IMO, a bead door is preferable if you are annealing as you go along, because
it lets out less heat. Without the bead door, depending on the kiln you
have, opening the larger door can cause a lot of heat to escape. It really
depends on the kiln though. I haven't used either of the kilns you talked
about, so I can't help there. Good luck!

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net
"KDK" wrote in message
...
Do any of you use a kiln that does NOT have a bead door? I'm in a bit of
a
kiln quandary. I have a Paragon kiln (haven't used it) that I bought for
bead and PMC stuff. It has a controller but no bead door. Now I've
decided
I need a portable kiln for PMC if I'm going to be teaching (the Paragon
weighs 70 lbs). So - then I see the opportunity to get a brand new AIM
with
controller and bead door 500. So my quandary is - sell the paragon and
buy
the AIM and have a bead door? Or suck it up and use the paragon without
the
bead door. I plan on annealing as I go not batching.

Agh.

Kathy beadho K