Edy Lynn on sat 30 aug 03
I just paid off a Vulcan kiln (30 amp, 2300 degrees, manual) I bought =
from a new friend who is actually a mural artist and had a wild idea she =
wanted to do pottery so she bought this kiln and got scared. I offered =
her payments (I'm so poor) and she accepted.
I got it for $200 with about 20 molds, a box of slip and other various =
stuff I don't know what to do with yet. I feel the spirit of my great =
Aunt Hazel calling to me from the Great beyond. She had a basement full =
of greenware and a kiln and she did soem pretty incredable stuff I hope =
I learn to be half as good.
Anyway, I appreciate the info on the wiring, insurance and other useful =
topics since i know nothing! I would love to see somehings about =
venting. Is there a cheap way beside just opening windows and doors =
(doesn't seem practical in the Winter) ?
I don't want asphixiate my family.
Thanks!
Edy Lynn
Dayton, Ohio.
Snail Scott on sun 31 aug 03
At 10:07 PM 8/30/03 -0400, you wrote:
>I would love to see somehings about venting. Is there a cheap way beside
just opening windows and doors (doesn't seem practical in the Winter) ?
The easiest way: keep the kiln in an outdoor shed,
separate from the house. It will be more prone to
rusting in your climate, but a little scrap-lumber
lean-to on the leeward side of your house will be
the cheapest way to keep fumes out of your living
quarters. (I did this, 'parting out' a scrapped
mobile home for structure and siding - mostly non-
flammable, and almost free!)
Another cheap alternative is to put box fans in the
windows - one blowing out, and if you can manage
cross-ventilation, another blowing in the other
side. Just seal that room off from the rest of the
house to save the heat. It'll get cold, but maybe
where you are, the savings of not letting the room
get really cold then heating it up again afterward
will pay for a real kiln vent in a season or two.
(You know your heating costs best.)
Unless you have a proper kiln vent, though, I
wouldn't work in the same room while the kiln is
firing, nor for several hours afterward while the
fumes clear out.
Have you checked the archives on venting? There
is a lot of information there; more than you
will probably get from just your single question.
I mention the archives not to brush off this (or
any) question, but because with a little time spent
searching you can get many answers to many similar
questions, from people who may not even be reading
the list at present.
Someone remarked earlier that their chimney-cover
question had gone unanswered. This happens - it's a
volunteer list. Questions for which the answers are
known by many (e.g. Wal-Mart) stand a better chance
of getting answered than those on more specialized
topics. If only a half-dozen folks have good
answers for a given question, and only half of them
read the question, and two of them are too busy to
answer and the other's ISP is down, it won't get
answered. It's not that nobody cares, or that the
group-mind of this list cares more about Wal-Mart
than kilns. It's just a matter of percentages.
The archives let anyone draw on the knowledge of
all the people who ever answered a similar question,
not just those who are available and willing today.
It's not easy, sometimes, to find the info you're
looking for, but there's bound to be something that
you'd never learn from the immediate responses.
-Snail
Pamela Watkins on sun 31 aug 03
I feel compelled to reply here.... Proper ventilation is a must. But a fan in the window with a proper return of clean air can cleanse. A $$$$ system is obviously the best,,, but we all don't have the $$$$$. Ventilate and work!!! Hopefully between you and the Great Aunt Hazel you'll be impressing your painter friend with your awesome pottery and a new vent system!! : ) I suggest reading up on saftey stats for the studio found in ClayArt Archives.
JaQ
Edy Lynn wrote:
I just paid off a Vulcan kiln (30 amp, 2300 degrees, manual) I bought from a new friend who is actually a mural artist and had a wild idea she wanted to do pottery so she bought this kiln and got scared. I offered her payments (I'm so poor) and she accepted.
I got it for $200 with about 20 molds, a box of slip and other various stuff I don't know what to do with yet. I feel the spirit of my great Aunt Hazel calling to me from the Great beyond. She had a basement full of greenware and a kiln and she did soem pretty incredable stuff I hope I learn to be half as good.
Anyway, I appreciate the info on the wiring, insurance and other useful topics since i know nothing! I would love to see somehings about venting. Is there a cheap way beside just opening windows and doors (doesn't seem practical in the Winter) ?
I don't want asphixiate my family.
Thanks!
Edy Lynn
Dayton, Ohio.
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Gina Dewar on mon 1 sep 03
On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 22:07:51 -0400, Edy Lynn wrote:
>I just paid off a Vulcan kiln (30 amp, 2300 degrees, manual) I bought
from a new friend who is actually a mural artist and had a wild idea she
wanted to do pottery so she bought this kiln and got scared. I offered her
payments (I'm so poor) and she accepted.
>I got it for $200 with about 20 molds, a box of slip and other various
stuff I don't know what to do with yet. I feel the spirit of my great Aunt
Hazel calling to me from the Great beyond. She had a basement full of
greenware and a kiln and she did soem pretty incredable stuff I hope I
learn to be half as good.
>Anyway, I appreciate the info on the wiring, insurance and other useful
topics since i know nothing! I would love to see somehings about venting.
Is there a cheap way beside just opening windows and doors (doesn't seem
practical in the Winter) ?
