Thinking Of Getting A Test Kiln, Pros, Cons?

[Pugaboo]

Hey everyone pesky Pugaboo here...

 

I've been thinking about getting a second kiln and am leaning towards a smaller test kiln rather than a larger kiln. I kind of have an idea as to what might work for me and was wondering if any of you have a test kiln and if you like it and actually use it.

 

The thinking behind a smaller kiln rather than a larger one:

Since I do custom pieces and special orders, I end up making a lot of "filler" just to get a load big enough to fill my kiln so I can fire just a few pieces for these orders. It never seems to fail that I get a private order in, make it and enough to fire the kiln and then just a day or two later get another one. They never seem to want the "blanks" I have waiting in the wings. This means quickly making a bunch more stuff to fill the kiln. If it's a transfer piece that complicates it even more by adding a third firing onto it.

 

I am looking at the Olympic 129E, reasons are:

It a 120v kiln.

I already have an Olympic and like it. I can get the same controller I have on my current kiln as well. I also have the option of double ganging my current vent since it can handle a second kiln.

I can drive to the factory and pick it up thereby saving $150+ in shipping.

The 129E interior is an 11 inch wide by 9 inch high hexagon so will fit most plates, mugs and boxes that I do.

The 129E needs a 20 Amp breaker, I have 5, 20 Amp breakers on the studio floor to choose from.

It fires to cone 6, but most of the time I would probably be doing cone 05 transfer firings in it.

It comes with a stand and I can get castors for it if I think I am going to need them.

 

My concerns with a test kiln are:

Do test kilns fire evenly and within reason the same as a regular kiln? It does me no good if I can't get the same results. Those of you that have test kilns, what has been your experience with this?

Is the interior really 11x9? How to know for sure it will fit a dinner plate?

It says it needs a special shaped 20 Amp plug, I have 20 Amp breakers but all the plugs look like normal plugs as far as I can tell. Is this a concern or do I simply switch out the regular plug for one that will work since they are supposedly both for a 20 Amp fuse?

I need to figure out which plugs are on the 20 amp circuits and see what else is on there and how far they are from the breaker panel.

Is a cone 6 kiln really capable of doing a reliable cone 6 over time?

 

Are there issues I should be taking into consideration that I haven't covered?

 

I am hoping some of you that have a test kiln as well as a regular kiln will chime in with your experience with a smaller kiln.

 

Thank you so much for helping me work my way through this decision.

 

T

[glazenerd]

Hi Pug:

Looked up the specs: the interior dimensions are 11.25 x 9". They are asking for a NEMA 20amp plug- very common, can buy them most anywhere. Instead of two straight prongs, one is straight and the other 90 degrees- no big deal. It is rated at 2250F max- so cone 6 is pushing the upper limits of this kiln. Not sure how wide your plates are, but suspect you would be pushing up close to the elements when loaded. Think it would be very wise to have this kiln on a dedicated circuit.One of my favorite test/small use kiln is the Paragon Express 1163-3 model- wish I had ten of them instead of my larger production kilns. It does require a 30 amp circuit, but it fires to 2350F, and I only fire to cone 6 most of the time. It is 1.75CF, so you could easily do small loads. It is also 16.5" wide and 13.5" deep(octagon design) so there is plenty of room for plates. It has ample power and 3" brick: which is also beneficial. The controller is very similar to what you have been using.

http://paragonweb.com/Xpress-1613-3.cfm

Nerd

[Mark C.]

I cannot say about a test kiln as I do not have one.

I can say this kiln will need its own outlet on at least 12 gauge or better yet 10 gauge wire not on a string of other regular outlets as you say look normal.cone 6 will push the limits on this as far as I know.if you use cone 6 get a 30 amp model rated for higher temp is my advice.

The plate cannot be over 9 inches in diameter dry for that size kiln

I do know small kilns can fire fast and cool fast so glazes can look strange but with a modern controller that should fix this issue

The thicker bricks as Nerd suggested is also a better idea.

Those with test kilns will fine tune your questions more than I can.

