Dan Saultman on tue 12 aug 97
Hi Toni,
Some years back I had a pottery shop where I sold in the front and
lived and worked in the back. My bedroom wall didn't go up to the
ceiling and on the other side of the wall was my big electric kiln.
After being run out of my bedroom by sulphorous fumes; I hired my
local sheetmetal shop to make me a hood. It looked like a like a big
upside-down funnel and was made out of galvanized sheet metal. I
suspended it from the ceiling with cables hooked to large eyebolts
that were bolted into both sides of the "chimney". That way it
balanced nicely. I hooked the ceiling cables to a sliding trolley
track that was once used for a sliding closet door. That allowed for
the hood to slide out of the way to lift the lid. I used the metal
accordion clothes dryer piping and made it long enough to travel when
sliding back and forth. I then bought a squirrel cage blower. Mounted
it to a window replacing the glass with particle board with a hole and
a screen (to keep out birds and big bugs) and viola it was done. It
worked great. I kept it about 3 to 4 inches above the lid when I was
firing. I never noticed any skorching or noticable heat loss but I did
notice some corrosion had occured...not much. The Squirrel cage blower
was $40. The sheet metal work cost $100. Misc hardware $35. I've used
it for five years now and it's still fine. When I bought a larger kiln
I had an additional 4" flared skirt added at the bottom...no problems.
The hum of the blower helped me sleep at night too.:)
Hope this helps.
Dan Saultman...Rainey, dark and cloudy Colorado.
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Toni Hall wrote:
I have a question about kiln vents. I have built a small studio,
> and had planned to put my Skutt 1027 and small old Paragon in one corner.
> I know not to be in the studio when the kilns are firing, but now I am
> worried about venting the gases and heat even after the firing. At first I
> thought of building an addition onto the side of my studio, and placing the
> kilns there, but it would add more to the expense than I care to do. So
> now I am considering a kiln vent, but when looking through the various
> source books, I see there are over-the-kiln vents (like over a stove) and
> downdraft vents (that look simplistic like a dryer vent). All of these
> pretty much run about $400.00, which is still more than I would like to
> spend.
> My questions are these:
> 1. Do these contraptions draw of toxic fumes and heat?
> 2. Does anyone know of simple/inexpensive way to design one of these vents?
> Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. TIA
> Toni in New Mexico
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