quality! New shades from Aura will truly be my next level up purchase in the next couple of months, I'm thinking 5/didy splits? You and I will talk soon my friend.

Awesome. Good news.

[Cerberus]

and save on the ridiculous pricing.
This is a value judgement about custom made products that I definitely take issue with, not Jackass personally, but the sentiment.
My background is engineering, design and manufacturing so I have intimate personal knowledge and experience relating to Aura. For the quality, limited market, materials and labor required to produce a product like Aura safety glasses, especially custom grinds and frames, I do not believe they are overpriced.
I know that Mike has been bashed for his tone and manners and, again, i can relate to dealing with customers and custom designs and fabrication, as I'm sure many glassblowers are. I can say from experience his frustration is not totally unjustified, in some cases I'm sure that a rough response is more polite than a customer has earned.
I read a lot on the forums complaints about China glass in smoke shops and they undercut your market with shit quality at shit prices. There is all the difference and yet no difference between that and optics except a zero or two on the price tag. This is not the subject of this thread however.

There are no winners in a race to the bottom

[Jackass Glass]

Just meant you can get a deal on used shades bro

[hashmasta-kut]

I read a lot on the forums complaints about China glass in smoke shops and they undercut your market with shit quality at shit prices. There is all the difference and yet no difference between that and optics except a zero or two on the price tag. This is not the subject of this thread however.

There are no winners in a race to the bottom


There is big difference in a lot of import glass, when they use paint instead of color that washes off and probably gets in your lungs too.

[Cerberus]

I got the new P9 home, "seasoned" it and am running my second cycle with glass in it. It is a really nice piece of equipment, good looking, doors and hinges all tight and holds heat really well (compared to my old one anyway). The rod rest is much wider than the kiln itself, which is odd, and i removed it to fit inside my truck and haven't put it back on yet.
While the shop was out of commission while i was waiting for it i upgraded the rest of my glass area. Installed hardy backer against the back wall, moved my torch and made a fume hood from some surplus yard treasures. Two metal shelves and a four bulb flourescent fixture, ghetto as hell but works great for $22 worth of scrap metal. I don't like the new torch position so will move it back where it was. Other than the torch move I'm totally stoked, exhaust hood makes a big difference but blocks the overhead light so I'll need to change that at some point but it's not critical, a smaller spot light might be better and i have all kinds of lamps i can fool around with. Happy to be back on the torch again, tried a couple new teks and happy with results, nothing fancy but better than before.
88948