I’ve been thinking of getting my own kiln.
(I currently get things fired at the local college, but they have very erratic schedules and the public only gets access for “excess space” which means turn-around can be weeks, especially around holidays.)
I’m considering this one on eBay (at $400+ shipping)
What did you find out “the hard way”?
Was your kiln inadequate? Too expensive to run?
Were there unexpected issues with heat and exhaust of gasses?
Do you share or want to share with others in your neighborhood?
This thread is better suited for In My Humble Opinion. I’ll move it for you.
Cajun Man
for the SDMB
That kiln you pointed to has a capacity of only “.58 cu ft”
I’d say you’ll soon want more, unless you’re happy making beads and broaches.
shewriter, I hardly know where to begin. Feel free to email me privately. I bought a kiln about eight months ago, after sharing a friend’s kiln for about a year and a half, and will never go without my own ever again. I was even in the fortunate position that my friend was extremely accomodating of firing temperatures and schedules, even firing loads just for me, and I still wouldn’t go without my own.
My kiln is a small test unit, an Aim 88T, which is roughly comparable to the Olympic you’re looking it. It is considerably less expensive (and, according to posts I’ve read, much more reliable than) the Olympic, and the model is dearly beloved of the members of the ClayArt discussion group. The cheapest place to purchase one is Bailey Pottery, and I’m pleased to say that despite the low price, I’ve received absolutely top-notch service from them every time I’ve called, whether with orders or questions.
I found that a small 14 amp kiln like these costs almost nothing to run, which surprised me to no end. I was expecting a huge increas in electric bills, but despite firing mine several times a week, I’ve seen little to no increase bill.
Safety is of course the primary concern when operating a kiln, and although these little test kilns fortunately don’t strain the house electrical system like the larger models do there’s always a fire hazard involved. Bailey’s website provides an excellent chart for determining what the electrical system requirements are for the various models they sell. Do you have a dedicated 20 amp circuit (minimum) to run one? Is there adequate ventilation space, and lack of flammable materials in the vicinity of where you want to operate it? Read up about venting and the nasty fumes that even small kilns can emit.
If you don’t get a computer controller - which will cost more than a small kiln - strongly consider getting a limit timer. Mine has never kicked in on an emergency basis, but it’s reassuring to have. I personally wouldn’t go without an infinite switch, which is pretty standard on modern kilns but could be absent on older ones.
Forgot to address this point. Boils down to “how much do you trust your neighbors?” Items which are improperly dried could potentially explode in your kiln, which can be a real pain if something damages an element in the process. Items with improperly glazed bottoms can seal themselves to parts of the kiln, even with kiln wash. If you’re making food safe ware, you want to be careful that someone else doesn’t fire leaded glazes in your kiln.
Oh…a kiln. I was wondering what kind of troubel a wool garment would be.
Fanny May You’re right about the size limits. I have made a few things in classes that wouldn’t fit in that unit. Right now, though, I’m doing small figures, and if I wanted to do platters or something I could never afford a kiln that big.
But as I said, I have a backup at the college for large items.
Selkie Thanks. You’ve convinced me I have to do some more homework on kiln features before I start getting serious about shopping or bidding on anything. I think I have the heat dissipation and exhaust fan venting covered, but the timer/limiter issues were forgotten.
I guess if you run 14amps * 120 volts that’s 1.68 kwatt.
I pay 12¢/kwatt-hour, so that’s about 20¢/hour to run. Most of my stuff is cone and thin walled, so it’s economical.
I hadn’t thought about other people using lead. I’m going to have to ask at the college what they do about that now, but they seem pretty safety oriented on glazes they use themselves.
My late dad always had things explode in the kiln. He’d spend weeks on a lifesize bust but then rush to fire it. I never could get him to spend the time to dry things out at low settings. Seems like all his favorite pieces were patched with Fix-All and then painted with wet-look enamel to look glazed.
But the hobby kept him busy when he was unable to walk any more.
