newbie question on kilns

There are LOTS of issues regarding putting in a gas kiln. Like:

- Where are you going to put it

- How will you vent it

- Will it violate local building codes

- Can you get enough gas to it? (Your present gas meter / gas line may not work

Gas kilns are also harder to fire than electric kilns. Putting in wiring for an electric kiln will likely require an electrician, but is otherwise not a big deal. My suggestion is to go with an electric kiln.

deg

But an electric kiln also has to be vented somehow, you can't just put it anywhere. Do you have a garage or something like that where you can put it?

By the way, have those books arrived yet?

Monika

-- Monika Schleidt snipped-for-privacy@schleidt.org

On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 08:47:14 +0100, Monika Schleidt wrote: ..

I own a home so I was just planning on firing the kiln in my back yard or back porch -- plenty of ventilation. Yup I have lots of books now, but amazingly they do not seem to address such questions as i am asking.

i only use electric kilns so i am biased, but at least they can be moved to wherever you want unlike a gas one ---unless you do not use metered gas and opt for bottled gas, then the pros and cons even out somewhat.

So am I assuming correctly that if I get an electric kiln, say a 240v and 21-50Amp model, that I could run it outside in my back yard (maybe with some cinder stone or something scattered on the ground for it to sit on?) and plug it into a 240v 50Amp circuit outlet that I would pay an electrician to newly create/write for me? Thank you in advance. ~Beowulf

Back porch is ok, back yard - you would have to build some kind of shelter for it, you want to keep it out of the rain and snow.

Monika

-- Monika Schleidt snipped-for-privacy@schleidt.org

Do you like oxidation glazes or reduction glazes better?

A gas kiln will give you the option of some nice reduction glazes. (Copper Reds, Shinos, Tenmoku, Celadon, Spodumene) A reduction environment is a bit more volatile. Some times you get wonderful reactions and some times ugly surprises.

An electric kiln is probably easier to master. It doesn't naturally have the dynamics of a reduction environment. Like I said in an earlier post electric kilns are normally an oxidation environment. You can artificially force a reduction environment in an electric kiln but that is an additional skill. There are some beautiful glazes for the electric kiln. I am guessing your low-fire pieces were fired in an electric kiln.

Dinnerware pieces can be fired in either environment so that will not be enough to make your choice. I would spend some time trying to figure out what I wanted my pots to look like and which environment readily supported that "look".

I want to reiterate what Dewitt said about local building codes. In the US there are often zoning restrictions against having a gas kiln in your backyard. This is definitely something to check into before you make your purchase. (If you live in-town and near a gas kiln that doesn't mean you will be allowed to have one. Some gas kilns were grandfathered in when the restrictions went into place.)

Good Luck, Kobey

Geez deciding on a kiln is rather complicated! I think my best move right now is no move at all! I should learn a bit more. I will use a commercially available kiln for a time before deciding. It is just that the end of the year meant a tax break if I bought a kiln now. I can use a kiln at a local ceramics store, and somewhat at a college where I teach; I will do that until I learn more about ceramics. I have only fired pieces (12) in a Raku outdoor gas kiln so far. Seems a kiln type is so related to glazes and end appearance, etc. Best I wait awhile to make a decision.

again i am not sure about gas kilns but electric ones come with a stand so that should solve the problem of sitting it on something. my stands for both large and small kilns have just rusted away after years of use so i have recently relocated them into a room at the back of the garage and they are sitting on four building blocks so they are raised from the ground to allow air flow. i have two windows in the room for ventilation and my kilns have their own electricity supply.

Now I am confused. Are these Raku pieces the same ones you previously referred to as:

"I've been using only low fire Cone 04 clay and Cone 06 glazes and have found for table use, they chip easily."?

I don't know anyone who uses the raku process to create dinnerware. I have always heard that the raku wear is decorative only. Unless someone knowledgeable tells you otherwise I would immediately stop trying to use raku wear to hold liquids and probably all food.

- Kobey

The other thing about holding of on buying an electric kiln is that you may be able to find a good deal. To my understanding, the elements and certain parts of electric kilns may wear out, but the kiln will last a lifetime. When I set up my studio downstairs I wanted to immediately buy a kiln. Instead I held off and did what you did. A few months ago I found a used kiln for a hundred bucks at a garage sale! About twenty years old, but works like a charm. Simon

I do not recall saying the above quoted statement.

Don't electric kilns also have to be vented? (I want to buy a kiln but can't figure out how to vent it where I am...) DKat

Unless your kiln is located (like mine) under a roof with no walls, you should vent ANY kiln. Well, any kiln in an enclosed space, gas or electric. It's not the fuel firing the kiln you worry about, it's the fumes given off by the clay and glazes when you fire. Wayne Seidl