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How Many Cubic Feet Of Kiln Space Do You Use In One Month?


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I have an 8 cu ft kiln. It gets fired frequently but could still handle someone who uses up to about 4 tons of clay a year as long as they don't procrastinate deadlines....

It is 27" tall (effectively 26" of usable space) and I think about the smallest in this height.

 

 

4 glaze firings a month is typical for myself + my students.

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I have two kilns that are about 7cubic feet each. My cycles are 2.5 weeks long, but typically one cycle involves 3 bisque loads and 5 glaze loads. Having two kilns makes a big difference for me, because I don't have to wait for a kiln to finish cooling before the next firing can start.

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I have two kilns that are about 7cubic feet each. My cycles are 2.5 weeks long, but typically one cycle involves 3 bisque loads and 5 glaze loads. Having two kilns makes a big difference for me, because I don't have to wait for a kiln to finish cooling before the next firing can start.

 

 

Is that a total of 8 kiln loads in a 2.5 week and these 8 loads are distributed between the 2 kilns?  Right?

 (I don't want to misunderstand)

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I have an 8 cu ft kiln. It gets fired frequently but could still handle someone who uses up to about 4 tons of clay a year as long as they don't procrastinate deadlines....

It is 27" tall (effectively 26" of usable space) and I think about the smallest in this height.

 

 

4 glaze firings a month is typical for myself + my students.

  Is 4 tons of clay about what others go through as well?

 

Jed

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I have two kilns that are about 7cubic feet each. My cycles are 2.5 weeks long, but typically one cycle involves 3 bisque loads and 5 glaze loads. Having two kilns makes a big difference for me, because I don't have to wait for a kiln to finish cooling before the next firing can start.

 

 

 

Is that a total of 8 kiln loads in a 2.5 week and these 8 loads are distributed between the 2 kilns?  Right?

 (I don't want to misunderstand)

Yes, that's right.

 

Also, I use about 1.5 tons (3000 lbs) of clay per year. The amount of clay consumed by a single potter can vary by a lot.

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I am more on the ton of clay every 2-3 year schedule, and I consider myself a hobby potter, doing an occasional commission, and pots for family and friends anymore. 90's did festivals and went through ton a year.

 

Kiln is a 10 cubic foot L&L when all sections (4) are firing. I have fired 2 sections, but most times 3. I do throw tall, bottles, vase and jars. These will get to be 28 - 40 inches mostly. The height of the kiln helps here.

 

 

 

 

best,

Pres 

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I do 1-2 bisque loads and 1-2 glaze loads per month. I use 50-100 lbs of clay per month unless I'm getting ready for a show. The kiln I use is 18 in across by 24 inches high on the interior. I make mostly items under six inches tall, functional work like mugs and bowls. The kiln I am about to start using is perhaps 6 inches taller so I am excited that I'll be able to fit one more whole shelf of mugs into the kiln, taking my average from 33 to 44 mugs per load. :) 

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Don't think comparing firing capacities for those who predominately throw to slabwork is going to be that accurate. I can crank pots out much faster on the wheel than handbuilding, think that is the norm. Just got rid of 10 cubic foot a few months ago and replaced with another around 7, so now 2 @ 7 plus a test kiln of about 1 1/2.

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The first thing to figure out is what diameter and height she'll need to fire her work. It sounds like a 27" tall kiln, which is the most common, will work just fine. Figure 1.5-2 inches will be taken up by the bottom shelf, so she'll have about 5 inches to play with if she's doing 20 inch tall pieces.

 

Next is the width. Can she fit more than one piece in a 23" wide kiln? What about a 27" wide kiln? Would a square kiln of those sizes work better than round?

 

How many pieces can she make in a week? If she's making 8 pieces a week but can only fit one at a time in the kiln then she'll never get caught up on firings if she's doing bisque and glaze.

 

Can she lift her pieces into a typical top loading kiln? It can be really difficult to load tall sculptural things into top loaders. L&L makes a pull-apart option, where the controls are mounted on a stand to the side of the kiln so the rings can be easily taken apart for loading tall pieces- unplug the rings from the controller, unstack the kiln, put the piece on the bottom slab, put the rings back on. It works really well.

