door.nik Posted October 12, 2022 Report Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) Hi All! I am a newer potter looking to finally get a wheel and a kiln (I am so excited about this!). Through friends of friends, I came across a 1976 Esterin wheel and kiln. The kiln is 240v, 30amps, and gets up to 2350. They are asking $700 for the pair and I am not sure if it's worth it? I may be able to get the price down a bit too. Could I be walking into a money pit here? Or is this something that will allow me to grow and learn more as a potter? I'll say that I am not a super technical person, but keen to learn. Curious to hear your thoughts and suggestions! Edited October 13, 2022 by door.nik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted October 12, 2022 Report Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) Hi and welcome to the forum! I've had both an Estrin wheel and one of their 10 cubic foot square top loading kilns. Estrin wheels are very noisy compared to probably all of the ones available now from other manufacturers. See if there is guard on the drivewheel, I broke my toe on my wheel which didn't have one. Other than those points they are solid wheels. Wiggle the wheelhead side to side and make sure there is no play. For the Estrin Kiln I would check the cost of replacement kiln elements with Euclids, just email them the specs from the plate and they will tell you how much to replace them. They are a Canadian company but have both a US and Canadian site so make sure you tell them you are asking for the price in CA dollars. Also, Estrin made a few of their kilns without angled slots for the elements, they were just cut at a right angle to the bricks and the elements all needed pinning in place, I would pass on one of those kilns. Advantage of the Estrin kilns is they are great for slow cooling glazes, disadvantage of the really thick walls is it can take ages for them to cool down. Is the kiln is fully manual, or have they added a controller or sitter? Does it use a standard size kiln shelves? Do shelves and posts come with the kiln? Does the lid have a hinge or is it one of the ones where you actually have to lift the entire lid off manually? Some of the Estrin kilns were underpowered for their size, post a picture of the faceplate here so people can compare it to comparable sized kilns. Edited October 12, 2022 by Min added a thought or two Hulk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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