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Paragon Dragon Kiln

List Price $5190.00

Dogwood Ceramic Supply's Discounted Price $3300.00

    The Paragon Dragon Kiln truly is an industrial furnace designed for pottery and ceramic studios.  Since October 2001, Dogwood Ceramic Supply has been a proud owner & user of one of the very first Paragon Dragons ever made.  Fired nearly on a daily basis, with many loads to Cone 6 or hotter, the Paragon Dragon at Dogwood Ceramic Supply has performed flawlessly, with absolutely no elements or other parts needing to be replaced.               Dogwood Ceramic Supply, July 2005

    How durable is the Paragon Dragon?  The 16,500 watts of power heating 9 cubic feet of chamber backed by 4" of insulation means more than enough power to reach Cone 10 with ample power to space.  The results are longer life elements as the elements do not struggle to repeatedly reach high temperatures.  As of April 2008 Dogwood's Paragon Dragon has been in use for well over 6½ years and we have changed ZERO parts on the kiln.  A true testament to the design and durability of the kiln.  The element design is balanced, applying more heat to the top and bottom of the chamber to compensate for heat loss.  The balance design has been performed flawlessly for Dogwood Ceramic Supply as Orton Witness Cones document the nearly perfect front to back, side to side and top to bottom heat distribution. 

Paragon Dragon Kiln Features:

• Cone 10, 2350°F
• 9 cubic foot interior: 24" wide x 24" deep x 27" tall
• 3" insulating firebrick and 1" non-organic block insulation in walls, door, and top.  4" total thickness
• 4 ½" thick firebrick bottom
• Exterior case temperature at Cone 10 is only 170°F (compared to 400-500°F for many standard round kilns)
• Proportional power elements for even heating
• Sentry 2.0 12-Key Digital Controller with programmed cool-down and full range of user programmable firing options
• 16,500 watts of power.  Requires #4 wire, direct service, 75 amp circuit breaker.
• Long-lasting mercury relays
• UL/CUL & NEC compliant fuses for safety
• Single Zone K Type Thermocouple temperature sensor and control
• Available in 200, 208, 220, 240, 480v, 1 & 3 phase power options
• Doorway clearance is 39½", 34" if door handles and element cover are temporarily removed.
• Shipping weight 885 lbs.
• Kiln weight, approximately 660 lbs

Paragon Dragon Options:

• Furniture Kit
  • 1 C-30 Shelf (22" x 22" x 1" thick)
  • 4 C-30H 1/2 Shelves (22" x 11" x 1" thick)
  • 1 ½” wide Square Posts, 8 of each: 4”, 6” and 8" lengths
  • 1 lb. Bag Kiln Wash
  • Furniture Kit Shipping Weight: 128 lbs.
• Choice of stand heights
• Optional casters on stand
• Orton Vent Master down draft ventilation system
• Auxiliary Output to control Orton KilnVent
• S Type Thermocouple temperature sensor and control
• 3 Zone K Type or S Type Thermocouple temperature sensor and control
• Door elements with Door safety switch
• Janus (glass) option
• Stainless Steel Exterior
• APM Elements

Prices valid until December 31, 2008.

Prices:
    $5190.00 is the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.  Dogwood Ceramic Supply's discounted price is $3300.00. 

    All options have appropriate discounts applied from the MSRP.

    Freight charges are based upon the customer's location.  Please refer to Paragon freight information for complete information including special rates and any adjustments to the basic freight charges for your specific location.  The standard freight charges includes Liftgate delivery service, the furniture kit and most common accessories that may be added to a kiln purchase.

    The Paragon Factory Free Program also applies to any combination of Paragon Dragon Kilns that exceed $6000 or more at Dogwood's selling price.  The $6000 can be any combination of 1 or 2 kilns plus accessories.  The Paragon Factory Freight Free program was designed for commercial locations with loading dock.  Additional charges for liftgate service, restricted access or limited access delivery may apply.

Liftgate delivery service is ALWAYS included in the freight prices quoted

Options Explained:

Furniture:
    Most customers will purchase the furniture kit, as without the furniture kit the user would be limited to firing ware just on the kiln bottom.  The furniture kit consists of 1 C-30 Full Shelf (22" x 22" x 1"), 4 C-30H Half Shelves (22" x 11" x 1"), 8 posts each of 4", 6" and 8" lengths and 1 lb bag of kiln wash.  The posts are the HD 1½" wide posts suitable for holding the heavy kiln shelves.
    Additional posts (of every size from 1" to 12") and shelves can be added to your order, or if you are close to The Showroom of Dogwood Ceramic Supply, stop by and pickup any additional posts or shelves that you might need.

