Pres

I use and own all kinds of brushes in the ceramics studio .Some I had as a Art major in collage (oil /water color and ceramics use) .I'll never use them all up in my life as i collected way to many to over the decades. I had a brother who bought a bunch from Japan in the 70s for me and a mother who went to china in the 80s and brought back a bunch for me. Since then I have amassed way to many on top of those I already had. I was also given a few boxes of the flat wide ones that are white hair wooden japanese one. She had a case of them.Then somewhere in the 80s I started to make my own. Well now maybe its time to think about letting some go. I did sell a bunch of pottery tools on one of the pottery facebook sites last year when cleaning out a studio area. Time to do more of that.Doing that with camera gear now as its a winter downsizing I do every year.

Yeah, @Hulk, the more skills and knowledge you gain seems like there are more skills and knowledge YET to gain!
 
best,
Pres

Hi folks, another kiln question.  Over the years I have done a lot of maintenance and repair of kilns in the school district I worked at, and at home. I would say the first level of maintenance is keeping the kiln clean. Using small dust brooms and dustpans is a good beginning place to remove all of the bits that occur during firings. Then there is a first level of repair, replacing bricks, floors, etc. On the stacking kilns much of this is easier than on the solid box kiln that used to be the norm years ago. Then there is entering into repair where you replace elements. This can be scary at first, but following simple steps and manuals can really make it much less of a job than you think, especially if you are handy with tools. This to me is the repairer level where most work occurs. Then you come to repairs where you replace insulators, wiring harnesses and other the setter, or today the controller. I would do all of that but the controller. 
QotW: When it comes to kiln maintenance/repair, how do you rate yourself?
best,
Pres

Luckily there are a ton of online resources to help people do their own kiln maintenance. It's a lot less daunting than before the internet. Most of the kiln manufacturers have good online videos showing how to test, diagnose, and repair kiln issues. It's a good time to be a kiln owner!

I am sure I could learn how to repair my kiln if I could just get over my electricity phobia.  When I was eight years old I attended girl scout camp,  the next week a girl with my name was struck by lighting and killed at the same camp.   My parents received sympathy calls for a week.  Between my dad's bad wiring and the death of the girl  I felt like some day electricity would be the end of me.  Denice

I’m happy to say that after a couple of decades in clay, having built several  kilns and operated many more, I finally graduated into the class of “Has Successfully Replaced Elements” a couple weeks ago (I completed the “empty kiln to 04/oxidize the elements” firing, but still have to complete the final, “cone 6 glaze fire.” So, I haven’t actually gotten my diploma yet, but am confident.). 
I have earned many other (self-awarded) certificates over the years. “Scraping Shelves,” “Proper Application of Kiln Wash,” and “The Economy of Angle Grinders,” were earned concurrently over time. “Low Fire Clay in a High Firing” was a crash course. There’s a lot more fuel kiln stuff rattling around in my head than electric. 
I feel like most of what I’ve learned about kiln maintenance, operation, and repair has been so incremental it’s hard to place myself on a scale. The thermocouple goes out and you learn how to replace it, you don’t have to learn that now. Multiply that by kiln-life experiences and you wind up knowing a lot that most people don’t. We end up being experts by just making things work day after day, year after year. 

They would probably be okay, but any time you shut down a glaze before it's gone through its complete melting cycle there's a chance of something going wrong like crawling. It would also depend totally on the glaze formula as to just how much things would harden up at low temps. I would just carefully wrap them in something soft and pack them so they don't move and rub. If you're using brushing glazes they tend to be pretty durable before firing anyway.