[Joseph Fireborn]

I bought a used Paragon Xpress. It is a little 120V like what your talking about. It was rated to cone 8. The previous owner had never even used it. It didn't even have elements broken in, and the kiln bricks didn't have any color around the lid from fumes or anything. It was 8 years old. It struggled very hard to get to cone 6. I checked all the elements and my plugs and everything were fine according to Paragon. I ended up selling it to a glass artist who said she only fired to 1750F, since it would get to that temp just fine.

 

If your firing to cone 6, I wouldn't get a test kiln that is 120V. When I eventually make enough money to buy another test kiln it will be a 240V test kiln rated to cone 10. 

 

One of the things I didn't like about the 120V was the temp of the plug when I started nearing cone 6. It would get so so hot. I had all the proper wiring and everything and it still felt too hot to me. I just dont think that outlet is meant to pump that much juice through it. Maybe others have had better success, but I would research that kiln firing to 6 if thats what your planning to do with it. If your just doing your third firing in it for decals then I wouldn't worry about it as much.

 

These are just my thoughts, others could have had a lot more success. I think the inside of the kiln was too big for cone 8 rating. 11x9 seems pretty large for 120V. I could have just gotten a lemon though. I dunno. This is just my experience.

[Denice]

I have a AIM test kiln for about 15 years it is only 8x8x9 inside so it is too small for your needs but it does fire to C10.  It doesn't sound like the kiln you are looking at is large enough for plates.  The only pieces I have fired in my test are mugs or small vase, the shelves I have cut for it are 6x6,  I wish I had a controller since I use it for testing.  My electrician put in a heavy duty outlet 10 gauge wire and it's own breaker.    Denice

[Chris Campbell]

I have a Duncan kiln that size and I use it a lot for tests and small batches of non functional items.

It does not fire as well as my large Skutt kilns, but gets results that are "close enough" for me to evaluate.

 

If I were doing it again I would probably go one size up, short and oval.

One size up because at the most crucial time you need more room.

Short because I'm tired of dangling over the edge of my Skutt to load that bottom shelf.

Oval because it increases your size options.

[neilestrick]

The main issue with little test kilns is the firing speed and cooling speed when they have manual controls. With the digital controller you can fire up at the exact same speed as your bigger kiln, and put in a cooling cycle that is similar to the cooling rate of your larger kiln. I get identical results from my 1 cubic foot and 22 cubic foot kilns.

[neilestrick]

You can often find these little test kilns on Craigslist for next to nothing, and then add an external Orton digital controller for $500.

[Stephen]

For us it was pretty much a waste of $700 although we do have a nice controller for the next big one. It seemed like a good idea at the time and used it a lot when we were first testing glazes but it pretty much just sits now.

 

Its I think 12" by 12" and too small to do anything useful. We have a 9cf larger kiln so I wish I had gotten a 3-4cf test kiln then could fire half loads from time to time. It does seem to fire the same as the large kiln because of the controller so it is great for testing glazes.

[graybeard]

I have a small 'test' kiln I rescued from a dumpster, I love it.

It runs on a 30 amp household circuit and like Neil said firing speed and cooling speed

are shorter. (a very good thing for what I'm doing right now, small glaze loads)

cost is WAY lower per load too.

 

I like mine a lot, use it a lot

 

g-beard

[neilestrick]

I have a small 'test' kiln I rescued from a dumpster, I love it.

It runs on a 30 amp household circuit and like Neil said firing speed and cooling speed

are shorter. (a very good thing for what I'm doing right now, small glaze loads)

cost is WAY lower per load too.

 

I like mine a lot, use it a lot

 

g-beard

 

Way lower per load, but  the cost per pot is much higher than filling a larger kiln. You'll come out ahead firing a larger kiln less often, but that may or may not be a good option for you. Ideally, you want the largest kiln that works for your production schedule, whether that means firing every week, or two weeks, or once a month, or every three months. It all depends on how often you need to fire in order to do what you do. I fire my 4 cubic foot kiln twice as often as my 22 cubic foot, because all the stuff from my kids classes and single-day workshops has to be turned around quickly. The big kiln is reserved for the large amount of pots made by my adult classes, and for my production work. The 1 cubic foot kiln is used for tests and emergencies (like when I forget to make a couple mugs for an order).