Stands:
    The Dragon shown above is mounted in a 24" stand.  The stand is optional as the ventilated mounting base (the area below the brick bottom of the kiln with vertical slits) could allow the kiln to be safely used on a work table that is capable of holding a 660 lb kiln.  Most customers will chose to add a stand.  The kiln will be mounted in the stand, unless the customer requests otherwise.  Paragon standard selection of stands are 12" with casters, and 24" with, or without, casters.
   A special 18" stand (with or without casters) was designed by Dogwood Ceramic Supply after we used the Paragon designed 24" stand on the Paragon Dragon Kiln used in our business.  We determined that a lower floor height would allow easier access to the kiln.  With the 18" stand the base of the kiln interior is approximately 32" above the ground, versus the 38" height with the regular 24" stands.  The lower height of the floor of the kiln is extremely important when trying to lift heavy kiln shelves up to chest or shoulder height.
    A stand with casters should be purchased only if you will have a regular need to move the kiln, OR require the casters to move the kiln into a basement or interior room.

Orton Vent Master:     The Orton downdraft Vent Master is designed to remove noxious gases from a kiln during firing and exhausts the gases from the room.  For more information regarding kiln ventilation please refer to Dogwood Ceramic Supply's Orton Vent Master section on the Paragon Information page.     The optional Auxiliary Output (AOP) mounted on the control box of the kiln.  The AOP is a factory installed power supply that is operated through the Orton Sentry 2.0 digital Controller.  By programming the Sentry 2.0 controller and powering the vent through the AOP, the Vent Master can be operated in the most energy efficient and optimum mode for each type of firing.     Please note, the Orton Vent Master can be easily retrofitted to a kiln after purchase, but the AOP is only available as a factory installed option.         Installation is included in the price of the Orton Vent Master with the Dragon.

S Type:
    S Type Thermocouples are popular with potter's and production studios due to their long life and high degree of accuracy. For more information regarding the choice of thermocouples, please refer to Dogwood Ceramic Supply's S-Type versus K-Type section on the Paragon Information page.

3 Zone Control:
    The standard configuration of the kiln uses a single thermocouple located near the middle of the kiln wall on the right hand side of the kiln as one is viewing the kiln.   The Sentry 2.0 Digital Controller computes the temperature of the kiln every second, and computes and adjusts the firing speed and temperature based upon those temperature readings.  For most customers, especially for customers using a smaller kiln, the single zone (or single thermocouple sensor) monitoring system works extremely well.  But, as kiln sizes increases, the single zone control is not always adequate.  There are instances when a kiln user, especially somebody doing large sculptural works, may have a terribly unbalanced load in the kiln.  This is especially true when the sculpture has a large heavy base and light weight top section.  In those instances, it may be desirable to monitor and adjust the temperature in multiple locations within the kiln.   It is for those customers that the option of the 3 Zone Control was added to the Orton Sentry 2.0 Digital Controller.
    3 Zone Controls work by monitoring the temperature at 3 locations on the kiln wall on the right hand side of the kiln as one is viewing the kiln.  The Sentry 2.0 Digital Controller computes the temperature from each of the 3 regions (zones), compares the temperatures, and if one region of the kiln is firing hotter (due to a lighter load of clay or kiln shelves in that region), the digital controller cuts the power to that region to allow the cooler regions to catch up.  Thus, an unbalanced kiln load is adjusted to quickly and evenly fired to same temperature throughout the kiln.
    Should a customer add the 3 Zone Control to their Dragon is best determined by the anticipated needs of the kiln by customer.  If it is known that the kiln will be regularly fired with well balanced loads, there is absolutely no need for 3 Zone Control to be added to a Dragon.  If the kiln will be used for a wide variety of sizes and shapes of wares, careful distribution of the kiln shelves and ware should prevent the need for the 3 Zone Controller.   If, on the other hand, it is known that a kiln will nearly always be very unevenly loaded, 3 Zone Control most likely should be added.
    As with the Single Zone Control, the 3 Zone is available with either K-Type or S-Type Thermocouples.  If a 3 Zone Control is optioned, all 3 thermocouples must be of the same type.  Please note, 3 Zone Control can be operated as a Single Zone Control (in the event of a thermocouple failure, or if so desired), by changing a simple user accessible code on the key pad of the Sentry 2.0 Digital Controller.
    Due to wiring concerns, 3 Zone Control must be installed at the time the kiln is manufactured.

