Peter Atwood on sun 18 jul 99
Dear Douglas,
My advice is to skip the Olympic 12 and find someone else. We just purchased
an Olympic downdraft 9 and have had many problems.
Our coop purchased 4 kilns total from them this spring- the downdraft 9, two
raku kilns and an updraft gas. The total order was for about $5,000 and each
and every kiln had something screwed up with it. The updraft was probably
the least problematic; in that case the peeps had not been drilled quite big
enough even though they were ordered at a specific size.
The downdraft was a different matter. Olympic is so cheap that they had jury
rigged the solenoid on the safety system and we are still waiting (it's been
three weeks now) for them to send the replacement. The damper arrangement is
a total piece of shit and will have to be rebuilt. The peeps are the size of
a quarter and are practically useless- they will have to be bored out to
silver dollar size. There was absolutely no instruction book sent with the
kiln and the first and only time we tried firing it we found that the kiln
would not fire slower than 600 degrees an hour climbing rate. Hence we
cracked some of the bisque ware that was in that firing. If you fired slower
then the burners were so inefficient that they were billowing out carbon at
an unbelievable rate and coating the entire bottom of the kiln. Candling is
not an option. Also they forgot to install the pyrometer (for which we had
paid) and charged extra shipping. The kiln is inoperable without the safety
equipment that the state of MA insists we have (damper cutoff switch) so we
are left high and dry until Olympic sends us the new part.
The raku kilns work well but they are also a little on the substandard side.
I don't think these Olympic guys could engineer a hole in the ground. A
simple thing like pulleys for the lid should have holes that are drilled
straight and bearings or at least spacers to keep them from racking. They
also forgot to send the shelves that had been ordered for one of the kilns.
Four weeks and several phone calls later they finally shipped them.
There are many simple 50 cent touches that would have made a difference that
these guys wimped out on. We're pissed.
Very little response from Olympic. At first they were accomodating but now
they are sick of us and when we call never seem to know what is going on.
First you get Bob then Rob. Neither seems to know what the other is doing
and they're never there at the same time. So there you go. Would you buy a
kiln from these guys?
Peter Atwood
Mudpie Potters Coop
Leverett MA
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
Jonathan Kaplan on mon 19 jul 99
Well, I have an entirely different take on Olympic.
We purchased a 30 cu. ft. electric front loading kiln for our shop after
researching the market. The kiln arrived on time, and is a great asset to
us.
The brickwork is first rate, the electronics and elements first quality.
The frame, built like a tank. My only criticism is that the fiber seal
could have been better engineer.
I have always been treated with respect and professionalism by Rob Haugen
at Olympic.
Jonathan
Jonathan Kaplan, president
Ceramic Design Group LTD/Production Services
PO Box 775112
Steamboat Springs CO 80477
plant location
1280 13th Street Unit 13
Steamboat Springs CO 80487
(970) 879-9139 voice and fax
jonathan@csn.net
http://www.sni.net/ceramicdesign/
WHew536674@cs.com on mon 19 jul 99
You are not alone out there, very little compensation I realize, I too had
the Olympic night mare. Started up a Ceramics course at S. TX. Comm College
almost a year ago. Ordered an electric kiln with built in controller. They
shipped a kiln wired for 208 (which is supposed to be special order because
so few use 208) and then Rob and Bob told me ways to remidy the situation.
Three call's later and three visits from a contracted electrition, and their
sure fixes never worked. Then the distributor kept trying to tell me to
rewire it. Ya, Sure !! By the way, aside from being wired for 208, it did
not have the controller in it, so had to order a wall controller which added
$500 to the cost. All this went on for almost the entire semester until
they finally sent the right one. By then the semester was almost over and
the students didn't get a chance to glaze their stuff, and walked out with
only bisque fired pots. So they were cheated.
Joyce A
Mission, TX
p.s. Been wondering if there are any potters in the area south of San
Antonio to The Valley, and West to Corpus out there in Clayart ? I won't
hold my breath.
Jean Cochran on mon 19 jul 99
Dear Peter:
I bought an Olympic (10 cu. ft. + extension ring, making it appx. 12 cu.
ft.)kiln 20+ years ago. It was an updraft with six smaller burners around the
bottom of the kiln, rated for cone 10. It was a good little kiln, firing a
little bottom cold, but quite do-able. Bought all the kiln furniture from them,
great, good job, still using it.
