Susan Park on sat 12 mar 05
A sad event, a death in the family, has provided a happy circumstance:
money to purchase a kiln. Not really sure where to start. Here are the
parameters and questions:
1) I am a renter
2) There may be a 220 (240? - memory of a goldfish) in the
basement
3) The basement is concrete but sits beneath a little wooden house
4) Wood love to try some larger work eventually, but now do
smaller work
5) Don't even know what else to ask or consider
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Susan near Seattle
Steve Irvine on sat 12 mar 05
Hi Susan,
There are some basic things to look for when buying an electric kiln.
One is that it should be made of stainless steel on the outside, with stainless steel fasteners.
Ideally, made of type 304 stainless, which is very corrosion resistant.
Insulation in the floor and lid are a plus, and the bricks themselves should be high fire 2600
degree brick, although 2300 brick will do if you are firing in the lower temperature ranges.
Elements with a diameter of 1/2" or more will have a longer life than the little 1/4" ones. They
should also be single-wrap, i.e. just goes aroung the kiln body once. These are easier to replace.
Infinite heat switches are a good idea, with a pilot light on each switch.
The power box on the kiln should be perforated for good air circulation, and there should be easy
access to its interior for element replacement, with easy to use element terminal connectors.
The kiln sitter, if it has one, should be no higher than the mid line of the kiln. If it is up too high it
will act as a vent for the kiln with corrosive fumes and moisture shortening the life of the sitter.
Locking arms work better than chains for holding the lid up and out of the way when loading and
unloading.
Finally, what kind of warranty does the seller offer? Two years for most of the kiln parts is a good
starting point, and do they make in studio repairs?
Look for craftsmanship in the construction of the kiln, such as the fit of the bricks, a snug fitting
lid, etc.
The size of the kiln relates to your work patterns. Do you want weekly feedback from firings or
monthly? For example, how long would it take you to fill up a kiln of a certain size if you wanted a
glaze firing out every two weeks?
Hope this helps.
Steve Irvine
http://www.steveirvine.com
>Not really sure where to start. Here are the
>parameters and questions:
>
>1) I am a renter
>2) There may be a 220 (240? - memory of a goldfish) in the
>basement
>3) The basement is concrete but sits beneath a little wooden house
>4) Wood love to try some larger work eventually, but now do
>smaller work
>5) Don't even know what else to ask or consider
>
>Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Susan near Seattle
william schran on sat 12 mar 05
Susan near Seattle wrote regarding buying a kiln:
>1) I am a renter<
Ask landlord if you can install kiln in basement
>2) There may be a 220 (240? - memory of a goldfish) in the basement<
Need to get electrician in and ask if another circuit can be added to
electric panel and if panel can handle what size added circuit - 50
amp would be great.
Here's a link on the L&L web site that will provide lots of information:
http://www.hotkilns.com/buy-kiln.html
>3) The basement is concrete but sits beneath a little wooden house<
Basement location should not be a problem, but I'd advise using a
vent system with the kiln. Just make sure you can get the kiln down
in the basement.
>4) Wood love to try some larger work eventually, but now do smaller work<
Ain't nothing wrong with small work.
>5) Don't even know what else to ask or consider<
Check the web site I listed above. Become informed before you ask
your landlord so you can have good answers for somebody that will be
worried about you burning down their house.
Bill
Leesh on sat 12 mar 05
Hi Susan,
I'm not an experienced kiln user, but I'm going through a similar
process of buying a kiln.
First of all, as a renter you should check with your landlord before
installing a kiln. Kilns take a lot of electricity, and even if there
is a 240 volt outlet in the house, it may not support the amperage
needed. Also, the house wiring may not support the additional load.
You run the risk of starting a fire if it isn't wired correctly. In my
case, I'm a homeowner but if I were to install a kiln that requires a
60 amp circuit or more would require a $1500 upgrade to my house
wiring. I'm not ready to do that at this time, so I decided to go with
a smaller kiln that will run off of a 30amp 240 line (same as a
typical clothes dryer). The L&L Liberty Belle looked like the best
option for me. The Liberty Belle has a 16.5" x 18" inner dimension.
However, I don't want to run it off the same outlet as my dryer, so
I've put in an additional 30am 240 line to the studio area along with
a couple of 20am 120 lines for lighting and outlets. My box was able
to support this and I was able to do the wiring myself. If you're
willing to limit your work to a much smaller size, there are some 120
volt kilns you might look at.
The other thing you should look into is venting for the kiln,
otherwise you run the risk of inhaling some nasty toxins or carbon
monoxide (potentially fatal). I'm going with the Vent-sure system that
vents the kiln out of the bottom through a dryer-type duct. Of course,
this means cutting a hole in the wall to vent to the outside --
another reason to check with your landlord.
Sorry to hear about the death in your family!
Leesh
On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 09:24:32 -0800, Susan Park wrote:
> A sad event, a death in the family, has provided a happy circumstance:
> money to purchase a kiln. Not really sure where to start. Here are the
> parameters and questions:
>
> 1) I am a renter
> 2) There may be a 220 (240? - memory of a goldfish) in the
> basement
> 3) The basement is concrete but sits beneath a little wooden house
> 4) Wood love to try some larger work eventually, but now do
> smaller work
> 5) Don't even know what else to ask or consider
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Susan near Seattle
>
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>
Arnold Howard on mon 21 mar 05
Susan, as a renter you might consider a 120-volt portable kiln. You can
always use it as a test kiln if you get a larger kiln later.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
arnoldhoward@att.net / www.paragonweb.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Park"
>A sad event, a death in the family, has provided a happy circumstance:
> money to purchase a kiln. Not really sure where to start. Here are the
> parameters and questions:
>
> 1) I am a renter
> 2) There may be a 220 (240? - memory of a goldfish) in the
> basement
> 3) The basement is concrete but sits beneath a little wooden house
> 4) Wood love to try some larger work eventually, but now do
> smaller work
> 5) Don't even know what else to ask or consider
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