The Paragon FireFly series kilns are low-cost, high-temperature, top-opening, firebrick kilns which heat and cool evenly. You can slump glass, make porcelain beads, melt gold, fire stoneware, and try most materials and processes, so they're ideal for your home, school, college, craft workshop, jewellery studio, or arts centre running jewellery courses.

The Paragon FireFly series kilns are suitable for Art Clay, PMC, Accent Gold, Metal Clay Veneer, glass-bead annealing, china painting, dichroics, enamelling, glass fusing, heat treating, jewellery, and small-scale sagging, slumping, ceramics, porcelain, pottery, and stoneware.

The Paragon FireFly series kilns come in two versions, as the manual FireFly-S with a rotary switch and the automatic FireFly-A with a digital programmer. They're both 1290°C cone 10, four-sided, square, firebrick, top-opening kilns. The FireFly and Caldera are the hottest kilns that can use a regular mains socket.

The Paragon FireFly series kilns can have a heat-resistant glass viewing-window fiited in the centre of the lid, but can not accept a separate removable layer, either as a plain collar or a bead-door collar, as can the Caldera.

The Paragon Fire Fly kilns are sometimes called Art Clay kilns, ceramic kilns, craft kilns, enamelling kilns, glass kilns, glass-fusing kilns, hobby kilns, jewellery kilns, jewelry kilns, metal clay kilns, PMC kilns, porcelain kilns, silver clay kilns, or studio kilns.

Compared to similar kilns from other manufacturers, such as the Skutt FireBox, and the Evenheat Hot Box, Studio, and Studio Pro, the FireFly-S costs less and has a higher maximum temperature, making it more versatile.

Electric Kilns is an on-line shop for low-cost table-top kilns, such as the UltraLite Kiln, the Kitiki Mini-Kiln, and the Paragon BlueBird, Caldera, FireFly, Fusion, Home Artist, SC-2, SC-3, and Xpress.

To learn more about larger kilns, such as the Paragon Fusion, GL, and Pearl glass kilns, and the Dragon, Iguana, Janus, Ovation, Viking, and Vulcan ceramics kilns, transfer to Paragon Kilns, using the Paragon Kilns link above the menu bar at the top of the page.

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Zoom: The Paragon FireFly-S.

Zoom: The Paragon FireFly-S.

The Paragon FireFly series kilns come in two versions, as the manual FireFly-S with a rotary switch and the automatic FireFly-A with a digital programmer. They're both 1290°C cone 10, four-sided, square, top-opening kilns. The FireFly and Caldera are the hottest kilns that can use a regular mains socket.

The FireFly-S and FireFly-A can have a heat-resistant glass viewing-window fitted in the centre of the lid, leading to the four versions shown in the table.

Paragon kilns, with the exception of the FireFly-S and Caldera-S, use Orton Sentry digital programmers. You can set four programmes, each with eight heating, holding, or cooling segments: so you can choose the temperatures, times, and heating and cooling rates. They don't have restrictive features such as single-sequence use or pre-set programmes.
Pre-set programmes might seem to be an advantage. However, having experimented and diversified, many people fire materials, or combinations of materials, at different temperatures and for different times than are recommended.
And, later, you might want to work with other materials and processes such as: china painting, dichroic glasses, dolls, enamels, fusing, glass-bead annealing, glazes, gold paints, low-fire ceramics, sagging, and slumping.

Although there's cross-over, 1095°C front-opening ceramic-fibre kilns that heat and cool quickly, such as those in the SC series, are preferred for Art Clay and PMC metal clays, dichroic glasses, enamelling, and mixed-media jewellery.

Ceramics, porcelain, pottery, and stoneware, need 1290°C firebrick kilns that heat and cool evenly, such as those in the Caldera and FireFly series. Firebrick kilns are better suited to continual high temperatures.

The kiln lid hinge has an integrated cut-off switch, included in the price: an important safety feature if you want to open the lid or bead door whilst you work. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The elements lie in pin-less grooves in the firebrick, and are quick, easy, and inexpensive to replace in the unlikely event of a failure. If your business depends on your kiln or you're running courses, it's a good idea to have a spare element. You can buy spare elements in the on-line shop.

