Wind n Wing Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I am thinking about purchasing some new shelving for my kilns. Right now I have shelves produced by Thorley. They are solid and I have had a problem with them cracking. Not so bad that I cant use them. I dont pack my kilns overly full. Both are electric. I fire to a cone 6 at the highest temp. One is a larger studio kiln and the other is a smaller hobby kiln. Most of the weight on my shelves is to the center. I have some really old shelves (dont know the manafacturer) that sagged in the middle before I got the kiln they came with. So I made a bridge to even out the surface, works good. But sagging shelves dont appeal to me if I am going to envest the long green in them. I have seen shelves that had a honeycombed apperance to them. Any input on what you are using and what you would reccomend would be useful. Thanks, RJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 All reports I have heard about the CoreLite (honeycomb type) shelves is that they are great. Even in gas kilns. Their price is comparable to solid shelves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 CoreLites are stronger than your Thorleys and are lighter. as with all mullite based shelves they will sponge up (suck into) glaze so washing them is a must to prevent runs from getting into them. I lifted some 14x 28s and 12 x 24s last week to compare the weights and they are light. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 The downside of the CoreLites is that they are slightly thicker, about 1 inch rather than 5/8 or 3/4. So in a typical round electric kiln where you'll use maybe 6 shelves from top to bottom, you'll lose about and inch and a half. That's not a lot, but it is a row of plates.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 If space is what you need and cost is no object use advancers then you will save about 2.5 inches per load every time as they are 5/16 thick. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 And the Advancers will have you firing less thermal mass every firing also...saving firing money. And they clean up easily. best, .........................john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind n Wing Posted August 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 I sure appreciate all the suggestions. I have been crusing the sites for the shelves mentioned and am thinking for what I do the corelite will do the trick for the old kilns. Buuuuut I will seriously look at investing in the advancers for the new bigger faster (blow your hair back while you are sitting still) kiln I plan to buy in the hopefully not to distant future. Thanks again, RJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 ....the new bigger faster (blow your hair back while you are sitting still) kiln I plan to buy in the hopefully not to distant future. I assume you mean an L&L eQuad-Pro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perkolator Posted August 22, 2012 Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 how old are your thorley shelves? i know they are/were having some problems in recent years with their production, and many retailers were taking them back with refund/replacement. still doesn't solve the issues with them, but it's something to consider. last time i bought shelves earlier this year, all of them have lasted so far vs the previous batch where we lost about 75% of them. saw those core lite shelves last time i was shopping and might try a couple myself. advancers are NICE shelves, but man are they pricey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind n Wing Posted August 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Neil, Would like to check out the eQuad-Pro. Do you have a web site with its info? How many plates to the kw hour and will I need a seatbelt? Kidding aside I double stack my plates 13" dia and 2 1/2" deep. I seldom glaze and in the small kiln use 4/5 shelves yield 8/10 plates per firing. Big kiln 5/6 shelves 10/12 plates plus leaves stacked around the outside edge of plates on kiln shelf. Firing time to cone 6 is approx 11 hours on either Kiln. Big kiln half shelves are 21x11 " Small kiln full shelves are 15'by 16" and both sets of shelving are Octogon. Does the eQuad-Pro come with a kiln sitter? Even with Computer control since my studio is in the basement for saftey sake a sitter seems like a good thing. Percolator, Purchased the shelves 10+ years ago so no replacement for them. They cracked within the first few firings I used them. As I am mannnny miles away from any ceramic supplier whatever I get I want to work first time every time. Nearest Wal-Mart is 168 miles away. We pipe in sunshine in this NE corner of Montana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 L&L e-Quad Pro: http://hotkilns.com/eq2327-3 http://hotkilns.com/eq2827-3 http://hotkilns.com/eq2836-3 What are you firing that you need this kiln for? It was really designed for crystalline work, or very dense loads like tiles. For tile work I would also take a look at the square kilns, as they provide much more efficient use of space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 how old are your thorley shelves? i know they are/were having some problems in recent years with their production, and many retailers were taking them back with refund/replacement. still doesn't solve the issues with them, but it's something to consider. last time i bought shelves earlier this year, all of them have lasted so far vs the previous batch where we lost about 75% of them. saw those core lite shelves last time i was shopping and might try a couple myself. advancers are NICE shelves, but man are they pricey! Thorley had a huge issue with cracked shelves for a while Not sure when It got fixed-Laguna bought them out a few years back along with Axner Big changes occurred after that with both-axner is no longer what it once was-many items no longer sold. I think one mega business is not as good as the smaller ones were. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind n Wing Posted August 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 L&L e-Quad Pro: http://hotkilns.com/eq2327-3 http://hotkilns.com/eq2827-3 http://hotkilns.com/eq2836-3 What are you firing that you need this kiln for? It was really designed for crystalline work, or very dense loads like tiles. For tile work I would also take a look at the square kilns, as they provide much more efficient use of space. I make hanging Birdfeeders/Baths and Windchimes. Will try to attatch a couple of images. I wholesale to a number of Bird stores ie. Wild Birds Unlimited, Wildbird Centers, and Independent Bird stores and Garden Centers. As I am a one person studio I dont take on huge orders at one time but am pretty steady production wise. There are only so many hours in the day and I want a kiln that will do at least what I produce now as I listed in a previous post, a few more fired wouldnt be amiss. As I am short a less than 30" deep chamber works for my back. I know that limits me in choices but I can live with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind n Wing Posted August 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 L&L e-Quad Pro: http://hotkilns.com/eq2327-3 http://hotkilns.com/eq2827-3 http://hotkilns.com/eq2836-3 What are you firing that you need this kiln for? It was really designed for crystalline work, or very dense loads like tiles. For tile work I would also take a look at the square kilns, as they provide much more efficient use of space. Just checked out the sites you sent me. The 2327 looks like a close fit for size. I suppose I could invest in the Advancer shelves to gain some extra stacking room. But I am not seeing a Kiln sitter on this model, am I missing it. As I mentioned earlier my studio is in the basement and I want the kiln sitter for saftey. Does L&L have a backup shutdown feature besides the normal auto off? RJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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