How much of an issue using a kiln for food-safe ware that has previously had lead-containing glazes fired in it seems to be hotly debated. On the whole, it seems the Europeans don’t worry about it, and the Americans do. Many modern earthenware (^06-^05) glazes do contain at least some lead to facilitate glaze movement at those (comparatively) low temperatures. They’re nothing like the old 60% leaded glazes that were popular in the 50’s and 60’s, but how much of a danger they really do present is a matter for people far more versed in the subject than I am. The short version is that it’s one consideration if you’re firing other people’s things. Even putting aside the safety issues, you can sometimes get some, um, “interesting” results if one set of glazes releases materials into the kiln atmosphere that affect other glazes. Sometimes those results are pretty, sometimes … well …
Thought of one other component you might want to consider: a pyrometer. I wish I had one, although it’s not essential. You’ll learn pretty quickly by the color of the kiln during firing how hot it is (a good cone chart will tell you what color corresponds to what temperature), but having an accurate measurement can’t hurt.
Don’t forget good gloves and safety goggles. I absolutely guarantee you’ll open the kiln too early at least once. Probably only once, which is all that’s needed to remind one’s self that although the kiln looks like a toaster oven, it gets a whole lot hotter.
Oh, thought of one more thing. If you’re planning on firing at or above ^8 (not ^08), have a chat with the manufacturer about how high the cone sitter can handle on a regular basis. I got quite a surprise when I read the owner’s manual for my “rated to ^10” kiln, and discovered that the Dawson kiln sitter (which is the standard American kiln sitter) manual suggested not firing above ^8 because doing so will significantly reduce kiln sitter life expectancy.
I realize I’m making all this sound much more involved than it needs to be. Kilns are remarkably simple devices, and problems are almost always the result of human error. I recommend spending some time in the ClayArt archives and digging around for further information.
My sister and I have (let’s see now) five kilns between us, but we mostly use two (a “big” one, and a smallish sized “test” kiln). The big one is Cress and I think the small one is too. There’s also a Paragon test kiln and some other off-brand one that doesn’t work very well. We like Cress.
We use a kiln vent (kiln ventilator) here in Hooterville, because it’s not possible to have the kilns outside in the cold weather. (It gets cold here in Hooterville.) Proper ventilation is very important. If you can do so, place the kiln outside or in a shed or protected area. If you leave it inside you should have it right by an open window (even in the winter) or get a kiln vent. Your local clay supplier will probably be able to give you more information about that. (My sister used to fire the small test kiln inside without proper ventilation and she started to get really sick. She thought that she’d had enough ventilation, but she didn’t.)
One of my kilns (the one that doesn’t work really well) is very primitive: it only has three temperatures: low, medium and high. Three settings. That’s it. It has a kiln sitter too, but no timer. (It was also pretty cheap.) The neat thing was, it always fired my pottery perfectly well. I fired lowfire and mid-range stoneware in it and all my glazes turned out great. I just took my time firing and had a witness cone (so I could make sure that it reached the proper temperature) and it was fine. So I guess I’m trying to say that you don’t need the latest and greatest kiln in order to have successful firing.
Most commercial glazes in the US are well-marked and will tell you if they are lead free and/or food safe. Not all lead-free glazes are food safe. (Some may be not suitable because they crackle or craze.) Also, it’s important to bisque fire your pots higher than you glaze them (for earthenware only). I usually fire at Cone 04-03 and glaze fire at Cone 05. I’m very fond of Cone 05. My favorite glazes are from Duncan and also Laguna has some killer glazes (both stoneware and earthenware) for great prices. Also their underglaze prices are fabulous for how much underglaze you get. (They are a lot like Duncan’s CoverCoat.) I do a lot of surface decoration on my pottery so this is a big deal for me.
I can’t imagine going back to having someone else fire my pots. I haven’t fired anything recently (I’ve been side-tracked) but the feeling of control and freedom can’t be beat. I can control the firing and soak (let the kiln stay at a certain temperature for a few minutes before cooling down) it or do whatever I think I need to do to get the glazes looking their best. Trying to ask someone else to do this for you is frustrating, because either they’ll forget to do it or won’t do it right. (Or just flat-out won’t do it at all!) And don’t get me started on the people who won’t use witness cones in the kilns and rely on the sitter alone. Sometimes the elements get tired or the sitter isn’t set right and then you end up with underfiring it or whatever. I always like to use a witness cone so I know for SURE what temperature the load fired at. This is most important when firing low fire works that need to be fired above a certain temperature in order to be considered “food safe.”