The FireFly and Caldera are the hottest kilns that can use a regular mains socket. Above 1290°C the materials used for elements, thermocouples, wires, and firebricks, all become a lot more expensive. However, apart from melting metals, there are very few materials or processes that need a higher temperature.

All programmable kilns work in the same way: the thermocouple checks the internal temperature regularly and tells the programmer to switch the elements on or off to control the heating or cooling rate.

When the target temperature is reached, the elements are switched off. However, residual heat in the firing chamber allows the internal temperature to overshoot the target temperature briefly before starting to fall back.

This is more noticeable at low temperatures than at high temperatures. For example: 300°C will probably overshoot to 320°C whereas 800°C will probably only overshoot to 810°C before starting to fall back. Take this into account if you're working with temperature-critical materials or processes.

During the hold-time, with the elements still off, the internal temperature falls. Although the programmer will soon switch the elements back on, the firing chamber will initially absorb some of the new heat before the temperature recovers. The continual switching of the elements on and off causes the internal temperature to cycle around the target temperature.

The actual temperature of your work will be affected, slightly, by its position on the kiln shelf, the vertical spacing of any stacked shelves, and its nearness to the elements, a lid, a door, a bead door, a window, or a peephole.

Remember that glass needs radiant heat and will fuse, sag, or slump better on one shelf than between stacked shelves.

Kiln doors and lids are not meant to be a perfect fit otherwise, at high temperatures, there'd be no room for expansion and the door could stick and the ceramic-fibre or firebricks could crack.

Eventually, with normal use, kilns discolour slightly, inside and outside, and some firebricks might develop hairline cracks. Remember, your kiln is a robust, versatile, red-hot tool: not an ornament.

Working successfully with a kiln involves careful research, planned experiment, and repeated testing. It's very important to learn how to creatively use unexpected effects, especially as things that work for your friends or teachers might not work in the same way for you. So, keep a firing log:

Buy a durable notebook. Using a new page for every firing, draw diagrams of the shelves, their vertical spacing, and the position of your work on the shelves. Put a few scraps at different places on the shelves to learn how things react. Describe the material, the shape of your work, the firing cycle, and the end result.

A kiln log is vital if you're experimenting with temperature-sensitive materials, or working with coloured dichroic glasses, enamels, or glazes. A skilled artist will use the log to advantage to re-create effects.

The Paragon Firefly-S is a low-cost, high temperature, top-opening, firebrick kiln. It's suitable for Art Clay, PMC, Accent Gold, Metal Clay Veneer, glass-bead annealing, china paint, dichroic glass, enamelling, glass fusing, heat treating, jewellery, and small-scale sagging, slumping, ceramics, porcelain, pottery, and stoneware.

The Paragon Firefly-S is a 1290°C cone 10, four-sided, square, firebrick, top-opening kiln, with an easy-to-use rotary switch and a digital pyrometer.

The UK kiln is rated at 230V 1680W, so can use a regular mains socket. It's small enough to use in your home, school, college, craft workshop, ceramics studio, or course venue, as it only weighs about 19Kg.

The outer steel case measures 470mm x 381mm x 305mm, including the controller housing, the steel base, and other hardware.

To comply with EU safety regulations, the kiln is fitted with a lid switch which cuts off power to the elements whenever the kiln is opened: an important safety feature included in the price.

The firebrick firing chamber measures 203mm x 203mm x 114mm internally, and heats from the front, both sides, and the back, with the fast-firing elements lying in grooves in the 64mm thick bricks.

Unlike the Caldera-A, the FireFly-S doesn't have a digital programmer. However, the rotary switch allows you to set the elements-on time and therefore the heating rate and final temperature. It's a 20-100 style: on the lowest setting, the elements are on 20% of the time; on the highest setting, the elements are on 100% of the time.
The digital pyrometer, included in the price, gives accurate temperature feedback, so that you can regulate the heating and cooling rates, and learn more about temperature-sensitive materials and processes.