>I don't want asphixiate my family.
>Thanks!
>Edy Lynn
>Dayton, Ohio.
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
____
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
First: wiring ..... I have had a kiln in three different homes and always
call a professional electrician to come out and add the necessary 220
outlets. You've mentioned cost is a big factor ...it can be expensive, so
perhaps you can barter with a friend for an exchange of some sort here.
Second - insurance - phone the company with whom you have your home
insurance with and ask about coverage with your kiln. I found that I am
covered to have a kiln with my regular home owners insurance, but that I
would not be covered if I have sales in my home. This seems to differ with
each insurance company. Third - venting - I use an environvent - the kiln
sits on it and the fan pulls air through the kiln and out through dryer
venting to the outside. I cut a hole in the wall or door nearby and insert
the vent. Installation and use is a snap but the environment is an
investment. So if cost is prohibitive, I would suggest putting your kiln
in a place where you can close the doors to it, open windows where it is,
and don't work there until after firing. Eg, garage or carport works
well. Remember health and safety is so important so invest in it if you
can. Good luck and have fun!
Gina in south Florida
Dave Finkelnburg on mon 1 sep 03
Dear Edy Lyn,
Congratulations on getting your kiln!
You imply this will be installed inside your house. IF that is the
case, then proper venting is a requirement, for the health of you and those
you love. You wouldn't drive a car if you couldn't afford one with brakes,
would you? Venting a kiln properly is like having good brakes on your car.
Sure, you can avoid using chrome and copper and lead and other heavy
metals that can vaporize from a firing. You can't avoid the carbon
compounds and sulfur compounds that come out of the clay. Just the sulfuric
acid that forms in your lungs from breathing the sulfur oxides from the
firing (that cough, raw throat, at fumes from an unvented bisque firing is
mostly sulfur oxides reacting with the moisture in your throat and lungs) is
reason enough to get good venting.
No, there isn't a huge amount of any of these materials. There is
always some, though, so vent properly.
OK, so you asked how to vent affordably. As has been mentioned,
installing the kiln outdoors is the best way. I have a kiln shed that is
nothing more than a roof with two sides. The sides face the prevailing
wind. One open side is about four feet from another building, so there's
more weather protection. This gives great ventilation, and weather
protection.
Indoors, a good kiln vent, like a Bailey vent, is the best way to go.
These do cost money, but you capture virtually all the fumes from the kiln
because you pull fumes out of the inside of the kiln, so the kiln leaks air
in, not fumes out. The vent then discharges outdoors, like most electric
clothes dryers.
An alternative is, as you mention, opening windows and doors. With that
kind of venting, to do things right you really need enough fan power to
change all the air in the room at least 6 or 7 times an hour. You will need
to calculate the volume of the room to figure what capacity fan you need to
do that. Even with good venting, I would avoid chrome or manganese in your
glazes if you fire indoors. You don't want those materials in your house in
any amount. Look at commercial glazes carefully. Many do use those two
heavy metals as colorants.
I don't intend this to be too negative for you. You just need to take
care with your health and your family's health. You want to be making pots
for a long, long, long time!
Good potting!
Dave Finkelnburg, off to observe Labor Day in Idaho
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edy Lynn"
I just paid off a Vulcan kiln....I would love to see somehings about
venting. Is there a cheap way beside just opening windows and doors
(doesn't seem practical in the Winter) ?
I don't want asphixiate my family.
piedpotterhamelin@COMCAST.NET on mon 1 sep 03
I purchased and hung several translucent vinyl shower curtains about two feet
around the kilns to isolate and with the window fan, remove the fumes from the
kiln area in my old studio. They cost me a buck a piece. The sunlight still
came through from the window and you could see the indicator lights on the
kilns.
Rick
> I feel compelled to reply here.... Proper ventilation is a must. But a fan in
> the window with a proper return of clean air can cleanse. A $$$$ system is
> obviously the best,,, but we all don't have the $$$$$. Ventilate and work!!!
> Hopefully between you and the Great Aunt Hazel you'll be impressing your painter
> friend with your awesome pottery and a new vent system!! : ) I suggest reading
> up on saftey stats for the studio found in ClayArt Archives.
> JaQ
>
> Edy Lynn wrote:
> I just paid off a Vulcan kiln (30 amp, 2300 degrees, manual) I bought from a new
> friend who is actually a mural artist and had a wild idea she wanted to do
> pottery so she bought this kiln and got scared. I offered her payments (I'm so
> poor) and she accepted.
> I got it for $200 with about 20 molds, a box of slip and other various stuff I
> don't know what to do with yet. I feel the spirit of my great Aunt Hazel calling
> to me from the Great beyond. She had a basement full of greenware and a kiln and
> she did soem pretty incredable stuff I hope I learn to be half as good.
> Anyway, I appreciate the info on the wiring, insurance and other useful topics
> since i know nothing! I would love to see somehings about venting. Is there a
> cheap way beside just opening windows and doors (doesn't seem practical in the
> Winter) ?
> I don't want asphixiate my family.
> Thanks!
> Edy Lynn
> Dayton, Ohio.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
> ---------------------------------
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>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
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