Ellen Baker on fri 28 feb 97
A great kiln doesn't guarantee great pottery any more than a great oven
guarantees great baked goods -- but a great oven NEVER HURT a great chef.
And, a poor one can sure do a lot of harm!
A well-designed kiln won't hurt a good pot. It may not be necessary to do
rocket-science on your kiln plan -- but definitely do as much "due
diligence" research as you can to ensure sufficient insulation to retain
heat, enough "burner power" to deliver the BTU's you need, enough air "in"
and "out," etc. Be sure to build-in and use basic instruments
(pyrometer(s)) and gages from the start -- who could argue with knowing
"what's going on"? I think it's been key to repeatability and efficiency.
By the way, our 36 sq. ft. (stack space) kiln only burns about 30 gallons
of propane per ^10 glaze firing (the kiln's REALLY well insulated). Not
bad! Ellen Baker, Glacier, WA
P.S. My husband the (furnace) engineer has told me on many occasions that
the reason so few scientists and engineers are in the clay trade is that,
due to their well developed math skills and reasoning powers, they quickly
figure out that it's not the best place for them to make a living. That
doesn't mean they're not interested! In fact, he's very supportive and
interested because he's counting on ME to support HIM in the manner he's
accustomed...
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