PARAGON KILN SERIES GUIDE
Paragon offers such a wide range of kilns that it can be hard to figure out which one will work for you! Below you will find a rundown of each series of Paragon kilns. If you are shopping around for a new kiln, this is a good place to start.
Questions about any Paragon series kiln? Give us a call – we will help you to find the right kiln for your space!
BlueBird Bead Annealing Kilns
Kiln style: Tabletop front-loader
Chamber size: 0.12 - 0.47 cubic feet (small)
Firing range: 1200 - 1500F
Voltage: 120V
Controller: Sentry 3-key
Suggested use: This specialty kiln is for annealing glass beads.
Caldera & Firefly Multipurpose Kilns
Kiln style: Small tabletop top-loader
Chamber size: Less than 1 cubic foot
Firing range: Up to cone 10
Voltage: 120V
Controller: Manual or digital
Suggested use: Great for the home artist who likes the flexibility to work with a variety of materials. This kiln can handle your small glass or metal projects, but they can also go all the way up to cone 10 – making them great for ceramic work, porcelain in particular. The Caldera models can be modified with a variety of bead or enameling collars; keep in mind that these add-ons may lower the kiln’s top temperature.
Crucible kilns for Glass Blowers (Darby Dipper, Trifecta, Vulcan)
Kiln style: Top-loading crucible
Chamber size: 0.29 - 4.82 cubic feet
Firing range: 2350F/Cone 10
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: Sentry 3-key r 12-key (depending on model)
Suggested use: These crucible kilns are idea for the glassblower who aims to melt a volume of glass. These are specialty kilns.
CS-Series Glass Fusing Kilns
Kiln style: Clamshell
Chamber Size: 0.73 - 5.18 cubic feet
Firing range; 1700F (Glass fusing)
Voltage: 120V, 240V, or 208V (smaller models are 120V)
Controller: Sentry 3-key
Suggested use: The unique clamshell style of these kilns allows for intricate glass work to be built directly onto shelves, and then you simply lower the kiln chamber over your built stack. This kiln is great for the typical glass-fusing work -- jewelry, tiles, small objects -- but if you do detailed or set-specific work, this may be the series for you.
Dragon Series Industrial Ceramic Kilns
Kiln style: Heavy-duty front-loader, refrigerator style
Chamber size: 9 – 15 cubic feet (depending on model)
Firing range: Cone 10
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: Sentry 12-key
Suggested use: Dragon kilns are great for industrial settings – their front-loading capabilities make them great for loading tiles, large platters, and other flat, high-fire pieces. They are designed to be fired regularly to high temperatures; their refrigerator-style doors make them a great addition to university ceramics departments. Because they are not built in sections like many of Paragon’s top-loading kilns, they will only fit through wide doorways.
E & Q Series Front-Loading Kilns
Kiln style: Front-loading tabletop
Chamber size: 0.14 - 0.88 cubic feet (small)
Firing range: Cone 03 (E-series), Cone 10 (Q-series)
Voltage: Mostly 120V; E-14A 240V or 208V.
Controller: Manual or Sentry 3-key
Suggested use: These smaller-sized tabletop models are extremely versatile - you can fire glass, PMC, and ceramic in them. Please note that the E-series has a maximum temperature of Cone 03, while the Q-series can reach Cone 10. Great for smaller projects such as tiles and jewelry, or as a test kiln. These kilns are great for the multi-media artist.
F-series Lampworking Kilns
Kiln style: Lift-assisted front-loader
Chamber size: 0.47 - 5.5 cubic feet
Firing range: 1700F/Cone 03
Voltage: 120V or 208V/240V (depending on model)
Controller: Sentry 3-key
Suggested use: This glass-working kiln series is designed for lampworking -- that is, annealing larger, figurine-style pieces. Available in a variety of sizes.
FireFly Multi-Purpose Kilns
Kiln style: Square top-loader (tabletop)
Chamber size: 0.16 cubic feet
Firing range: Cone 10
Voltage: 120V
Controller: Manual or Sentry 3-key
Suggested use: If you are a jewelry artist working out of your home, and working in materials that require higher firing than is available with many smaller kilns -- think cone 10 for the porcelain artist -- this kiln is great. This is also a nice option if you are a ceramic artist and would like an affordable, easy-to-use test kiln.
Fusion and FiberFuse Glass-Fusing Kilns
Kiln style:Top-loader
Chamber size: 0.69 - 2.86 cubic feet
Firing range: 1700F (Glass-fusing kilns only reach glass temps)
Voltage: 120V, 208V, 240V (depending on model - smaller chamber size models available in 120V)
Controller: Sentry 3-key controller
Suggested use: Glass fusing and slumping. Great for tile work, jewelry, and small objects. This kiln series is available in a variety of sizes, and the FiberFuse models feature a ceramic fiber top for cutting back on dust inside of your kiln. Please note that these kilns cannot reach ceramic firing temperatures.
GL-Series Glass Fusing Kilns
Kiln style: Front-loader, tabletop
Chamber size: 2.4 - 4.68 cubic feet
Firing range: 1700F
Voltage: 240V or 208V
Controller: Sentry 12-key controller
Suggested use: This professional-grade kiln series is designed for the professional glass artist -- it features a 12-key controller that is capable of storing multiple firing programs, and can be fired many times per week.
Home Artist Kiln
Kiln style: Top-loader
Chamber size: 0.78 cubic feet
Firing range: 1900F/Cone 05
Voltage: 120V
Controller: Sentry 3-key
Suggested use: This low-fire ceramic kiln is great for, well, the home artist -- as the name suggests. This round model comes complete with a built-in dolly so you can easily wheel it out of the way when not in use.