It's very important to understand what the shelf kit consists of, why you might need a different one, and why you might need more than one:

The recommended furniture kit for the FireFly, included in the price, consists of one 178mm x 178mm x 15mm cordierite shelf, four 25mm x 25mm x 12mm posts, and a bag of glass separator.

Cordierite is a magnesium aluminium silicate that resists thermal distortion and fracture. A thick shelf, on posts, heats and cools evenly: particularly important for glass work.

Cordierite is brittle: if you drop the shelf, it'll break. It's a good idea to have spare shelves, especially if your business depends on your kiln or you're running courses. You can buy extra shelf kits in the on-line shop.

Depending on the sizes of your pieces and the number of pieces you want to fire, two shelves can be stacked to make better use of your time: so you may want more than one furniture kit.

For enamelling and glass fusing, you'll need to put kiln paper on the shelf to stop anything sticking: it's simpler and cleaner to use than glass separator. You can buy shelf paper in the on-line shop.

Although there's cross-over, 1095°C front-opening ceramic-fibre kilns that heat and cool quickly, such as those in the SC series, are preferred for Art Clay and PMC metal clays, dichroic glasses, enamelling, and mixed-media jewellery.

For ceramics, porcelain, pottery, stoneware, and heat treating, 1290°C top-opening firebrick kilns that heat and cool evenly, such as those in the FireFly and Caldera series, are more popular. And they're better suited to continual high temperatures.

The FireFly has a lid cut-off switch, an important safety feature if you like to open the lid or bead door whilst you work. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The elements lie in pin-less grooves in the firebrick, and are quick, easy, and inexpensive to replace in the unlikely event of a failure.

The Paragon FireFly-SW lid includes a heat-resistant glass viewing-window, 50mm x 50mm. Otherwise, it's the same as the FireFly-S.

The Paragon Firefly-A is a low-cost, high temperature, top-opening, firebrick kiln. It's suitable for Art Clay, PMC, Accent Gold, Metal Clay Veneer, glass-bead annealing, china paint, dichroic glass, enamelling, glass fusing, heat treating, jewellery, and small-scale sagging, slumping, ceramics, porcelain, pottery, and stoneware.

The Paragon Firefly-A is a 1290°C cone 10, four-sided, square, firebrick, top-opening kiln, with an easy-to-use, ramp-hold cone-fire, Sentry Xpress 3-key digital programmer.

The UK kiln is rated at 230V 1680W, so can use a regular mains socket. It's small enough to use in your home, school, craft workshop, ceramics studio, or course venue, as it only weighs about 19Kg.

The outer steel case measures 470mm x 381mm x 305mm, including the controller housing, the steel base, and other hardware.

To comply with EU safety regulations, the kiln is fitted with a lid switch which cuts off power to the elements whenever the kiln is opened: an important safety feature included in the price.

The firebrick firing chamber measures 203mm x 203mm x 114mm internally, and heats from the front, both sides, and the back, with the fast-firing elements lying in grooves in the 64mm thick bricks.

Unlike the Caldera-A, the FireFly-S doesn't have a digital programmer. However, the rotary switch allows you to set the elements-on time and therefore the heating rate and final temperature. It's a 20-100 style: on the lowest setting, the elements are on 20% of the time; on the highest setting, the elements are on 100% of the time.
The digital pyrometer, included in the price, gives accurate temperature feedback, so that you can regulate the heating and cooling rates, and learn more about temperature-sensitive materials and processes.

It's very important to understand what the shelf kit consists of, why you might need a different one, and why you might need more than one:

The recommended furniture kit for the FireFly, included in the price, consists of one 178mm x 178mm x 15mm cordierite shelf, four 25mm x 25mm x 12mm posts, and a bag of glass separator.

Cordierite is a magnesium aluminium silicate that resists thermal distortion and fracture. A thick shelf, on posts, heats and cools evenly: particularly important for glass work.

Cordierite is brittle: if you drop the shelf, it'll break. It's a good idea to have spare shelves, especially if your business depends on your kiln or you're running courses. You can buy extra shelf kits in the on-line shop.

Depending on the sizes of your pieces and the number of pieces you want to fire, two shelves can be stacked to make better use of your time: so you may want more than one furniture kit.

