Peter Atwood on sat 16 sep 00
Hi all,
Someone recently asked me about Olympic Raku Kilns and so I sent them an
honest report of my experiences after one year of use. Here it is:
The company is lousy to deal with but the kiln itself is pretty decent. It
has performed very well for us with only minor problems. Just don't expect
Olympic to do much about addressing the problems.
One problem is the body of the kiln tends to expand a little during firing
so the cover sticks a bit when lowering back down after the first pull. If
you have multiple pulls to do you may notice this sticking which is easily
solved by pushing the lid down with a gloved hand while holding onto the
crank to keep it from crashing down too suddenly.
Another simple problem was the pulley kept binding up so we solved that by
putting in additional 50 cent washers to take up the sideways slop. Why
didn't they do that to begin with?
We stabilized the whole unit by bracing it against an overhead beam in our
kiln shed which helps a lot when frantically cranking. Also, you may want to
treat the inside with ITC as glaze drips will eat into the soft brick.
After a year of use (and yes it will fire to cone ten with fair results) we
recently fixed some hairline cracks in the cover and in the base with high
temp cement. Par for the course I guess.
These things were mostly simple problems and I think it is a fairly decent
and versatile kiln. It also is aesthetically more pleasing than others on
the market. So there you have it.
Best,
Peter Atwood
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Jean Cochran on sat 16 sep 00
Dear Clay Arters,
I wish I had the time to sit down and tell you how much I dislike and
distrust the Olympic Kiln Company and how badly they screwed me up and
how much money they cost me and what a lousy attitude they have and what
perfect liars they were to me, but that will have to wait until I'm not
snowed under. I shall never deal with them again.
Jean Wadsworth Cochran
Fox Hollow Pottery
New Haven, KY
Bill Raymond on sat 16 sep 00
I'm really sorry you've such a problem with Olympic Kilns it really sounds
out character for them. I've fired a 25 inch oval for three years now,
having gotten used and not working I need some real help to get it going.
The sevice I received over the phone was wonderful and to finally get this
kiln going they called the designer to help. Just this last week I needed a
new switch and an element. I called them on Monday I had my parts in my
hands on Thursday, I call that great sevice. Please don't judge a great
company by one bad encounter. Josie , Venice Florida, Oh by the way I
don't work for them.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jean Cochran
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: Saturday, September 16, 2000 5:49 PM
Subject: Re: Olympic Raku Kiln Report
>Dear Clay Arters,
>
>I wish I had the time to sit down and tell you how much I dislike and
>distrust the Olympic Kiln Company and how badly they screwed me up and
>how much money they cost me and what a lousy attitude they have and what
>perfect liars they were to me, but that will have to wait until I'm not
>snowed under. I shall never deal with them again.
>
>Jean Wadsworth Cochran
>Fox Hollow Pottery
>New Haven, KY
>
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