Several years ago, I bought another kiln from them, ASKING FOR THE SAME KILN I
HAD BEFORE AND THE SAME SHELVING & SHELF SUPPORTS. What a nightmare. The kiln
has four larger burners, instead of the original six smaller ones, looks the
same to me otherwise. No instruction booklet, no plate for the kiln saying
manufacturer, firing range. FOR YEARS, I tried to get them to help me, phone
call after phone call. The instruction books were being re-written, the books
were going to press, whatever- I NEVER got an instruction book for this new
kiln. They sold me shelf supports that were inadequate, almost $300. of them.
I fired the kiln, the 10 would go down in the middle and the bottom wouldn't get
the 5 down; during one firing the shelf supports on the top and middle
disintegrated and the shelves and pots collapsed. I have photographs of the
damage done. More phone calls. By the way, the shelves were Thorly shelves so
would have been alright if they hadn't cracked in the middle from the undue
stress, this is to the tune of about $50. a half shelf times six. Now, I'm down
about $600 just for shelving, never mind how much glaze ware I lost in the
firing.
More phone calls; instructions from them to pack some of the defective shelf
supports and send to them, I did so, with the cones, junior cones 10 down.
Another phone call (I'm making the calls, they aren't). They said they sent the
supports to their supplier, and their supplier said I was firing to cone 12 and
overfiring the cones. They had changed shelf support manufacturers and knew
that the supports fired lower than the ones they used to carry, but did not pass
this information on to me. These barely can stand cone 10, and if you can't get
the bottom of a kiln to get past cone 5, you have to push the top to 11.
Now, I'm a little smarter. I would never buy a kiln or even a brick from
Olympic again. Anytime one buys a piece of expensive equipment like this I
believe it is better to buy from a supplier, rather than from the manufacturer.
Your supplier counts on your business and good will and should try to back you
up. An uncaring company, such as Olympic appears to me to be, just throws you
away like so many small potatoes.
Anyway, I HAVE learned to fire this kiln, had to buy new kiln furniture. If you
want to talk about the firing, I can do so in another missle. Sorry to be so
long, I've waited a long time to get this off my chest.
Jean Cochran
Fox Hollow Pottery
In the woods of Kentucky
Peter Atwood wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Dear Douglas,
>
> My advice is to skip the Olympic 12 and find someone else. We just purchased
> an Olympic downdraft 9 and have had many problems.
>
> Our coop purchased 4 kilns total from them this spring- the downdraft 9, two
> raku kilns and an updraft gas. The total order was for about $5,000 and each
> and every kiln had something screwed up with it. The updraft was probably
> the least problematic; in that case the peeps had not been drilled quite big
> enough even though they were ordered at a specific size.
>
> The downdraft was a different matter. Olympic is so cheap that they had jury
> rigged the solenoid on the safety system and we are still waiting (it's been
> three weeks now) for them to send the replacement. The damper arrangement is
> a total piece of shit and will have to be rebuilt. The peeps are the size of
> a quarter and are practically useless- they will have to be bored out to
> silver dollar size. There was absolutely no instruction book sent with the
> kiln and the first and only time we tried firing it we found that the kiln
> would not fire slower than 600 degrees an hour climbing rate. Hence we
> cracked some of the bisque ware that was in that firing. If you fired slower
> then the burners were so inefficient that they were billowing out carbon at
> an unbelievable rate and coating the entire bottom of the kiln. Candling is
> not an option. Also they forgot to install the pyrometer (for which we had
> paid) and charged extra shipping. The kiln is inoperable without the safety
> equipment that the state of MA insists we have (damper cutoff switch) so we
> are left high and dry until Olympic sends us the new part.
>
> The raku kilns work well but they are also a little on the substandard side.
> I don't think these Olympic guys could engineer a hole in the ground. A
> simple thing like pulleys for the lid should have holes that are drilled
> straight and bearings or at least spacers to keep them from racking. They
> also forgot to send the shelves that had been ordered for one of the kilns.
> Four weeks and several phone calls later they finally shipped them.
>
> There are many simple 50 cent touches that would have made a difference that
> these guys wimped out on. We're pissed.
>
> Very little response from Olympic. At first they were accomodating but now
> they are sick of us and when we call never seem to know what is going on.
> First you get Bob then Rob. Neither seems to know what the other is doing
> and they're never there at the same time. So there you go. Would you buy a
> kiln from these guys?