Iguana Series Industrial Ceramic Kilns
Kiln style: Heavy-duty front-loader, refrigerator style
Chamber size: 4 cubic feet
Firing range: Cone 10
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: Sentry 12-key
Suggested use: This heavy-duty kiln comes standard equipped with energy-efficient 3” brick, and heavy-duty elements, so if you fire to cone 10 regularly, this kiln may be a great choice. This particular model is smaller than the similar Dragon series, which makes it a nice choice for the tile artist, the artist making smaller pieces, or the individual. Still, it does feature industrial-level firing power, so it is a reliable choice for anyone who may be firing to high temperatures very frequently.
J-Series Square Ceramic Fiber Kilns
Kiln style: Front-loader tabletop
Chamber size: 0.88 cubic feet
Firing range: 1700F/Cone 09
Voltage: 120v or 240V
Controller: Manual or Sentry 3-key
Suggested use: This line of fast-firing ceramic fiber kilns has been designed to fire smaller items, such as jewelry, at high speeds. Great for metals and PMC clay. Lightweight and a nice addition to the home studio. Top temperature is a little too low for even low-fire ceramics, but it’s great for metals, glass, and PMC.
Janus Pottery/Glass Fusing Kilns
Kiln style: Top or front loader (depends on model)
Chamber size: 1.75 - 9 cubic feet
Firing range: 2350F/Cone 10
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: Sentry 12-key
Suggested use: This series of kilns can be used for glass AND ceramic -- each model features a lid-embedded element for evenness in glass fusing or slumping, but they can also reach Cone 10 temperatures. Great for the multi-media artist, or the mixed-media classroom or studio.
MagicFuse and QuickFire High Speed Kilns
Kiln style: Shell
Chamber size: 0.01 - 0.125 cubic feet
Firing range: 1650F - 2000F
Voltage:NA, and 120V
Controller: Manual
Suggested use: These easy-to-use kilns are designed to melt or fuse glass very quickly -- this makes them great for workshops, or working out of your home studio.
Ovation Series Ceramic and Glass Kilns
Kiln style: Top-loading oval-shaped kiln
Chamber size: 5 – 16 cubic feet (depending on model)
Firing range: 1700F/Cone 03 (smaller Ovations) to 2350F/Cone 10 (larger models)
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: Sentry 12-key
Suggested use: Oval kilns can be a great option to maximize space in narrow studios or classrooms. The smaller Ovation models – the Ovation-10 and Ovation-1013 – are glass-specific kilns, meaning they only fire to about cone 03. The larger models (Ovation-22 and Ovation-28) are ceramic kilns capable of firing to cone 10. In all cases, oval kilns are great for long, thin pieces, or for larger sculptural pieces. Having a larger, cone 10 capable oval kiln was a lifesaver for me when I worked as a tech at a university – students making larger, difficult-to-fire work could always fit their pieces in the oval.
Pearl Series Glass Fusing Kilns
Kiln style: Top-loader
Chamber size: 1.59 - 16 cubic feet
Firing range: 1700F/Cone 03
Voltage: 208V or 240v
Controller: Sentry 12-key
Suggested use: These coffin-style free-standing glass fusing kilns are heavy-duty production-level glass kilns. This kiln series is great if you work in production, or if you firing large glass pieces that may be difficult to load -- models are available in a wide range of sizes to suit your studio needs.
SC Series Square Kilns
Kiln style: Front-loader tabletop
Chamber size: 0.04 - 0.28 cubic feet
Firing range: 2000F/Cone 03
Voltage: 120V
Controller: Sentry 3-key controller
Suggested use: These tabletop kilns are great for multimedia artists working in glass, PMC china painting, or low-fire ceramics. The light fiber bodies of these kilns mean that they are lightweight and easy to ship and move, making them a great addition to the home studio.
S and SnF (Set-n-Fire) Series Ceramic Kilns
Kiln style: Top-loading
Chamber size: 2.95 - 7.92 cubic feet
Firing range: Cone 8-10 (check individual product pages for
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: manual kiln-sitter
Suggested use: Paragon’s S-series and SnF-series can be purchased in a wide variety of sizes, so it’s easy to find a kiln that fits your studio or classroom needs. These kilns are built with the standard Paragon ceramic-capable firing chamber, with efficient
TnF (Touch-n-Fire) Series Ceramic Kilns
Kiln style: Top-loading (except for the TnF-J-11; see J-series section for information on that kiln)
Chamber size: 1.75 – 10 cubic feet (depending on model)
Firing range: Cone 4 – 10 (although most models reach cone 10; check the specs on each kiln’s product page for further information)
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: Sentry 12-key
Suggested use: Paragon’s Touch-n-Fire, or TnF series of kilns, is their standard work-horse ceramic kiln line. Within this series, you can pretty much find a kiln that fits in your space, as these models come in a very wide range of sizes, from tiny test sized to industrial-capable 10 cubic feet. You can essentially find a TnF model to fit your space or your needs, from the individual jewelry artist working out of home to the classroom instructor who has to move a good amount of student work through the firing process.
Viking Series Ceramic Kilns
Kiln style: Top-loader
Chamber size: 7-10 cubic feet (depending on model)
Firing range: Cone 10
Voltage: 208V or 240V
Controller: Sentry 12-key
Suggested use: Viking kilns are heavy-duty, cone-10 capable production models. Of course, you can still purchase these models for use in your studio or classroom; they are simply designed for the artist or manufacturer who is firing to high temperatures on a frequent basis.