ElAbejo Posted January 13, 2023 Report Share Posted January 13, 2023 Hi, I am building new electric kiln, 150 l, and 50x50x63 cm, with k26 insulating firebrick, wall 12.6 cm thick, top load, with some ceramic wool insulation of course. What I'm worried about is thermal mass, since k26 is hevier than k23 for example. Would a 6,3 cm thick wall with more wool insulation be better ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted January 13, 2023 Report Share Posted January 13, 2023 A typical electric kiln (in the US) has walls that are 3"/7.6cm thick. They're built with standard 3" x 4.5" x 9" bricks turned on their sides. At 12.6cm you're going to get better insulation than a typical kiln, but yes, less brick with more wool would insulate better since the wool is much lower mass. Personally, I wouldn't mess with the wool at all. It's a health hazard, difficult to work with, and not at all durable. If you really want to back up the bricks with something, use some sort of fiber board insulation, not ceramic wool blanket. Regardless of the thickness of the brick, you'll have to calculate the wattage of your elements to account for the mass of the brick, heat loss, etc. Also bear in mind that as the walls get thicker the kiln will cool more slowly. That means longer turnaround times and less control over the firing cycle if you want to add cooling cycles to the firing program. It's better to have thinner walls and let the elements control the cooling rate if you want good control. For instance, L&L builds their crystalline glaze kilns with power to get to cone 12, but uses 2.5" thick K26 bricks so the kiln can cool quickly when needed, and there's more precise control over the firing cycle. Pres 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElAbejo Posted January 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2023 Tnx for answer.I left power calculations to profesional, and it is 10kW fo 150 l , three phases. Brickwork is done, heat element chanel already cut and shaped. Wool blanket is saved from my old kiln, and since budget is tight I'm going to use it, as carefully as can. I'll pack outer shell out of steel sheet, and seal exposed wool with kind of refractory mortar. As for firing cycles...I have old procesor with only two steps, middle and final temp plato, and shut off, so crash cooling at the end. For cooling hold at,say, 950C , I have to be there and turn on manuelly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted January 13, 2023 Report Share Posted January 13, 2023 I believe this strand should be in the Equipment use and Repair strand, so I will move it there. Hope you agree @neilestrick. best, Pres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted January 13, 2023 Report Share Posted January 13, 2023 2 minutes ago, Pres said: I believe this strand should be in the Equipment use and Repair strand, so I will move it there. Hope you agree @neilestrick. best, Pres You bet. Sorry I didn't catch that! Pres 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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