David Hendley on thu 29 jul 99
At 05:47 PM 7/27/99 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>So, does anyone have any ideas for Alternative Uses for Kilns? In responding
>please let us know whether the idea has been tested .
> - Chris
Electric kilns are great for heating up roasted-in-the-shell
peanuts. Put a couple of bricks on the kiln floor and set
your biggest crock on the bricks. Fill the crock with peanuts
and turn the kiln on 'low'.
Start with the lid propped slightly open for an hour or two,
then open it and turn off the top element for safety when
people arrive.
The smell will drive people crazy and there will be a crowd
around the kiln as long as the peanuts hold out.
Try this at your cider sale/open house and you will have people
anxiously awaiting your next one.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
Ditmar/Gayle on thu 29 jul 99
Aloha Chris,
One of the best and least energy consuming applications I've seen yet is to
use the kiln as a planter. Cruising in Washington state, can't really
remember where, the impatiens were looking wonderful topping off an old
electric
24 incher.
Standard uses for old /outdated / broken kilns , would be conversation
pieces, pains-in-the-ass, and eye sores. Often used as a shelf or table if
moving it isn't on the priority list.
>From Alohaland, Ditmar.
Thonas C. Curran on thu 29 jul 99
>
> So, does anyone have any ideas for Alternative Uses for Kilns? In responding
> please let us know whether the idea has been tested .
>
> - Chris
Two for the price of one: I used to fire small raku pieces on top of
updraft gas kiln at the beginning of the firing before the temp got too
hot and broke the pots... (I normally put the top shelf about an inch
below the kiln lid - which has a square opening in it about 6" sq.) The
raku pot glaze fires to maturity, I easily take it out with tongs. Of
course that may not count for Chris' alternative kiln uses... Might
be good for marshmallows if you like toasted marshmallows a la volatile
chemicals. Bug chaser, patio warmer, nighttime illumination, lighthouse
beacon and cigar lighter come to mind, too. And in 19th c. America a
kiln firing often was an excuse for a neighborhood gathering (sort of a
barn raising type thing). As I understand it, pots of baked beans and
other slow cooking things were placed at perimeter of the kiln and
cooked during the firing cycle. I would imagine that the neighbors might
help stoke the kiln and keep the potter company during the firing.
Actually, I wonder if the flame from an updraft kiln could be harnessed
for use by a blacksmith? The practicality of this is doubtful, but
sometimes it's fun to try for a bonus from a source of energy...like my
little raku pots. Carolyn aka CNC
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