[Pugaboo]

Thank you everyone, so the consensus seems to be:

The kiln should be capable of doing cone 10.

Forget trying to use a current 20amp outlet and install a 30 amp dedicated outlet.

Look for a slightly bigger model since dinner plates might not fit.

Be sure to get a nice controller to try and match my larger kilns firing cycle.

 

Nerd - very good points. I looked up your kiln and it's on my list to research and compare more. It's on the upper end size wise as I want to easily be able to fire just 1 plate or mug or a couple spoon rests without having to make up extras just to fill a small custom order.

 

Mark - thank you and I agree with you on the circuit, I was looking at the fact that they push the small test models as able to be used on a regular circuit. The size dinner plates I make for custom designs and laser imagery are 9.5 in diameter inches once bisqued, so I think the 11x9 interior hexagon might work. The fact that the glazes might appear different is an issue I am concerned about.

 

Joseph - thank you for sharing your experience. I definitely don't want it to struggle to get to cone 6 you helped me decide I need to try and find a cone 10. The plug getting that hot would freak me out so than you for sharing that side affect!

 

Denice - yes your kiln is too small for what I need. The plates I make for custom design work and transfers are 9.5 inches in diameter once bisqued. In the 11.25 interior hexagon this would be the absolute largest size plate I could try to fire. It would be snug and might not work, it's something to consider.

 

Chris - does your Duncan fire to cone 10? Do you think it would fire closer to your larger kiln if it had a controller that you could tweak the settings on?

 

Neil - thank you for your input it is a valuable addition to my decision. I am assuming your kilns are L&L's. If this is the case what small 1 cubic model do you have? I have the L&L Doll kiln on the list with the cone 10 option, do you have any experience with this little Kiln? I am kind of leery of having a kiln shipped, should I not be? Unfortunately I am in a very small town and craigslist has always been a zero for me here, if I were in a large city I would definitely look there. Like with your forgotten mugs, firing just one or 2 custom items is exactly what I am looking to do. I try and fire my other kiln twice a month since that usually works for me. It's the small custom orders that are causing me issues. I would really like to push the fact online that I can put any photo or image a person wants on a dinner plate, salad plate, cereal bowl, mug, spoon rest or sponge holder with several glaze options and ship within a week. I can't promise that right now since to keep enough of all those pieces and combinations of glazes on hand means my shelves are full of stuff I can't just take to a show and sell. It also never fails they pick the one piece or glaze color I just sold the last of.

 

Stephen - sounds like what you do and what I want to do with the small kiln is different. I plan to only use the small kiln to run small special orders when my larger kiln isn't ready to be filled and run. One of the reasons why am am looking at a small kiln is that I lost several sales over the past holidays because I couldn't create, design and fire small custom order requests within a week. I was firing my kiln back to back just to keep up but still had orders show up right after I would fire and I would have to tell them it would be a couple weeks before I could deliver. This request for a fast turn around on custom orders is happening more and more, people just don't want to wait 2 - 3 weeks for stuff. I CAN turn around an order very quickly EXCEPT for the fact that a lot of the time I am creating extra pieces just to fill the kiln. This past week I had a request for a set of small dipping dishes in a particular color. I had the pieces, had the glaze, BUT I had just fired my kiln so I didn't have enough to fill it up immediately once more. Luckily they are willing to wait the week while I quickly finished a bunch of stuff to fill the kiln and fire it for just 4 little bowls. If I had a small kiln just big enough for stuff like this I would spend less time trying to make a bunch of other stuff just to fill the kiln. Since custom requests seem like they are becoming a larger part of what I do I am looking for something to make it easier to fulfill them in a shorter time period.

 

Graybeard - lucky you to find one waiting for you in a dumpster! Doing small custom loads is exactly what I am looking to do. Thank you for letting me know you like your small kiln.

