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lana wilson needs help from clayart

updated mon 4 jul 05

 

William & Susan Schran User on fri 1 jul 05


On 7/1/05 1:42 PM, "Rikki Gill" wrote:

> I am writing this on behalf of Lana Wilson, who many of us know as terrific
> ceramist and teacher.
>
> She is looking to buy a new electric kiln and vent and wonders if this list
> recommends a particular brand. She has asked specifically about L&L.

I highly recommend L&L's. We have 5 at school: the oldest from the 1970's,
the newest from a couple of weeks ago. Materials they use in construction
have simply gotten much better over time. The use of simple bolt & nut
system to connect the wiring makes for easy tight connections.

But the best part is the ceramic element holders - no tearing up the bricks
getting the elements in & out and no element pins!

We got a J18X with 3" brick, heavy duty elements and programmable controller
last fall for our crystalline firings. After almost 30 firings, each firing
is still right on the money.


--
William "Bill" Schran
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Andie Plamondon on fri 1 jul 05


I couldn't be happier with my trouble-free Bailey cone 10 electric, and the
Bailey people are great when it comes to customer service.

:) Andie Plamondon
Handful of Earth Pottery
www.handfulofearth.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rikki Gill"
To:
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 1:42 PM
Subject: [CLAYART] Lana Wilson needs help from Clayart


>I am writing this on behalf of Lana Wilson, who many of us know as terrific
> ceramist and teacher.
>
> She is looking to buy a new electric kiln and vent and wonders if this
> list
> recommends a particular brand. She has asked specifically about L&L.
>
> She wrote that she, " respects and needs all the experience out there."
> [her
> words.]
>
> Thanks, Rikki
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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>
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> melpots@pclink.com.

Rikki Gill on fri 1 jul 05


I am writing this on behalf of Lana Wilson, who many of us know as terrific
ceramist and teacher.

She is looking to buy a new electric kiln and vent and wonders if this list
recommends a particular brand. She has asked specifically about L&L.

She wrote that she, " respects and needs all the experience out there." [her
words.]

Thanks, Rikki

Gene & Dolita Dohrman on fri 1 jul 05


> She is looking to buy a new electric kiln and vent and wonders if this
list
> recommends a particular brand. She has asked specifically about L&L.


I have an L&L e23T with 3" brick and a Vent-Sure. The kiln is approx. 7
cu.ft., maybe a bit less since I ordered it with 3" brick. I have only
fired it to ^6. My reasons for buying this particular kiln is that it
sounded very easy to fire (hence the name 'Easy-Fire') and, having no
experience whatsoever with firing kilns, that appealed to me. I also like
the ceramic channels for the elements. Every old kiln I saw had brick
crumbling around the elements and it made changing them a bear. I believe
that will not be true with the L&L but someone else may have more experience
in that area. I found their tech support to be outstanding. The kiln fires
very evenly and I believe the vent is partially responsible for this. I
know Lana has enough experience to know that you need to be there when the
cones start bending no matter how automatic your kiln is. The kiln is also
very easy to re-program in the middle of a firing or even at the end if it
has shut off too soon and needs a bit more heat.
That's my story. Hope this helps.
Dolita





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William & Susan Schran User on sat 2 jul 05


On 7/2/05 10:29 AM, "Vince Pitelka" wrote:

> This year we have been
> lucky to receive some grant money for equipment, so we are replacing one of
> our old Unique front-loader electrics with a Bailey electric front-loader

Vince - Have you looked into L&L's front loaders? Sweet!


--
William "Bill" Schran
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Vince Pitelka on sat 2 jul 05


> I highly recommend L&L's. We have 5 at school: the oldest from the 1970's,
> the newest from a couple of weeks ago. Materials they use in construction
> have simply gotten much better over time. The use of simple bolt & nut
> system to connect the wiring makes for easy tight connections.
> But the best part is the ceramic element holders - no tearing up the
> bricks
> getting the elements in & out and no element pins!

I agree with Bill Schran for all the same reasons, and I've had a lot of
experience with L&Ls. When I was studio tech at U-Mass-Amherst we had two
J-230s that were very heavily used. When I arrived at the Craft Center in
1994 we had two of the same that were purchased when the studios opened in
1980. They had been subjected to very demanding use, and showed the signs
of that use, but we just kept replacing elements and other components as
needed, and these kilns were always very easy to service. Several years ago
we replaced an old Skutt and one of the J230s with two new e23T
programmables, and they are a pleasure to use. I expect they are very easy
to service, although so far they have needed none. This year we have been
lucky to receive some grant money for equipment, so we are replacing one of
our old Unique front-loader electrics with a Bailey electric front-loader,
and we will also replace the last old J230 with another L&L e23T.

It is my impression that since Stephen Lewicky inherited control of the
company from his father, he has continually worked to improve an already
fine product. He seems very responsive to the needs of both private and
institutional studios.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/