First fire

The first fire is the moment when a furnace or another heating device (usually for industrial use such as metallurgy or ceramics) is first lit after its construction. The refractory of the furnace walls should be as dry as possible and the first fire should be done slowly with a small flame as the refractory of the still unfired furnace has a minimal amount of moisture. Gradually or during subsequent firings, the flame or heat source (e.g. Kanthal heating elements) can be turned up higher.

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After first fire some adjustments should be done usually to fine-tune the furnace.

Despite this, a first fire is always a moment of great excitement for the people who designed and built the furnace.