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Posted by Bob Masta on March 2, 2008, 9:31 am
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>I really appreciate the info some of this is actually starting to make
>sense. It seems I need to buy a few things before I start anyway.
>Will also look into to observing. These are all good suggestions.
>
>I had an electrician wire the house and install a plug especially for
>the kiln -- it required a special outlet and wiring like that used for
>a dryer, so I am not worried about that. I have the kiln in the
>garage so I am also not worried to much about venting as I plan to
>leave door open as much as possible. I am worried about the bricks
>and/or elements if they were damaged but pottery place gave me name
>and card for something called a kiln doctor who comes to the kiln and
>fixes it -- just hope I can afford the doc.
>
>Y'all have been great and I just hope I can find someone local who
>will let me watch and be as nice about it. Thanks again, will let you
>know how things go...
I'd like to add one thing to the good advice others have given:
Don't worry about kiln furniture yet... just focus on getting the kiln
working correctly. The furniture allows you to load the kiln fully
when you have many smaller pieces to fire (as opposed to one
giant urn, say). You will of course want to do that once you get
everything working properly, for the sake of time and energy
efficiency. But you do *not* want to start off with a full load
until you are sure the kiln is OK and you know how to use it.
Use a few test pieces that you don't really care about.
Having said that, note that firing a near-empty kiln will not be
the same as a full one. It will almost surely reach its cone faster,
for one thing. (If you had all the kiln posts, you could put in a
typical arrangement of shelves and posts, but still only fire a few
tet pieces.) But at least you will know that it works, before you
make a really big offering to the kiln goddess!
Best regards,
Bob Masta
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