>
> Peter Atwood
>
> Mudpie Potters Coop
> Leverett MA
>
> _______________________________________________________________
> Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
Anthony Allison on tue 20 jul 99
The olympic kiln is a great little kiln that fire evenly top to bottom to
cone 10 quickly and with lovely results. It takes some thoughtful stacking
to make it work. A digital pyrometer is a must too. If you need help with
this kiln contact me, i have it nailed
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Jean Cochran
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Monday, July 19, 1999 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: Olympic Kiln Nightmare
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Dear Peter:
>
>I bought an Olympic (10 cu. ft. + extension ring, making it appx. 12 cu.
>ft.)kiln 20+ years ago. It was an updraft with six smaller burners around
the
>bottom of the kiln, rated for cone 10. It was a good little kiln, firing a
>little bottom cold, but quite do-able. Bought all the kiln furniture from
them,
>great, good job, still using it.
>
>Several years ago, I bought another kiln from them, ASKING FOR THE SAME
KILN I
>HAD BEFORE AND THE SAME SHELVING & SHELF SUPPORTS. What a nightmare. The
kiln
>has four larger burners, instead of the original six smaller ones, looks
the
>same to me otherwise. No instruction booklet, no plate for the kiln saying
>manufacturer, firing range. FOR YEARS, I tried to get them to help me,
phone
>call after phone call. The instruction books were being re-written, the
books
>were going to press, whatever- I NEVER got an instruction book for this new
>kiln. They sold me shelf supports that were inadequate, almost $300. of
them.
>I fired the kiln, the 10 would go down in the middle and the bottom
wouldn't get
>the 5 down; during one firing the shelf supports on the top and middle
>disintegrated and the shelves and pots collapsed. I have photographs of
the
>damage done. More phone calls. By the way, the shelves were Thorly
shelves so
>would have been alright if they hadn't cracked in the middle from the undue
>stress, this is to the tune of about $50. a half shelf times six. Now, I'm
down
>about $600 just for shelving, never mind how much glaze ware I lost in the
>firing.
>
>More phone calls; instructions from them to pack some of the defective
shelf
>supports and send to them, I did so, with the cones, junior cones 10 down.
>Another phone call (I'm making the calls, they aren't). They said they
sent the
>supports to their supplier, and their supplier said I was firing to cone 12
and
>overfiring the cones. They had changed shelf support manufacturers and
knew
>that the supports fired lower than the ones they used to carry, but did not
pass
>this information on to me. These barely can stand cone 10, and if you
can't get
>the bottom of a kiln to get past cone 5, you have to push the top to 11.
>
>Now, I'm a little smarter. I would never buy a kiln or even a brick from
>Olympic again. Anytime one buys a piece of expensive equipment like this I
>believe it is better to buy from a supplier, rather than from the
manufacturer.
>Your supplier counts on your business and good will and should try to back
you
>up. An uncaring company, such as Olympic appears to me to be, just throws
you
>away like so many small potatoes.
>
>Anyway, I HAVE learned to fire this kiln, had to buy new kiln furniture.
If you
>want to talk about the firing, I can do so in another missle. Sorry to be
so
>long, I've waited a long time to get this off my chest.
>
>Jean Cochran
>Fox Hollow Pottery
>In the woods of Kentucky
>
>Peter Atwood wrote:
>
>> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>> Dear Douglas,
>>
>> My advice is to skip the Olympic 12 and find someone else. We just
purchased
>> an Olympic downdraft 9 and have had many problems.
>>
>> Our coop purchased 4 kilns total from them this spring- the downdraft 9,
two
>> raku kilns and an updraft gas. The total order was for about $5,000 and
each
>> and every kiln had something screwed up with it. The updraft was probably
>> the least problematic; in that case the peeps had not been drilled quite
big
>> enough even though they were ordered at a specific size.
>>
>> The downdraft was a different matter. Olympic is so cheap that they had
jury
>> rigged the solenoid on the safety system and we are still waiting (it's
been
>> three weeks now) for them to send the replacement. The damper arrangement
is
>> a total piece of shit and will have to be rebuilt. The peeps are the size
of
>> a quarter and are practically useless- they will have to be bored out to
>> silver dollar size. There was absolutely no instruction book sent with
the
>> kiln and the first and only time we tried firing it we found that the
kiln
>> would not fire slower than 600 degrees an hour climbing rate. Hence we
>> cracked some of the bisque ware that was in that firing. If you fired
slower
>> then the burners were so inefficient that they were billowing out carbon
at
>> an unbelievable rate and coating the entire bottom of the kiln. Candling
is
>> not an option. Also they forgot to install the pyrometer (for which we
had
>> paid) and charged extra shipping. The kiln is inoperable without the
safety
>> equipment that the state of MA insists we have (damper cutoff switch) so
we
>> are left high and dry until Olympic sends us the new part.
