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How Often To Clean Your Kiln?


Pugaboo

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I have been wondering how often I should remove everything and clean out my kiln? Every time? Monthly? Every so many firings?

 

I keep a bottom shelf in there all the time, and am wondering how often I should remove it and vacuum, brush, etc everything including the walls and element grooves.

 

I brush off the shelves every time before using them and do kiln wash, etc. I also do a visual check of the interior before each use and have never had anything explode and am very careful with glaze drips and such.

 

Oh and yes I know to wear a respirator while doing the cleaning.

 

T

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Every dozen firings or so would be super good, but whenever it gets to looking messy is ok. It's surprising just how much stuff can accumulate on the floor and in the element grooves even if you're not blowing things up. Definitely vacuum it out well if something blows up.

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Not sure if what I do is normal, but I vac every other bisque firing and every time I glaze fire. I am just a old mud lover and I would like to make sure my kiln out lives me so I don't take any chances with my kiln! For the record I fire bisque twice a month and glaze fire about the same.

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I vacuum mine out every two or three years, usually the floor is getting grubby looking, I check out the elements when I load it just to make sure a piece of brick hasn't wedged in it.  My paragon that is going out is 40 years old and my Skutt  is 30 I bought them both used.   Denice

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Never. It's just me bisquing in my own kiln. Had a used kiln in my new studio for three years. I fire about 10 times ayear. Maybe it's time to vacuum it out. I never blow anything up.Yet.

TJR.

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Never. It's just me bisquing in my own kiln. Had a used kiln in my new studio for three years. I fire about 10 times ayear. Maybe it's time to vacuum it out. I never blow anything up.Yet.

TJR.

I fire about the 1/2 as much-6-8 bisques a year-except for last year (more) I only vac it if I blow up a form and that is not very often.

I never glaze fire in it as it does not get to cone 11 or is happy  with reduction.

Mark

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Bad mentors every last one of you! Bad bad bad LOL

 

When I first started I cleaned it before every firing, then every couple, then every few, and as I said it's been about 10 this time and that got me to wondering when was the proper time to do it. I should warn you you are talking to the woman that mops her studio daily and color wheel coordinates her glazes and keeps all her shelves, kiln furniture and stilts stacked and organized by type, height and size. I could probably load my kiln blind folded. Don't even get me started on storage.

 

 

T

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I have to admit that I vacuum the kiln (inside) after every firing, because I often use sand and marble dust on the clay. 

I check the elements after every firing.

I use new kiln wash on the shelves 1x/year. But I don't do glaze firings very often, only bisque and high fire porcelaine without glaze.

I think you are doing very good, Pugaboo, to be so organized. Kudos!!

 

Evelyne

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Here's another confession-since we are going there. I don't use kiln wash either. Not using glazes, so I don't need to wash the shelves. The shelves that have kiln wash on them I often place in the kiln with the kiln wash facing down as the bare  unwashed shelf is smoother.

Sometimes I put the peanut butter laden knife in the jam jar.

TJR. :blink:

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whenever it needs it which isn't often. If something blows up, vacuum everything. It mud daubers have been building, scrape their clay out and vacuum. I really hate finding their nests in my posts' holes. I use chop sticks and a bottle brush to clean them and kiln wash the ends. I clean my raku kilns where I have foil saggar fired more often. 

If I was still firing big gas kilns with student work, I would at a minimum do a once over with a dust pan and brush before loading or after unloading.

 

Marcia

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I use glazes but NEVER use kiln wash.   I have those Advancer shelves for my glaze kilns and i just use that pumice to quickly grate off any glaze.  I use a paint brush to whisk around the kilns about  twice a year and then use a dust pan on the bottom to clean up.   I've had one L&L kiln for three years and have only vacuumed one time.   So far I've never had a kiln explosion.   I've had one element burn because of a glaze spatter. (when someone else loaded the kiln ...pretty sure the item was too close).  I've only had one tray burst because it was too wet but it was only one chunk blown out and it didn't break any other items.

 

I have one Paragon kiln that is used exclusively for bisque firings and use a set shelves that have never been used for glaze firings or had kiln wash on them.  Two L&L's for glaze firings, one of them used for bisque firings about 2-3 times a month.   I get 6-8 firings from the L&L's every week and 4 weekly firings from the Paragon.

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Here's another confession-since we are going there. I don't use kiln wash either. Not using glazes, so I don't need to wash the shelves. The shelves that have kiln wash on them I often place in the kiln with the kiln wash facing down as the bare  unwashed shelf is smoother.

Sometimes I put the peanut butter laden knife in the jam jar.

TJR. :blink:

I to have some shelves not washed for the electric-the ones that are washed I bought are used so some had wash on them-I to pay no attention to which way the wash is facing up or down.

Now as to peanut butter I to leave a knife where it should not go as well-but since I like peanut butter the knife is never full.

I often do not wear shoes while eating peanut butter-actually we are a shoe free home-shoes live in the mud room.

 

As to mud daubers they leave my pottery area alone but always build nest in my outboard motor's pee hole-I use a wire to clean them out.

Boy has this thread gone sideways.

 

Now that we are talking about cleaning I have an outside washing machine used just for clay cloths and pot shop towels.

Its cold water only -I use no soap and use the water from washer to water our raspberries.-The machine lives under a overhang next to my car kiln-the berry patch is only a few feet away-I bought it used for 50$ for clay use. No clay clothes go into our house washer (which is on our septic system).

Mark

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Actually, I unloaded a glaze load yesterday, and noticed a few shards from a handle that came off in the Fall. Figure I had better get the bottom cleaned out. I have split shelves in the bottom of the kiln on 1" stilts and 3/4" stilts. 1" gap between the two. The handle could be seen in the gap. nice toasty brown after being fired to ^6 5-6 times. :wacko: So yeah I will clean out my kiln soon. . . . . for this year!

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Well, I've fired twice and vac'd twice (new kiln) but I get the idea I may not need to keep that up quite so rigorously LOL. I'm fastidious and like my environment (studio included) to be clean and organized. I lose balance if things get too out of control. 

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The one thing this thread has shown me is most vacuum the kiln Way to often.

I suggest doing it only when it needs it-which is not very often.

Reasons for doing it include

 

blowing up work

replacing elements

spilling materials inside

stuff all over floor

stuff on elements

Mark

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