Are you new to owning & operating a Kiln?

The first thing to get your head around is that your kiln is a working appliance in your studio, consider it like a tool in your shed, not a piece of furniture in your lounge.

From the first firing, bricks will begin to brown & crack, metal will stain and corrode and ware will inevitably cause damage. Despite aging from day one, your kiln should on average last about 10 years.

A kiln is not like an oven, kilns reach extremely high temperatures, more than five times the maximum temperature of your oven! Although safe when used as intended, they are not a toy and if you're not the sort of person that reads manuals, you may be better suited to use a local firing service.

We often say; ‘If you’ve fired one kiln, then you’ve only fired one kiln’!

Each kiln is different, and most firings are different, therefore learning how it fires and getting the results you want is just as much part of the ‘artistry’ of pottery as the throwing, sculpting and glazing. It takes time, practice and experience.

Power

When your kiln is actively drawing power, it may result in voltage drop. This might prevent your kiln from reaching its maximum temperatures, or it might just take a very long time to reach temperature!

Don't use an extension cord as they reduce the amount of power getting to your kiln.
Not every power outlet has the same ability to draw the same voltage.
Other devices being used at the same time can draw down your available power.
A new development or business may impact on your power supply.
Aging elements need more power than new ones.
Kilns HATE moisture, kiln bricks absorb any ambient moisture and can electrically short-out your kiln!

If power becomes an issue for you, contact us as it may be possible to wind new elements with a slightly higher amperage to overcome the voltage drop.

Location

Although electric kilns themselves do not release toxic gases, the ware being fired in your kiln will! A variety of toxic and corrosive gases are released during firing as the organic material is burnt off.

Good ventilation and air exchange around your kiln is essential, consider:

Exchange the rooms air – Install a whirlybird roof vent to drag the room air outside.
Generate air movement – Have a ceiling fan or pedestal fan blowing on the kiln throughout the firing.
Dilute the gases – Locate the kiln in the largest possible space, avoid small, closed spaces and corners. Remember, ‘the solution to pollution is dilution’.
Create Air flow - Open all available windows & doors, including in adjacent rooms to capture any breezes.

Bricks

Fire bricks are light weight, have millions of air pockets, are quite fragile and have excellent insulating properties.

The bricks expand and contract with the heating and cooling cycle.

The small hairline cracks or fissures are therefore perfectly normal and are to be expected. When the kiln is hot, all the cracks fill in from the expanding brick.

A kiln that has reached a very high temperature or often endures significant heatwork, may show signs of shrinkage, cracking and browning of the internal face of the bricks and element channels.

Unless the cracks are structural, even the most severe cracking will not affect the firing performance of your kiln.

It’s good to remember that Kilns are not designed to be airtight, they need to move and breath throughout the firing process. Its normal to sometime see the glow from inside the kiln between the bricks.

Corrosion

Corrosion of your kiln is unavoidable. The cold-hot-cold cycle, plus the water vapor and gases coming out of the clays and glazes all combine to create a very corrosive environment for metal. The only thing you can control is the rate at which it corrodes.

Although the types of clay and glaze used can have a big impact, the most common factor we find with sudden and extensive corrosion is that the ventilation and air movement around the kiln isn’t adequate to off-set the volume of corrosive gases being released.

Good ventilation, making sure your ware is bone dry before firing, and avoiding clays that are very corrosive (i.e. BRT Clays) all help to reduce the rate of corrosion?

Thankfully corrosion doesn’t hurt the performance of the kiln and shouldn’t impact on its life expectancy.

light

Kilns are not designed to be air-tight.

It is completely normal to see a glow or colour between the lid/door and the kiln wall during firing. The amount of heat loss is insignificant and will in no way affect the efficiency or firing ability of your kiln.

It is actually the various light spectrum's that you are seeing (ultraviolet short range & visible medium range).

The longer range infrared spectrum (or Infrared radiation) of light is normally experienced as heat, begins at 400°C and can cause eye damage.

Therefore, like you wouldn't look at the sun, its wise to NOT look into a glowing kiln without PPE like a welder's glasses.

Monitoring

It is essential to monitor a kiln during the firing process. Despite multiple safety features, your kilns component’s function in an tough environment with extreme temperature fluctuations and corrosive gases.

By monitoring the temperature in your kiln (we recommend at least hourly), you can make sure that it is progressing through the stages as you intended. Work out the likely length of the firing so you have a rough idea of when it should be at certain temperatures and should finish its program

Identifying issues early and taking quick corrective action may prevent an over-firing causing significant damage to your kiln and ware.

Cones

Mastering your kiln goes beyond relying on the controller to measure temperature and time. Success involves understanding the kiln itself, its unique characteristics and nuances in heat distribution and heatwork.

This knowledge enables informed decisions and adjustments, blending technical precision with a nuanced understanding of the kiln's behaviour and performance to achieve the firing results you want.

Cones measure heatwork. Heatwork is the combination of time and temperature. If you are experiencing unsatisfactory results, cones will quickly tell you whether the kiln or the glaze is the issue.

Maintenance

Fortunately, there are few moving parts in kilns, however they continually expand & contract with each firing. Keeping on top of your kiln’s maintenance helps prolong its life. By taking care of the lining, particularly in loading and unloading, your kiln should last many years.

Keep your kiln clean, well ventilated, remove spills and vacuum the inside of the kiln between firings (including the element channels).

There are kiln technicians in most larger towns that can perform repairs and check the electrical aspects of your kiln (every couple of years) as required.

We carry a wide range of spare parts and can also give you advice when needed. Elements and thermocouples are considered consumables as their lifespan is dependent on use (like tyres on a car).