>>
>> The raku kilns work well but they are also a little on the substandard
side.
>> I don't think these Olympic guys could engineer a hole in the ground. A
>> simple thing like pulleys for the lid should have holes that are drilled
>> straight and bearings or at least spacers to keep them from racking. They
>> also forgot to send the shelves that had been ordered for one of the
kilns.
>> Four weeks and several phone calls later they finally shipped them.
>>
>> There are many simple 50 cent touches that would have made a difference
that
>> these guys wimped out on. We're pissed.
>>
>> Very little response from Olympic. At first they were accomodating but
now
>> they are sick of us and when we call never seem to know what is going on.
>> First you get Bob then Rob. Neither seems to know what the other is doing
>> and they're never there at the same time. So there you go. Would you buy
a
>> kiln from these guys?
>>
>> Peter Atwood
>>
>> Mudpie Potters Coop
>> Leverett MA
>>
>> _______________________________________________________________
>> Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
>
claypots on wed 21 jul 99
------------------
I'm thinking of buying an Olympic updraft, but since I've read all of the
postings I'm starting to have second thoughts, especially since it took over=
6
weeks and several phone calls for them to even get a catalog in the mail to =
me.
Makes me question their service. Are there any other companies out there =
that
make a similar portable gas updraft kiln? I would love to build my own
downdraft, but have been moving quite a bit lately and I don't think we are
through yet. So I need something portable. Tony--If you could e-mail me
personally with info on the Olympic kiln, I would appreciate it.
Debra
claypots=40lynchburg.net
Susan Goldstein on thu 22 jul 99
In a message dated 7/18/99 1:43:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
fountainman@hotmail.com writes:
<<
Very little response from Olympic. At first they were accomodating but now
they are sick of us and when we call never seem to know what is going on.
First you get Bob then Rob. Neither seems to know what the other is doing
and they're never there at the same time. So there you go. Would you buy a
kiln from these guys?
>>
I have never found them to be accomodating. They were rude to me from the
very start.
Susan
Anthony Allison on sat 24 jul 99
Hi debra,
The olympic gas kiln- updraft is a great kiln in my opinion. It is simple,
well made, and delivers really nice results. I use it for cone 10 reduction.
The trick is to place the first shelf about 2-1/2 inches off the floor
(split round shelf) with a one inch gap in the middle- forces the flame
inward under that shelf. Then above that shelf stack 1/2 the way up using 18
x 18 square shelves ( gives combustion room). Midway, another round shelf
split with the one inch gap, and above that more square shelves. At the top,
another round shelf split with no gap about three inches from the top of the
kiln. To fire, slide open your top damper shelf all the way up to 1650
degrees F. At that point close down the damper about halfway. you need to
use a digital pyrometer to shut enough that the temp is climbing but not so
much you are stalling the kiln. Fire in this manner up to cone 10. I usually
reduce again at 1850 degrees F, crash cooling to that point. You will find
with this arrangement that when you open the damper more, the top temp rises
faster than the bottom. Closing the damper to the right point makes the
bottom climb faster. I know there are a lot of negative opinions on this
kiln, but i really find it very easy and fast to fire and i really get nice
reduction with it.
Give it a try, i dont think you will be dissapointed.
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: claypots
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 1999 10:22 AM
Subject: Re: Olympic Kiln Nightmare
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>------------------
>I'm thinking of buying an Olympic updraft, but since I've read all of the
>postings I'm starting to have second thoughts, especially since it took
over 6
>weeks and several phone calls for them to even get a catalog in the mail to
me.
>Makes me question their service. Are there any other companies out there
that
>make a similar portable gas updraft kiln? I would love to build my own
>downdraft, but have been moving quite a bit lately and I don't think we are
>through yet. So I need something portable. Tony--If you could e-mail me
>personally with info on the Olympic kiln, I would appreciate it.
>Debra
>claypots@lynchburg.net
>
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