nice, lee.    i agree with bam.   the softer edges of your work seem to make them more accessable to the general public.  smooth a few more of those sharp corners so they do not look as though they broke by accident.
denice is right, it is still too cold.   my studio is heated by an oil boiler and 2 radiators, 1 is five feet long.  i turned the heat up from the usual 40 today and plan to do so tomorrow as well.  i have a choice of heating the house to 68 and turning it down at night to 61.  tomorrow the studio will go to 68 and the house can stay at 61.  with oil over $5 a  gallon, i am frugal.
today i made another pattern block using flowers from a succulent that grows inside the very front of the house with eastern sun.  it is just starting the blooming season with coral colored bell shapes dangling above a huge plant.   the final result will be a piece pressed into the pattern block so the flowers are in relief when a new piece of clay is formed into a butter dish, a small bowl or plate, soap dish, candy dish or whatever size tray i want.   look at christie knox's fabulous work.
last year the favorite pattern was actually 3 or 4 different flowers, snowdrops, hellebore at 3 different stages, dogwood and honeysuckle, my personal favorite.  these pieces sell very easily and are not so expensive that everybody can afford something nice to look at and use every day.  pretty is important enough to let their wallets hang open matching the smile as they buy.
good luck with this change!  the one partially shown on the left center looks like you could use it as a great  pattern block just as it is.  fire to bisque, roll clay into it but put some foam rubber under the whole thing before you roll it!
 

I appreciate the info that L&L has good customer service.   I haven't had mine for a year yet,  I only have 15 firings on it.   I use my other smaller kilns more because I can't wait to fill the L&L.  At my age I don't think I am going to get better at waiting.   Denice

Good question.  I have 1000 firings on my L&L.  My husband and I work together on it,  Mostly I could do it myself, replacing elements, thermocouples, wiring etc.  But it is nice to have the help.  We have even replaced bricks (yes, the one on the bottom ring).  And patched bricks.  I helped a friend replace bricks and elements on a larger, older L&L.  But I have never attempted repair on other brands.  Not sure if there would be a lot of difference or not.  We are hours away from any sort of help, so we had to do this on our own.  L&L has GREAT over the phone, email, support.  My hat is off to Rob Battey.  He patiently listens to my kiln problems and gives such down to earth sensible advice. Over the phone, and via email.  I really appreciate L&L. They have made it possible for me to keep my kiln running.  

When it comes to kilns (and I assume this is an electric only thread) I do it all myself. I have a manual electric skutt (no computer) I added a fire rite control that turns it up as fast or slow as I need. I do not fire this much anymore as most pots are bisqued in my gas kilns. I have rebuilt a few of these type of kilns. pretty easy stuff. Same with shelves I do all the maintenance . I never fire over bisque temps in my 10 cubic skutt.I have upgraded to better connectors (not crimps) and leave all switches on high (the fire rite turns the kiln on and off) I did replace some of the jacket a few years ago and have more jackets in a box but have yet to finish the job..I think I fired this once last year.Its cone sitter kiln for turn off with a safety timer.I did repaint all the contol boxes a  non skutt color when the red color flaked off with rust. I have upgraded to real stainless screws as well so they do not rust. Any time I work on it I make it better with better materials when I can. Thees manuel kilns are pretty bullet proof and go for a long time without trouble.I have had 3 skits over time (all used) and if I bought new one it would be an L&L.
I would hope L&L used better stainless screws and parts. My beef with electric kiln companies is they skimp on quaility on small parts to save a few bucks. The stands are to small and the controls get to hot from lack of space and insulation. The stainless can be of poor quaility as well and rust.Not sure if any manufacture has it all figurted out. I do like the hard element holders  of top brands as well this feature alone is worth it in my view as the bricks break out every element change if there is not hard holder.

I am pretty good at maintaining the shelves, stilts and vacuuming out the kilns.   I use to have my kiln repaired for me by the local ceramic  supply store,   now that my husband has retire he has taken over that job.  Now that I think about he didn't start encouraging me to buy new kilns until he took over the kiln technician job.   Hmmm    I probably could of done it but I have a problem dealing with electricity.    My dad had our house wire badly,  you could get suddenly shocked anywhere anytime.  One time I got a bad shock washing dishes.  When I was young the fire department would  safety check houses in the neighborhood.   My dad would make us hide and not open the door.    Denice

In a recent QotW (2/15/24) about how often we fire our kilns, I disclosed some personal functional limitations that I'm coming to grips with, that significantly change how and what I do with clay. "The next fire is my first post-diagnosis test run--will she sink or will she swim?? The main challenge is that construction is fairly rough & funky , but I don't want the pieces to look too rough & too funky,  so I need to turn the heat up under the burner labeled "visually appealing", and pray." This is the first greenware heading into this new phase. I'll come back post-fire with the results. My tag line is (still) "Sculpturally Functional Ceramics ".  Most of the work is draped bowls/catchalls/small trays and tea light bases.