 

She may find that she needs to change her pieces a bit to maximize kiln space.

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Guest JBaymore

Neil hit a lot of the important points above.

 

Other considerations come in here also.......

 

If you find you need $100,000 a year gross to net enough to live on........ there are lots of ways to get there.

 

You can make one 20" tall piece that sells for $100,000.  (Maybe think "The Scarab Vase".)  Won't use much clay or kiln space there.

 

You can make 100 20" tall pieces that sell for $1000 each.  Way more clay and lots of firings.

 

You can make 1000 20" tall pieces that sell for $100 each.  The clay tonnage and kiln firing volume is getting big.

 

You can make 10,000 20" tall pieces that sell for $10 each.  (Are you crazy!!!!!   ;) )

 

Add this kind of thinking to Neil's points above... and you will find that there is no "simple" answer to this question.  You are starting to look at a "business plan".

 

best,

 

......................john

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Another point is wait and see how/what develops  in terms of output. start small and add on.

I started small and adde3d as I grew -I think this is the best way.

 

John I passed this point decades ago!

you can make 10,000 20" tall pieces that sell for $10 each.  (Are you crazy!!!!!    ;) )

 

The question of kilnspave is so different for everyone .

As a long time full time professional I have fired since January 1st 

7- 35 cubic foot glaze kilns loads and 7 -12 cubic foot glaze kiln loads up to May 1st.

Not counting bisque fires.

I have a 10 cubic electric but have only bisque fired in twice so far this year. All my bisquing is in the car kiln as its much cheaper to fire.

Now I know this is extreme for most but you need to see how different this number is for everyone.

​For me I need a large gas car kiln and a smaller gas kiln as well.

My business could not happen without them.

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I always tell people to buy the kiln they'll need in 5 years. A kiln will last 20+ years, so you don't to buy something too small that you'll have to replace in 2-3 years, unless you're okay with spending another $3000 in the near future. The difference in firing cost between a full load and a 3/4 full load is very small, so it's not a big waste if you're not using the kiln to its full potential right away.

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Another point is wait and see how/what develops  in terms of output. start small and add on.

I started small and adde3d as I grew -I think this is the best way.

 

John I passed this point decades ago!

you can make 10,000 20" tall pieces that sell for $10 each.  (Are you crazy!!!!!    ;) )

 

The question of kilnspave is so different for everyone .

As a long time full time professional I have fired since January 1st 

7- 35 cubic foot glaze kilns loads and 7 -12 cubic foot glaze kiln loads up to May 1st.

Not counting bisque fires.

I have a 10 cubic electric but have only bisque fired in twice so far this year. All my bisquing is in the car kiln as its much cheaper to fire.

Now I know this is extreme for most but you need to see how different this number is for everyone.

​For me I need a large gas car kiln and a smaller gas kiln as well.

My business could not happen without them......

 

 

.....WOW....  and you still have time for scuba.  A true modern hero who can move a ton of mud in a month

 

Jed

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If I was doing large slab work I would consider a front loader or that L&L model that lowers down onto work.I wish I taken better care of my back when I was younger.Moving lots of clay around makes you efficient very fast.

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I always tell people to buy the kiln they'll need in 5 years. 

 

This is really good advice, my kiln is a pain. I would have sold it a while ago if I didn't use it for testing so much.

 

I didn't have the budget to get the kiln I would need in 5 years. I do have to say that I am currently skipping my bisque firings and single glaze firing, which is drastically making my smaller kiln a lot better. If your daughter is willing to apply glazes carefully she could possibly skip bisque firing and single fire. Although it is a little different.

 

An idea to think about!

 

Let us know what she decides on. Interesting stuff.

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With 2 kilns do you dedicate one bisque and one higher firing? If so does the bisque kiln need computer control? Or do you alternate the kilns between bisque and glaze firings, thus requiring both to have computer controls?

 

Jed

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