How cool do you let your kiln get before taking out your beads?

[Angela Schoonen]

I'm just heading off to bed, but first I popped my head into the studio to see what temperature the kiln is at. It's at 184 degrees and I'm DYING to open it and see what goodies I have waiting for me.
So my question is: What temperature do you let the kiln cool to until you open the door and take your beads out? I have always let it get quite cool, but I'm curious as to what you all do.

[kandice]

Anything under 200 is fair game for me. :)

[Kalera]

I usually wait until it's under 150.

[ksalomon]

I second the vote for < 150.

[Mr. Smiley]

Under 200 and you can crack the door open a little and cool it faster. I've seen people grab 'em out much quicker, but I don't feel comfortable doing that. For boro, I crack the door any time under 400. By crack, I mean just a little, to let the heat escape faster. The chili pepper I've got cools fast no matter what, so I'm thrilled with it so far. :D Under the strain point, you are only worried about thermal shock. If you fudge and use furnace glass frit with effetre, it's more of a problem. ;)

[Angela Schoonen]

Awwww man, you mean I could've taken them out last night and fondled them before bed???!!!!!!!! It was at 165 last night and hubby FORBADE me from opening the door and even peeking. Hmph. Anyways, it was worth the wait....I got a nice set waiting inside for me this morning ;)

[dogmaw]

Anything under 250 is fair game to crack the kiln. :)

[LavenderCreek]

I usually wait until 200 or under. I did take one out a 300 before because I couldn't wait any longer. I admired it for a minute or so and then put it back in. No ill effects. Sometimes you just gotta peek :D

[Solana]

If I can touch them without burning my hand...they come out. That usually is around 200 or under. However, I like going to bed with beads in the kiln. Makes each morning after like Christmas! Plus it helps me get out of bed on weekdays cause I can't wait to see what's in the kiln! :)

[Just Nancy]

However, I like going to bed with beads in the kiln. Makes each morning after like Christmas! Plus it helps me get out of bed on weekdays cause I can't wait to see what's in the kiln! :)

That's my theory. Once I had my kiln set up in the new building I'd be seen trekking out there in my jammies. Then getting the daughter out the door for school. The local bus driver probably thought I was nuts.

[DesertDreamer]

200 for me, too. If I get really impatient, I'll grab 'em with my long tweezers, admire them, then put them on top of the kiln to finish cooling. (And admire them some more.)

[Sue H-K]

If I can touch them without burning my hand...they come out. That usually is around 200 or under. However, I like going to bed with beads in the kiln. Makes each morning after like Christmas! Plus it helps me get out of bed on weekdays cause I can't wait to see what's in the kiln! :)

Me too...if I can get them out without causing bodily injury then they are fair game!!!

[CCraig]

I have a BFA in furnace glass and at the university we were always told never never NEVER open the annealer before it gets down to 100 deg. I still hold to that even with my beads and sculptures, sometimes they are fairly large and some have limbs and smaller protrusions or lots of metals.

Cindy

[Dwaine Scum]

not this.. AGAIN...


I wonder why they even offer a search feature sometimes

[Kalera]

That's good info, Cindy. I know that soft glass can thermal shock around 200, but I wasn't aware that it was a possibility at lower temperatures.

[kimberly]

I wait for room temperature. They aren't going anywhere and I spend too much time on them to risk them to impatience.

[alexm]

It depends on the size for me. Under 200 for smaller beads is ok. The large encased beads stay in the kiln until they're room temperature.

[alissa]

The woman who taught me in the beginning said crack kiln at 500, open at 300. No one had beads which broke immediately, but people did have some beads crack in half later on.

I wait until under 200 just to be safe!

[Sabbsee]

I wait for room temperature. They aren't going anywhere and I spend too much time on them to risk them to impatience.

I am glad to see that I am not alone. I have to admit though, its killing me not to open the kiln. I am only new to using a kiln and had a bad experience on my first (mind you that was a problem with me, rather than the kiln). To remove temptation I now run the kiln overnight. That way I can't be tempted to open it before the beads are all safe and done. :-)

[Ekkie]

I was also taught to let the kiln cool to room temperature before opening. As I use a lot of 96COE frit with 104COE I think that is the safe way to go for me. That way I have a lovely surprise in the morning.

Jenn

[kandice]

I am sure it depends on the size of the beads. My beads are tiny - even my focals are relatively small. If my focals were larger, I imagine I would definitely wait longer to open the kiln.

[prairieson]

Working in a small, crowded public hotshop requires that we generally have to rush things a bit. Our kilns run a cycle every 24 hours, and very often we crack the kilns at 200+ and are pulling work from them in the 130-160 range. At these temps we'll wrap solid or thick stuff in a couple of layers of newspaper as a bit of insulation, but in three years I've never seen anything die from thermal shock, go figure.