kiln buying

[JanineRumble]

Hi,

I am keen to start using ceramics in my jewellery making process. I would be looking  to eventually purchase a small kiln for my studio. Only i dont have £1000's to spend. I would like to spend £5-600 and get the best make and model for this price. I want to be able to fire clay, porcelain would be a dream but i understand that requires a very high firing temp = more £. 

Can anyone please suggest/recommend a quality kiln for my price range, suitable for clay firing and glazing

many thanks in advance

[Chilly]

I don't think you'll get a new kiln for that amount.  Look on ebay for a used kiln.

 

[JanineRumble]

You're very right there. my brain is thoroughly scrambled now, you would recommend playing around with a second hand one then? thank you

[Hulk]

Hi Janine,

There are midfire porcelains out there. Just starting out, I chose mid fire - lots of reasons.

That said, for ~$750 US something's gotta give - size, features, condition. I paid much less - it's 7 cubic feet, new shelves, lots of posts, boxes of cones, and a few other goodies, however, also over thirty years old, manual control, elements about half worn out, and no pyrometer (I bought one!). For jewelry, perhaps you won't want/need more than a few cubic feet? How handy are you with repairs? If you are not in a hurry, researching the market whilst refining your requirements will lead you to a choice...

 

[JanineRumble]

Hi Tom

Thanks. Yeah just a little hobby one for jewellery making would be ideal, i was thinking a second hand one, as long as it still reaches a decent temperature mind!

I have some pretty handy people around me so not too worried about having to fix/alter if needs be. Just concerned about it being a money pit and picking a good 2nd hand one.

 

thanks again

Hi Tom

Thanks. Yeah just a little hobby one for jewellery making would be ideal, i was thinking a second hand one, as long as it still reaches a decent temperature mind!

I have some pretty handy people around me so not too worried about having to fix/alter if needs be. Just concerned about it being a money pit and picking a good 2nd hand one.

 

thanks again

[oldlady]

in what part of the world do you live?   i have been looking at kilns recently on ebay and found that the situation has not changed much.   someone has died and the heirs have no idea what they have so they look for a new one of whatever they think they have.   here, it is almost normal for them to think the name of the kiln is "sitter"  and the model number is LK3 or whatever.  then they look at prices of new kilns and decide that half of that is what is normal to charge.   so there are absolutely beaten up kilns and some that look as though they have never been fired at the same price.  both are unreasonable.

if you can educate yourself on each type of kiln available for your work and can wait until something shows up that is close to it, you can get a bargain.    if shipping and the electrics were not so prohibitive, i would tell you about one available here in florida that looks brand new, though it was manufactured years ago and has been in storage since.

[JanineRumble]

Hi,

i live in the Oxfordshire, UK. Yeah, you're right its a real mix. some websites selling brand new for cheaper (so you think whats the catch) eg http://www.technicalsupermarket.com/component/option,com_virtuemart/page,shop.browse/category_id,425/Itemid,4/

or second hands for what seem like a lot of money. just need a little counter top one, one shelf is all i need. Though it was achievable but i'd rather not spend £1000 plus. Also i'd like it to be able to reach a nice high temp, but again that means ££££

[Chilly]

8 hours ago, JanineRumble said:

You're very right there. my brain is thoroughly scrambled now, you would recommend playing around with a second hand one then? thank you

Just keep looking.  I paid £25 for mine, 10 years ago.  Re-wired it as plug/cable were in poor condition.  Replaced heating elements shortly after.  Two years later bought programmer as original was fully manual, no sitter or anything.  Original kiln is around 20 or 30 years old, but model is still made by Potterycrafts.

[oldlady]

chilly, could you PM me, please?

[oldlady]

janine, just be careful of things that look too good to be true.   we had a discussion recently about the really poorly made kilns and wheels from china for relative pennies.  junk. rubbish, trash, whatever word suits.  taking advantage of beginners without any knowledge at all.