Door Element:
    As with the 3 Zone Control, not every customer will have the need for a Door Element to be installed on their new Paragon Dragon Kiln.  In the Dragon the elements wrap around the side walls and back of the kiln (as viewed in the picture above).  As one would anticipate, the door area is the natural cold spot within the kiln.  However, as we heat the kiln to typical ceramic and pottery temperatures, the cold spot in the kiln nearly disappears as the method of heating at high temperatures in the kiln is solely via infrared.  At Cone 10, the front to back temperature difference in an empty kiln, without a door element, is only 1°C.  So, like the 3 Zone Control mentioned above, for most customers, the door element is typically not required.   The Door Element should be added when a customer knows that the full width and depth of the Dragon is required to handle their wares, especially if glazed items may be loaded close to the door area (as a slight cool spot near the door could alter the color and effect of the glaze on the area of the item that is closest to the door).
    The optional door safety switch should be added to all Dragons that are sold with the Door Element when there is the risk of the door being opened during the kiln firing.  The door safety switch will turn off the door elements if the door of the kiln should be opened for any reason while the kiln is operating, while leaving the digital controller fully powered and able to resume the proper firing of the kiln after the door has been closed.

Janus Option:
    In the spring of 2004 Paragon started manufacturing the Janus series of kilns.  The Janus kilns are multifaceted kilns designed to fire both glass and ceramics or pottery.  Glass is typically heated to a fairly low temperature, and the best glass kilns will have an element in the lid as well as the side walls so as to heat the glass as uniformly as possible.  The Janus kilns were born by adding the required element in the lid (or top) of the kiln, reconfiguring the application of power from the side wall elements, and adding a switch to change the operation of the kiln from glass to pottery and then back again.  By the fall of 2004, Dogwood Ceramic Supply was adding the Janus option to many of the Dragon kilns that we sell.
    Today, customers can fuse or slump large glass projects on a single shelf at the top of their Dragon kiln, or slump several shelves of glass projects spread throughout the kiln, and fire the same kiln to normal ceramic and pottery temperatures.  All this through the simple addition of the Janus option.
   

Stainless Steel Exterior:
    The standard Dragon has a painted metal exterior surface.  For the vast majority of kilns sold by Dogwood Ceramic Supply, the painted metal surface will not rust for many, many years.  However, humidity in the air, moisture in the clays that are fired, metallic salts in the glazes that are used and the presence of salt in the air from being close to the seashore all combine to quickly attack the painted steel exterior of the kiln.
    Paragon added the Stainless Steel Exterior as an option, primarily for those customers living on an island or close to the ocean.  If you are located more than 10 miles from the seashore, fire dry clay only, use high quality commercial glazes and the kiln is located in a temperature regulated (HVAC) room there is little need to upgrade to the Stainless Steel Exterior.  But if you are really close to the seashore, fire wet ware or corrosive glazes you may want to upgrade to the Stainless Steel Exterior.
    Please note: Dogwood Ceramic Supply is located 6 miles from the Mississippi Sound.  Our Dragon is located in our warehouse and is vented with an Orton downdraft kiln vent and after 6 years of continual usage firing commercial glazes and "dry" greenware there is significant rust is showing around the edges of the painted steel case.

APM Elements:
    Standard kiln elements from all kiln manufacturers are made from Kanthal A1 or equivalent wire that is designed for a maximum temperature performance of Cone 10.  For must customers, the conventional element performs extremely well and are quite durable.  However, at temperatures above Cone 6, especially in the presence of some corrosive gases, the Kanthal A1 wire may suffer some premature fatigue and failure.   Theses gases are generally found with home made glazes that are "pushing the envelope", or in industrial settings.
    APM elements are an advanced alloy produced by Kanthal that is resistant to many of the corrosive gases that could be produced from pottery glazes, is rated to perform to approximately 2700°F (much hotter than Cone 10 at 2340°F), and does not incur resistance changes over time from usage.  Bottom line, APM elements are far superior to the conventional elements.  They are also relatively expensive.
    Customers that routinely fire to Cone 10, or near Cone 10, and have experienced the need to frequently (monthly, weekly, every firing) change elements in their existing kiln may want to consider adding APM Elements to their Dragon.  The good news is that APM elements can be retrofitted to any kiln at any time.
    By the way, in 6+ years of frequent firings to Cone 6 Dogwood Ceramic Supply has never needed to replace a single element in our own Dragon.  Our Dragon is equipped with standard elements.

    Ready to buy your own Dragon?  Then pickup the telephone and call the Dragon Master at Dogwood Ceramic Supply.  The Dragon Master will talk you through the selection process of all of the available options and insure that your Dragon is equipped to meet all of your needs.  And in a few short weeks, your new Dragon will be delivered to your studio, ready to breath FIRE into your ceramic projects.