Julia on fri 11 feb 05
I=92m starting my first studio and want to know if I should go for a 16 or 2=
4
cubic foot kiln. I believe I will only be filling a 16 cubic foot area. Will=
the kiln still get proper reduction if only 2/3 filled? Do you think it=92s
important to go a bit bigger for the =93in case=94 I grow into it? Thanks! J=
ulia
Hank Murrow on sat 12 feb 05
On Feb 11, 2005, at 10:16 AM, Julia wrote:
> I'm starting my first studio and want to know if I should go for a 16=20=
> or 24
> cubic foot kiln. I believe I will only be filling a 16 cubic foot=20
> area. Will
> the kiln still get proper reduction if only 2/3 filled? Do you think=20=
> it's
> important to go a bit bigger=93in case=94 I grow into it?
Dear Julia;
Most potters go for a kiln that is a tad too big for them, and they=20
wind up waiting too long for feedback, their testing suffers, and they=20=
get too cautious not wanting to 'waste' so many pots on a hunch. I=20
would go for the smaller kiln and if I found I needed one larger=20
later......build another to suit. Then one would have two kilns!
And importantly, does the 16 footer fire beautifully?
Cheers, Hank
www.murrow.biz/hank
Michael Wendt on sat 12 feb 05
Julia,
A lot depends on what your plans are. If you intend to do high volume runs
and fire every week or two, a larger kiln is a great idea.
If you plan to do orders and need quick response times, smaller kilns offer
huge benefits in this area.
In general, the flexibility a small kiln gives you is surprising.
I run two Olympic style gas updrafts, one 9 cu ft and one 12 cu ft.
On Wednesday, a lady ordered 4 soup mugs, a $60 order. We glazed them and
ran them Thursday. She picked them up Friday. Try that with a larger kiln.
Add to this, the cost of a smaller kiln and its furniture is less and the
utilization level ( how frequently it is fired) is higher so you get more
loads to practice and learn to fire well. The flow of work through the
studio is faster because we don't need to glaze and accumulate 24 cubic feet
of work in order to run a load.
I say, get the smallest kiln you think you can live with. I doubt you will
ever be sorry.
Regards,
Michael Wendt
Wendt Pottery
2729 Clearwater Ave
Lewiston, Idaho 83501
USA
wendtpot@lewiston.com
www.wendtpottery.com
Julia wrote:
I'm starting my first studio and want to know if I should go for a 16 or 24
cubic foot kiln. I believe I will only be filling a 16 cubic foot area. Will
the kiln still get proper reduction if only 2/3 filled? Do you think it's
important to go a bit bigger for the "in case" I grow into it? Thanks! Julia
Craig Clark on sun 13 feb 05
Julia, you can always wait until you have enough work to fill the
larger kiln. Go for the 24 cubic foot version. THe extra size will also
allow you to fire larger pieces if and when you so desire.
Hope this helps
Craig Dunn Clark
619 East 11 1/2 st
Houston, Texas 77008
(713)861-2083
mudman@hal-pc.org
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