For enamelling and glass fusing, you'll need to put kiln paper on the shelf to stop anything sticking: it's simpler and cleaner to use than glass separator. You can buy shelf paper in the on-line shop.

Although there's cross-over, 1095°C front-opening ceramic-fibre kilns that heat and cool quickly, such as those in the SC series, are preferred for Art Clay and PMC metal clays, dichroic glasses, enamelling, and mixed-media jewellery.

For ceramics, porcelain, pottery, stoneware, and heat treating, 1290°C top-opening firebrick kilns that heat and cool evenly, such as those in the FireFly and Caldera series, are more popular. And they're better suited to continual high temperatures.

The FireFly has a lid cut-off switch, an important safety feature if you like to open the lid or bead door whilst you work. However, never get careless: kilns are very hot and connected to the mains.

The elements lie in pin-less grooves in the firebrick, and are quick, easy, and inexpensive to replace in the unlikely event of a failure.

The Paragon FireFly-AW lid includes a heat-resistant glass viewing-window, 50mm x 50mm. Otherwise, it's the same as the FireFly-A.

It's very important to understand that the FireFly-S has a rotary switch, not a digital programmer. There are limitations, although you may be perfectly happy with what it can do rather than unhappy with what it can't.

The Caldera-A digital programmer allows you to set up and save four drying, heating, holding, and cooling sequences, and do something else whilst the sequence is running. A sequence can consist of up to eight segments.
A segment is one step in the sequence. For example: a segment could take 50 minutes to reach 650°C, could hold at 850°C for 15 minutes, or could cool down to room temperature over 4 hours.

The FireFly-S rotary switch does not offer sequences and segments: you have to adjust the heating and cooling rates, and turn the kiln off at the end. For most people doing small-scale work, that's enough, although it helps if you buy a pocket digital timer to remind you that time's up. You can buy a digital timer in the on-line shop.

The EU kiln is different to the US kiln. To comply with EU safety regulations, the EU kiln has a hinged lid with an integral switch that turns off the elements as soon as the kiln is opened: an important safety feature included in the price.

The US kiln has a separate lid that needs to be lifted off completely: so you'd need a heat-resistant surface to put it on. When the kiln is open, the live elements are exposed: dangerous and illegal in the EU.

To learn more about larger kilns, such as the Paragon Fusion, GL, and Pearl glass kilns, and the Dragon, Iguana, Janus, Ovation, Viking, and Vulcan ceramics kilns, transfer to Paragon Kilns, using the Paragon Kilns link above the menu bar at the top of the page.

To learn more about Art Clay metal clays, Accent Gold, Metal Clay Veneer, buying and using kilns and tools, choosing a course, or discovering more at The Art Clay Club, use the Art Clay link below the menu bar at the top of the page.

The Art Clay Club is an information resource, not a shop, providing free on-line help, 24 7 52: you don't have to register, log on, or remember a password.

The kiln prices include the recommended shelf kit, and the legally-necessary lid or door safety switch where appropriate.

The on-line shop includes the Ultra Lite Kiln, the Kitiki MiniKiln, Paragon Kilns, BullsEye ThinFire kiln paper, ceramic blocks, ceramic cloths, digital pyrometers, reminder-timers, fire extinguishers, glare-resistant glasses, heat-resistant gloves, kiln shelves, kiln tables, and other tools and accessories. Alternatively, visit the Cherry Heaven Shop in Corfe Castle village.

Cherry Heaven, through Electric Kilns, is an EU distributor for Paragon Kilns made by Paragon Industries in the US, and the Prometheus Pro kilns made by Odak Sanat in Turkey.

Cherry Heaven, through Advance Kilns, is the EU distributor for Advance Kiklns made by Advance Kilns in Canada, and, through The UltraLite Kiln, an EU distributor for the Ultra Lite Kiln made by JEC Products in the US.

Cherry Heaven, through The Kitiki Studio, is a UK distributor for Art Clay made by Aida Chemical Industries in Japan, and an EU distributor for AccentGold For Silver paint and Metal Clay Veneer, both made in the US.