[Denice]

If you patient you can find a real bargain,  I purchased a old (new) kiln last summer for $250.   It was in a basement all shiny and didn't look as if it was ever fired,  the receipts that came with it said it was purchased in 1969.   They had a studio upstairs that had three worn out kilns in it,  I decided there had to be something wrong with it.   During  reassembling it we found a cone melted inside the kiln sitter tube.  They didn't know how to fire a kiln and instead of putting the cone between the bars the tube was broken and the cone pushed into the crack.  It cost me $50 for a new kiln sitter tube unit.   Have you tried looking for a kiln for a microwave on Ebay it will get you by until you find a good buy.  I understand that that it is very popular with jewelry makers.  Denice

[liambesaw]

Yep, if price is a concern, wait for a good deal to pop up on craigslist or whatever second-hand websites you have there in the UK.  I got my manual kiln for 75 dollars and upgraded it to digital for another 400ish.  Just have to wait til it's your turn to get lucky!  Same with the wheels that I've purchased.  I was in the right place at the right time for buying them and got screaming deals on each.

[Chilly]

@JanineRumbleThere is a kiln on ebay at the mo, starting price £75.  That's worth looking at, if you or someone you know is prepared to replace the elements and check the wiring.  Search this forum, loads of people have done changed theirs.

Don't look at the 115-240V NEW,PROFESSIONAL,TOP-LOADED  blah blah blah.  I wouldn't touch that with a bargepole.

The biggest cost with a new kiln is it's newness.  Second hand kilns last forever.  A few bits of brick broken won't stop it from working.  Rewiring is not difficult if you can do it yourself or know a friendly sparky.

Biggest warning I can give, when you buy a kiln, do NOT plug it into a normal extension lead.  Get a dedicated connection for it direct from your fuseboard.  My kiln lives down the garden in a greenhouse.  I have an arctic quality cable with a caravan plug that gets laid out the length of the garden and plugs into a weatherproof socket on the outside of the house, that is direct wired to to fuse-board.  So, there is only one removeable connection.  I didn't always have this set-up, and the plug of my so-called "plug-in" kiln melted to the socket when there where a number of connections.  Greenhouse to garage, garage to garage, garage to house........

[JanineRumble]

WOW thanks guys. lots to think about. I think less stressing about £1000's and accepting the second hand route and abit of TLC on the kiln is the best route

 by the looks of it :-)

[JanineRumble]

whilst researching more there are these two Prometheus one below. They are a good hobby size and price. Both reach 1000c. Im hesitant and there is a lot if emphasis on metal clay on their description. But maybe they are good for small ceramics also? any advice on these please :-)

Prometheus Mini Kiln Pro1-prg Programmable With Timer

Prometheus Mini Kiln Pro-1 With Digital Controller

 

 

50 are interested the

[Hulk]

Hi Janine!

1000C (1832F) wouldn't be hot enough for me, I've made a commitment to mid fire (stoneware, so far, ~2230F or cone 6); also, likely better off that kiln top temp is considerably higher that where we're using it (mostly), e.g. my kiln is rated for cone 10

From there, 1832F looks like 'bout cone 06, hence max rating in "low fire" range? Not sure if there are clays suitable for jewelry in that range.

[Chilly]

22 hours ago, JanineRumble said:

 

Prometheus Mini Kiln Pro1-prg Programmable With Timer

Prometheus Mini Kiln Pro-1 With Digital Controller

 

 

50 are interested the

 

1,000C isn't hot enough for ceramics.  Bisque needs to be fired to ^06 - ^04, which, generally speaking, is around 1,000 to 1,060C.  As I said before, maximum rated temp of kiln will only be reached with brand new elements and everything else in perfect harmony.  

Check the internal size, it's not tall enough for a mug.

[Stephen]

I think I am confused. I thought you were talking about a small kiln for jewelry making  (like 1 cubic foot or less) and there are a number of choices for small new kilns, with an electronic controller, that are close to that price range and fire to cone 8/10. I would think about exactly what size kiln you want/need. Larger kilns might be a really bad choice for what you are doing and with more electric requirements you could be looking at almost your entire budget to have the electrical work done to fire it unless you already have the larger dedicated outlet.

Here's a link to small kilns at clay-king and they have a lot of $6-$700 US options new with electronic controllers and use 120 electric. I get that the free shipping might not apply to you but still might be a good point of reference.

http://www.clay-king.com/smallkilns.htm

We use mid-fire porcelain and the important thing to consider is if the clay you use (porcelain or stoneware) is fully vitrified. With the small kilns you will need to make sure that if you want to use mid-fire (cone 5-6) that you buy at least a cone 8 kiln. 

Everyone loves a deal but if you can get new then you will be using the latest tech and the kiln will prob last you a life time if you take care of it. 

Have fun shopping.