How to Program your Kiln

Knowledge – Confidence – Inspiration

The idea of programing your own kiln can be frightening, intimidating and possibly the reason you haven’t fired up your new baby yet. I’m here to help you move past your crippling fears. Let me guide you to the empowering realm of control where you’ll enjoy the thrills of blissful creativity. It’s a magical place where time stands still for you and dichroic unicorns do exist.

To start, what type of kiln are you using?

Glass kilns come in many shapes and sizes handmade by skilled manufacturers.

There are many types of awesome kilns out there that can help bring your vision to life. There are small, table top kilns that can be used virtually anywhere and large industrial sized kilns like my “Big Blue” that can take up half your work space! Invest in a kiln that fits you and your space!

But first you have to understand the foundation of glass fusing programs.

A firing guide is a step-by-step schedule to fire glass of a certain size and thickness to achieve a specific result. Firing guides are carried out in steps called segments. Larger, thicker projects have more conservative firing guides with more segments. The rate per hour indicates how quickly the kiln should change temperature in an hour. Temperature is the target temperature the kiln will be taken to for a specific purpose. The hold time indicates how long the kiln will remain at a certain temperature to achieve the desired results.

Kiln controllers.

Note. Not all kiln controllers work the same. This is intended to simplify the overall theory for you. It’s best to refer to your kiln manufacturer’s owner’s manual for specific instructions on how to operate your kiln.

When programing a kiln you’ll enter several pieces of information in order to write a program. Controllers can hold and retain several programs. Therefore, the first number the kiln will request is the program number. Then it will request the number of segments you want to use. It will then ask for the rate, the temperature increase you want per hour. Next it will request the hold time, how long you want the kiln to stay at that temperature to achieve the desired results.

If you have entered more than one segment you repeat the above steps for every segment in your program.

The great thing about having a controller is it retains your information to use again in the future. In my studio, I have several kilns of varying sizes. To avoid confusion and mistakes, I hang a list of the programs in each kiln next to the kiln. Then when I fire glass, I can quickly find the appropriate program and access it with confidence.

To help clarify the kiln programing process and steps I’ve included my three most common programs here.

Make no mistake, you’re brave to enter the creative and mysterious world of glass fusing. Therefore, I know you have what it takes to program your own kiln. You got this!

Wherever you are in your journey you’re doing great! Keep learning. Keep sharing. Keep creating beautiful pieces of art.

See my How to Program a Kiln video here.