 

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, I am taking it all into consideration while I research my options.

 

Terry

[Joseph Fireborn]

Terry,

 

This is what I plan on getting when $1000 dollars falls into my lap: http://hotkilns.com/dlh11-dx

 

It is 11''x9'' which is what I want for placing test pots into it with test glazes. It is also nice for custom orders or just when you want to try firing something with a different idea you might want to do to all your pots, but you want to test it first.

 

The thing about this kiln is its 20AMP breaker standard is easy to make sure we have.  The other one you wanted was on a 20 breaker as well, so this would work in that same situation. Just need the proper wire 14GA and the 240V 6-20P plug. 

 

So it is just a little extra cost from the electric man, but I won't have to worry about it failing to get to cone 6 ever. 

 

Anyways, this is what I plan on getting on day. Once I start selling enough that I can afford one. Right now my L&L is small enough that I don't mind using it as a test kiln, but the thing is I am eventually going to be at the point where I am trying to decide if I should just be getting a bigger kiln for production work, or just running my little kiln more often and buying a test kiln.

 

I will probably end up doing the test kiln because I love testing so much, and I have a large desire to further study cooling schedules and glaze development to find exactly what I am looking for.

 

That is the bonus of the little kiln, you still have to cool it slow to replicate results in your big kiln, but once its past 1500, that thing cools super fast. (at least my other one did).

[Chris Campbell]

I would not fire it to 10 ... Don't even know if it is rated for it. For me, my test kiln is simply that.

It does a great job at quick color tests.

I cannot imagine spending money on getting an expensive controller for it. Also, it is not vented so not sure it could replicate big kiln results.

It's too small to warrant that kind of investment ... For ME. Others use it differently and with more care, so opinions will vary.

[neilestrick]

My little kiln is actually a Paragon A119B3 that I got for free from a customer. I have it hooked up to an external Orton controller that I got for free from another customer. I just got lucky on those.

 

Do not worry about shipping. I've never had a kiln damaged in shipping, because L&L uses good carriers. The little doll/test kilns are great kilns, built to the same standards as their larger kilns. A 9.5" diameter plate is the largest you could fit in one, or 3-4 mugs.

[glazenerd]

I have a Paragon Caldera I use for a test kiln -0.25CF that has been fired nearly 1200 times. I fire 2 round test tiles ( reason you see so many of them in my posts). It is rated to cone 10, but have never fired it over Cone 6. It is only a test kiln-nothing more. Program a cooling cycle of 300F an hour from peak temp down: then follow any cooling cycle you may use. This will bring results more in line with production kilns..

Nerd

[tb001]

If you already have a full sized kiln, why not go with the 240v test kiln that you know will get to the temps you want easily? As long as the plug matches, can't you just plug in your normal kiln outlet?

 

You now have me monitoring craigslist for a smaller kiln as a supplement. Glaze testing is my weakness and love the idea of being able to run a quick test load! With a new baby and a full time non pottery job it takes me a long time to fill a kiln!

[perkolator]

Go for it. To me they are useful if you have space and budget for them.

We have two test kilns in our inventory, they get used all the time for quick next-day test results.  Ours are Skutt 614 and Skutt 609, both with kiln sitters.

Just a little bit bigger, our Skutt 818 gets used A LOT for a test kiln since it fits "regular sized" items inside.  If I had the space, I'd go for something this size.

[Pugaboo]

Thought I would give you an update on my decision. I just ordered the L&L Doll / Test Kiln. I got the cone 10 option with the dyna-trol controller and it runs on a 240 amp with the 6-20P plug. The interior is 9 inches high by 11 inch hexagon. I'm excited and look forward to getting it here and hooked up. I am sure I will have some questions on getting it set to fire as close to my larger kiln as possible.

 

Thank you everyone for your help!

 

T

[Joseph Fireborn]

Nice. I am envious!

[perkolator]

Sweet.  I'm sure you'll enjoy it.  Must be nice with the digital controller on such a small kiln.  Ours have sitters and VERY easy to blow your work up inside such a small unit if not paying attention.