I have done electric raku with an old Amaco electric kiln. We had a center courtyard in the HS that was all open. I ran an extension cord out for the kiln, and fired out side. We had the 20 gal metal trash can with wood shavings and sawdust from the wood shop. The pots were made with our regular clay. . .at that time a white earthenware that we wedged a bunch of grog into as Callie says. Firing started first thing in the morning, and at cone 04-06, unload and reduction in the trash cans occurred in the last period of the day when I had class. The pieces turned out well with great wax resist areas and crackled decoration with some metallic tones from the raku glazes that were more metallic. The blacks were really nice in contrast to the White raku glaze that crackled a lot. Kids loved as did a lot of the students that would watch from the courtyard windows on the 2nd 3rd and 4th floors. They usually closed their windows when we were unloading. Administration must not have like it because two years later they made a major renovation closing the area in for District wide Supply depot/warehouse! Make certain to unplug the kiln before opening as hot air is a conductor of electricity.  A major warning in the research I had done back then in some old books on firing and raku.
 
best,
Pres

Years ago when I produced much more than now, I used an old refrigerator outside as a wet cabinet. Had to have a lock on it in order to use it that way it worked. The freezer compartment was especially nice for longer term small pieces.
 
best,
Pres

The answer is "it depends".  On what you might ask?  The weather. 
This time of year, things dry slowly - often too slowly, so they get covered with dry cloth to help absorb some moisture.  When it's hot or even just sunny, the greenhouse can warm up quickly, even in winter.  Either way, they come indoors and sit on a shelf over the bath - bathroom is not used and is north-facing.
It's a balancing/juggling act.  Don't let things dry too quickly, or so slowly I can't refine them, and miss the next kiln firing at the community centre.

@semidoomed if the glazes are only being fired to cone 04 and cooled in a normal firing, the clay body won’t matter a great deal. If they do want to pull the pieces out of the kiln while hot, it’s a good idea to wedge in a bunch of grog if there isn’t any already to help ease some of the thermal shock. 

Isn't it annoying how life gets in the way or working in the studio.   I wanted to test  some more slip recipes,   I was getting my glaze materials together and realized  I was out of it.   The next formula I was missing a material for it.   I decided to go pick them up the next day.  It was such a beautiful day we ran errands and went out for a nice Valentines dinner.  Today my husband woke up with a terrible cold,  I got up and  discovered the home we left in a mess.   Grocery that we had pick up were all over the counters,  the dishwasher needed to filled and ran  and the laundry I had started was all over the laundry room.  To  top it off it was trash day.  I spent the day putting the house back together.  Maybe tomorrow life will give me a break.   Denice

Your kiln firing cycle sounds good, although the overnight hold may be excessive. For a 1 cm ( about 3/8” for the Imperial users) thick piece that’s bone dry, I don’t know that more than 3-4 hours is necessary, even allowing for a more humid climate than mine. We use a 4 hour hold at the teaching studio I’m at, and most learners make some pretty chunky pieces when just starting out.
The end durability of the piece in your garden will be dictated more by your clay body’s fired properties and how they interact with your climate. Freeze/thaw cycles will be important, and I’d follow whatever recommendations they have in your area for overwintering terra cotta plant pots.  Potterycraft doesn’t appear to offer porosity testing specs on their, but they do say it’s reasonably groggy (6/10). With a 30 minute soak at the end of your firing, I would expect your end firing temp to hit 1200, or a good cone 5-5.5.  A bit under the cone 6 end point on this clay, so I would expect some porosity in the end piece. Enough to absorb some water over time, especially somewhere damp enough to grow moss. 

