Bob, A couple of comments. Your heat sources are nice, but also expensive. a light bulb will do the job. On the expensive side of that issue, but extremely reliable. is something like this.
This one was priced at $26 but is made to produce nothing but heat from the power. No wasted energy on light, lol.
The water heater thermostat actually can be used for temps to 200 degrees plus. It is an issue of placement of the thermostat. Here is the explanation. The stat is not intended to be used in direct contact with the environment (or heat) it is regulating. But sets on the outside surface of the tank the hot water is in. The outside surface is not as hot as the water inside. The stat is set to regulate the temp of the water by the relative temp of the outside surface. not by a direct contact with the water. Lets say I hav the stat set to keep water in the tank at 120 degrees. If I then move the stat without changing any settings even a small distance from the tank. the temperature it keeps the water at will rise. in this case very likely by a huge degree. Air is a poor conductor of heat in comparison to metal.
In the same way I can raise the temperature of the kiln by moving the thermostat further from the heat source. I will gain a lesser among of temperature rise due to the stat being in direct contact with the heated environment. There is also an increase in temperature fluctuation as the stat gets further away.
I learned this while trying to build my first egg incubator The temperature in them must be very well controlled. You need 99.5 degrees that will remain steady for 21 days. if the temperature falls below 94 degrees or rises above 102 degrees the embryos will be lost. I had to place the stat very close to and actually above the heat source to gain a temperature that held steady at 99.5 degrees plus or minus 2 degrees for 21 days. moving the stat a foot or so away from the heat source would cause it to jump up around 120 degrees but have a huge fluctuation of 110 to 120 degrees. moving it even further would increase the temp even more as well as the fluctuation.
You could get a higher but less fluctuating temp by simply adding a plate to the back of the stat as well. Basically insulating it from direct exposure to the air. IN my case i actually used a dremel tool to cut away the black case giving more exposure to the air for the metal plate inside.
The above also illustrates the importance of exact instructions for some. A list of components will leave many with a bag of goodies they really have no idea what to do with. Instructions with photos of exactly how to construct the kiln will go a long way.
This one was priced at $26 but is made to produce nothing but heat from the power. No wasted energy on light, lol.
The water heater thermostat actually can be used for temps to 200 degrees plus. It is an issue of placement of the thermostat. Here is the explanation. The stat is not intended to be used in direct contact with the environment (or heat) it is regulating. But sets on the outside surface of the tank the hot water is in. The outside surface is not as hot as the water inside. The stat is set to regulate the temp of the water by the relative temp of the outside surface. not by a direct contact with the water. Lets say I hav the stat set to keep water in the tank at 120 degrees. If I then move the stat without changing any settings even a small distance from the tank. the temperature it keeps the water at will rise. in this case very likely by a huge degree. Air is a poor conductor of heat in comparison to metal.
In the same way I can raise the temperature of the kiln by moving the thermostat further from the heat source. I will gain a lesser among of temperature rise due to the stat being in direct contact with the heated environment. There is also an increase in temperature fluctuation as the stat gets further away.
I learned this while trying to build my first egg incubator The temperature in them must be very well controlled. You need 99.5 degrees that will remain steady for 21 days. if the temperature falls below 94 degrees or rises above 102 degrees the embryos will be lost. I had to place the stat very close to and actually above the heat source to gain a temperature that held steady at 99.5 degrees plus or minus 2 degrees for 21 days. moving the stat a foot or so away from the heat source would cause it to jump up around 120 degrees but have a huge fluctuation of 110 to 120 degrees. moving it even further would increase the temp even more as well as the fluctuation.
You could get a higher but less fluctuating temp by simply adding a plate to the back of the stat as well. Basically insulating it from direct exposure to the air. IN my case i actually used a dremel tool to cut away the black case giving more exposure to the air for the metal plate inside.
The above also illustrates the importance of exact instructions for some. A list of components will leave many with a bag of goodies they really have no idea what to do with. Instructions with photos of exactly how to construct the kiln will go a long way.