moonari

This community is amazing. Thank you so much for the tips--it is so great to hear recommendations and to read the article. Knowing what to keep an eye out for. makes me feel much more comfortable about trying to store a few of my glazes in my shed now--I will also measure the SG of the glazes before doing so to monitor evaporation. I'll try to find out some of the mineral make up as well to These batches of glaze aren't huge but every cent counts! After I got my own wheel and kiln I am less in touch with a community studio and miss the sharing of tips, jokes, and the weekly donut, Thank you, all!

Thanks for replying, LinR!. Right now, I have all my glazes mixed, in water tight containers. I’m still testing different glazes from different sources and so my batches are relatively small. I haven’t moved to a 5gallon bucket (yet) It’s mostly in 1L buckets. It sounds like it shouldn’t be a problem then, as long as I avoid freezing temps (breaking containers due to water expansion.) I worry a little about mold or bacteria growing in warmer temps. Not sure if there are tips to manage those situations. It’s so great to hear from someone’s experience! Thanks!

Hello, fellow potters, I’ve searched long and wide to find an answer to this question but I can’t seem to verify any actual written information regarding this topic. Basically I have very limited space, a ‘corner studio’ if you will. I have a greenhouse-like shed outdoors that is dry and kept ventilated. It also has shading on the inside ceiling to limit overheating. What I’m trying to figure out is if it would be okay to store glaze in a detached shed? During chilly weather, it stays about 5-8° warmer then exterior temperatures and in warmer days it can go up to ~90° Or even 100° if it’s in the 90s outside. I have mixed small batches of dry glazes purchased at a pottery store (5# bags) but there was no indication of storage temp. I also have a few jars with screw lids of recent ^6 glazes that are fairly new purchase. I figure that most glazes are minerals emulsified with water and such so maybe it should be okay (unless temperatures drop to freezing) but am I wrong to think this way? Anyone have experience in this area? Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks, Pres, for the tips. I imagine even with nitrite-bonded silicon carbide shelves, these are good practices to always keep in mind. I really like this idea of using bevel undercuts and catch lips or engraved line….I’ve not tried that yet before. Any experience or thoughts on cookies? I just saw a video on them the other day and am intrigued…

Thanks, Piedmont. These links will be great for anybody who’s looking. It helps hearing from someone who’s actually used them.I wasn’t able to find the right size for my kiln (15” diameter) but am curious if anyone has ever cut them at home? I can’t imagine it a super great idea unless you know what you’re doing but I wonder if it’s like like cutting a corian countertop? Then that would be a way to do it, I suppose, to order the 21” and cut down manually to size, leaving 1” from kin interior edges.

I haven't thought of that before because I had only seen large ones and I am quite space limited but that would be a neat idea to figure out at a later time. Thank you for the suggestion --and for anyone else out there, something to consider.

That is what I've been gathering from here and there. Any sources, sites, or suppliers you recommend checking out?

(Joining this thread late) Any new updates or tips to share? I also ordered a similar kiln (KM822-3) but still have several weeks to wait. I am curious how it went. I was estimating something similar (6” posts for bisque fire and a combo of 3-4” for glaze); were you happy with the decision to do all full shelves vs half shelves? If/ when you have a moment, would love to hear more about your experience.

This is a super helpful tip! Love this. Thank you!

Thanks for the tips thus far – and for the tip to try clay at cone 6. I had primarily only done cone 10 because that was what the studio had required and so that's what I have on hand. In speaking with a Skutt technician before placing the order, they had mentioned that firing at cone 10 might go a little longer just because it was a smaller kiln and I ordered it with the 3" brick insulation. But the technician also recommended trying it before making the splurge for APM. That said, it makes sense that for an electric kiln at home is different than the large one at the studio and to try other options. I have never tried using clay at cone 6 but I'm assuming it is comparable. I'm almost out of my cone 10s and so I think I'll try throwing at cone 6 next. It'll open a world of glazes as well! I saw a note on one of the suppliers site that Corelites won't actually hold up for long with repeated firing at cone 10 and to consistently rotate shelves so all signs are pointing to trying to adjust clay choice to cone 6. Since there wasn't a comment on the number of shelves, it sounds like what I have in mind isn't crazy talk?

Hello, fellow potters~! With the pandemic pausing our local community center pottery classes and the departure of my favorite teacher, I purchased a wheel a year ago – and after a few trips into dropping off / pickup for firings (bisqueware to glaze) at a pottery store 25 mins away, I've made the plunge–as so many on this forum have, to finally get a kiln~! Skutt 822-3 has been ordered and I'm excited! When I purchased the kiln, I decided not purchase the furniture kit at the same time because I'd come across a random video on youtube that talked about issues with your typical Cordierite kiln shelves (warping, glaze runs, kiln wash flakes, etc.) that made me want to research more options. Thus, it's lead me to this site where I've been reading through several posts and seeing various recommendations surface. It seems like the Advancer shelves or nitride bonded silicon carbide are a much appreciated option over the standard Cordierite kiln shelves—albeit with a significant upfront cost. I've also seen recommendations for the Thermal-lite and CoreLite shelves, but apparently, they do not appear to come in the size that I need. It looks like Advancer shelves do come in the size I need. What I'm less certain of are: Now or later Is now the right time to make an upfront investment? Or, as a newbie, would you rather have started with a standard Cordierite shelves and 'graduate' up later? If you had to do it all over again, what would you recommend for yourselves? Shelf qty Is the way I'm calculating shelves and stilt quantities correct? It seems like the bottom-most shelf should be on a 1/2-1" stilt to improve circulation (at least from what I've seen on, youtube). Since the 822 is 22" deep, and given that bottom requirement, I've calculated that I could essentially have: - bisque firing 3 shelves to stack ware, with posts / stilts at 6" - glaze firing at max, 5-6 shelves, using either 4" or 3" posts / stilts, respectively - I juuuust may be able to have the budget to cover purchasing 3 full shelves, and 6 half shelves to achieve this— is the number of shelves unrealistic, given the space? To help answer the questions, maybe it might help to know more info? What kind of clay body do I use? I usually throw B-mix that fires to cone 10; I also throw cone 10 Porcelain (which I heard has flux and will need either a kiln wash on the shelf or application of a mix of alumina hydarte with wax resist to the foot of the piece) What kinds of objects do I throw? I mainly focus on low profile bowls (2-5" tall), plates, but am starting to throw small vases and hope to also do teapots and larger bowls at some point How frequently do you I plan to fire? While I wish I could do more, realistically, I am only able to throw on weekends and on some evenings once in a while, unfortunately – so the firings will be based on my schedule and how much I can throw! Appreciate you reading this far — and please, if there is a post that already covers this that I did not find, please feel free to link it in the response for me to follow up. Looking forward to hearing from the community! moonari p.s. I'm so glad this site is here!