I was looking at my poor kiln today, thinking I needed to fire a load soon, when I realized I haven't fired a load since September of last year. It used to be that I would fire a kiln at least once a month, sometimes twice. Back then I had a an L&L 23 that had 5 sections. I would mostly fire the 4 sections, but often in the Summer it would be all 5.  It would hold a lot of pots, and I could fire some pretty tall thrown vases and jars. However, when it came to plates it was tough to get very many in with the diameter at 23. The new kiln fires many plates at a time since it is a 28" diameter, but it is shorter so tall stuff is more limited. I really don't make a much of the taller stuff anymore mostly limited to 36' including the lid with handle/decoration. Seems of late I will get a load ready at an average of once every 2 months in the good weather.
QotW: How many times a month/year do you fire your kiln/s?
best,
Pres

That's a cone 05, not 5. That would explain why the cone 5 glazes didn't melt.

What color is the cone?

So @DrJillthe pots were red hot, but what was the color of the kiln atmosphere at this time. You should have seen a yellow-white interior. This is the color of the atmosphere at cone 5-6. Looking directly into the kiln to see pots is tough on the eyes, and at the same time it is often difficult to see the cones unless positioned for such viewing. 
As for cost, seems your elements are good, controller is the problem, and an electrician can probably check that out.
best of luck, 
Pres

I fire daily some weeks, and only a couple of times a week other weeks.  But I am often firing my very small Olympic Doll kiln and only have one to three pieces in it at a time.  I only once in a while fire my larger Skutt.  If I'm working on a larger piece then I may fire it a few times a week for a while until that project is done.  Then months may go by without using my larger kiln unless I have a larger load.  A lot of my equine sculpture gets fired several times in the underglaze layers, then clear glazed, then may be fired a few more times with overglazes to build up the complex finishes I am known for on my horse pieces.  Especially if I did any claybody resculpting to the bisque then a piece might easily be fired 10 or 12 times (and in rare cases more).  So that can be a lot of trips in and out of my kilns!  Some days I have both kilns firing at the same time so they each have their own dedicated breakers.
Even with such a heavy firing schedule I have managed after 20 years to keep both of my kilns in pretty good shape.  My Olympic is starting to show wear and tear and needs to be rewired now (still haven't gotten to that yet) but my Skutt still looks shiny and almost brand new.  If I had to make an average over the whole year, I fire about twice a week.  Some weeks I fire every day, some weeks I take off from firing to work on sculpting,  molds or resin casting, etc.  But my art studio is my full time job and I am best known for my ceramics, so...
Edited to add a couple of photos.  This was a larger piece than usual for me, almost 15 inches long.  So I had to fire him in my larger Skutt instead of my little Olympic.  This was a porcelain bisque I resculpted the mane and tail on, made a new custom base for, and then custom glazed.  He was fired, I kid you not, exactly 20 times.  What a PITA!  Not a project I will take on again for a client anytime soon but he did come out very lovely and my client was well pleased!  Took a little extra TLC with packing him too, foam blocked and double boxed of course.  I was firing my Skutt a LOT when I was working on his china painting and enamel layers to build his color.  This is the Cybis 'Nashua' racehorse sculpture by JK Slick.  The brass halter ring was added after firing and due to the sculpture being porcelain, I attached the earthenware base using epoxy rather than trying to attach it in the kiln (and likely recracking later).  So anyway, pieces like this are why I fire so often.  Many layers can be delicate and need to be set and built up with a number of firings.  It took me all year to complete this commission due to various delays & distractions, other deadlines, etc.


I think it would be cool if you all posted a sample of your work with your reply or a shot of a typical kiln load, something!

@Mark C.I knew this, and thought it would be good to urge others to post how often they fired. No Snark about you pointing it out! 
 
 
best,
Pres