Rolling Kiln Stand

[teapotshooray]

Hello,

 

I have a Skutt KM 1027. We are moving soon and I will have to put the kiln in the garage. I'm wondering if a rolling kiln stand is a good idea so that I can move the kiln forward to the front of the garage for firing, and then back into the corner for storage.

 

The Skutt rolling stand is $315. The Paragon rolling stand is $150ish (without locking casters.) Would the Paragon stand work for my kiln? What about a steel dolly with locking casters? I found one with an 800lb rating.

 

If I don't get the rolling stand I suppose I'll have to put fire resistant drywall or sheet rock on the interior wall of the garage.

 

Thoughts?

[oldlady]

the most important consideration for locating your kiln is the location of electricity and how you plan to have it installed.  keep it far enough from a wall and do not worry about special drywall. if you do not have a vent, a fan mounted above the kiln can blow anything bad out the door while you fire.  there are lots of options, it is good that you are beginning to think of them now. 

 

as for wheels, no need to spend all that money on something that is available for less because it is called a different name.  just make sure whatever stand you get is high enough off the ground.  adding wheels to that might make it so high that you will not be able to reach the interior.  more to plan for.

[neilestrick]

The most important thing is that the stand should not flex at all. So if it's on an uneven floor, it should be rigid enough that it doesn't give at all in any direction. When it flexes, the floor of the kiln can flex too, and that causes cracks. Personally, I wouldn't trust any of them to be up to the task. Even welded steel can flex when moving across an uneven floor, especially with 400 pounds of kiln sitting on it.

 

More importantly, I doubt that it still meets UL listing when it's put on a rolling stand, because they probably never had them tested on the rolling stand. To me it seems like it just ins't very safe to put a 2300 degree, 240 volt appliance on a stand that has the potential to roll up against something flammable. No locks on the casters? Are you kidding me?!? Your insurance company probably wouldn't cover you if something awful happened while it was on any rollers. Put your kiln on the normal stand and leave it there. If you need to be less than 18" from the wall, put a layer of cement board on the wall. With that you can get about 12". I wouldn't go any closer than that, though.

[Marko]

Yup, what they just said. Another consideration, I had to learn, before I found PC, and all the great advice, is that the kiln needs to be level. I vote for keeping it stationary. Best wishes.

[teapotshooray]

Thank you all for the input. I'm going to keep it on the original stand and just make sure it's 18" from the wall. Thanks!

[JohnnyK]

Cement board , as Neil said,  will get you to 12" from the wall, but firebrick will get you to 1" if you need the space. Set it up on the narrow edge and you'll be good to go.

[neilestrick]

Yup, what they just said. Another consideration, I had to learn, before I found PC, and all the great advice, is that the kiln needs to be level. I vote for keeping it stationary. Best wishes.

 

Perfectly level is not that big an issue. Perfectly stable, with no rocking, is super important. Most floors are level enough. Unless it's a noticeable incline, just get it stable.

[oddartist]

I put the original stand on a round of inch-thick plywood and bolted it down. I have 3 locking casters attached to the plywood. I put a few bricks between the kiln bottom and the plywood but don't think they are really needed as it stays fairly cool. I roll it out and plug it in, set it up and load it and fire it in place. The kiln doesn't move while loaded. With 3-point contact there's no wobble.

[Up in Smoke Pottery]

I do have a steel rolling stand that I had made by a local welder friend, picked up some "drop steel" angle iron from steel supplier for a couple bucks and had my friend recreate my factor stand with locking steel casters.  Works great, although seldom move it anymore.  good to know about the softbrick and cement board.