can you use a PMC kiln for glass annealing?

the other kiln I'm looking at is this one:

's the last kiln on the page for $212.00 about the same interior size asthe PMC Kiln but not digital - I guess that is the major difference for$300+. Is the digital worth it I wonder? any thoughts?

Fusing temps, PMC temps and annealing bead temps are all different, but a lot of kilns out there will do more than one. Here are some links about this subject:

?s=&threadid=49927&highlight=kiln%20fusing am sure there is a lot more information out there...good luck! :)

glass beads?<

No - it's totally different, and there are several kilns that will fuse but NOT anneal. They are usually far less expensive.

Carol in SLC New auctions:

The difference between a ceramic kiln and an annealer is a ceramic kiln is designed to ramp up to a high temp, then ramp back down; an annealer is designed to ramp up to a certain temp (between 900F and 1100F depending on the type of glass used) and hold at that temp, with the possibility of holding again at a lower temp (usually around 700F). With beads, and thin fused pieces, the second soak is not that important due to the relative thinness of the glass. If the kiln you are looking at will do that, plus go up to higher temps for PMC or fusing you have a multi-use kiln. You don't need to be fusing in any kiln that you can't anneal in. Fused pieces need to be annealed as much as lampworked pieces for the exact same reason. The amount of annealing required is based on the thickness of the glass, not the techniques used to heat the glass. For more info on annealing, go to Henry Halem's site

Any kiln that holds the temp at annealing point (roughly 960-970 for Moretti) for the requisite amount of time, and can cool slowly, can be used to anneal glass. Does it have a digital controller, or would you have to sit next to it and babysit the temperature?.

Yes, absolutely. I used a fusing kiln with no controller for waaay too long and life with a digital controller is so much nicer!

I'll bet it pays for itself too in artwork which is salable, aside from the value of your time.

Tina

Just found this link, hope it's still relevant:

Thanks Christy - this is a great link!

I'm still unclear about how you anneal the beads in some of these multi-purpose kilns - it seems they are too small to put the mandrels in, so perhaps they are for batch annealing?

Pam

If the kilns have a bead door or small door in front, the mandrels can hang out the front without too much heat getting out. If there's a digital controller, it will increase the heat to make up for what gets out by having the door cracked. I only slide my mandrels in about half way so that I can move them around without burning my hands if I need to.