Question about Kiln in classroom.

[Ms. Maria]

Hello I am a Visual Arts Teacher and I have a question about a new electric kiln I that was placed in my classroom and where it is in proximity to my students, how close  and easily accessible it is to students. My classroom is new and an electric kiln has been placed in the corner of the room, no walls or locked door to keep the students away from the kiln. I was told there is an emergency shut off switch, that is all and to fire only at night or "off hours" and the cone size matters. Not sure but I am feeling uneasy about this and would like some advise please. There are no walls to separate the electric kiln from the students. Thoughts and advise please?

Edited May 26, 2023 by Ms. Maria

[LeeU]

How old are the students? Are you present when they are, or do they come & go when you're not  around. Will they be firing the kiln?  Don't know what you mean about cone "size"--do you mean the  Orton system correlated with the temperature desired? Most elec. kilns fire best from low (ex. cone 04-05)to mid fire-usually around cone 5-6 (but can go higher-not likely needed in any school environment, and that wears out the elements faster). 

[neilestrick]

The kiln will take 6-12 hours to fire up, then another 12-24 hours to cool depending on how big the kiln is and how much work is in it. So at best you have about 18 hours where it will be hot and could be a danger to the kids. Plus the vent will be running and that can be loud. So no, it's not ideal. That said, I work on a lot of kilns that live in the classroom and they seem to make it work just fine- by firing on days when they don't have a full schedule, or timing the firing so that it's hottest when the classroom isn't being used and it can cool overnight. Ideally it would be best to have it in its own room, but I get that that isn't always possible. By only working at low fire temps you can shorten both the firing time and the cooling time. At the very least you should invest in a safety screen like THIS. They're usually available through Blick and School Specialty, too. Another option to keep the kids away is to build a chain-link fence around it. Dog kennel panels work well.

How is the kiln vented?

[Ms. Maria]

Thank you! and I am not sure how it is vented yet. I will take a look at it tomorrow. What are the most important things to look for?

Maria

Edited May 26, 2023 by Ms. Maria

[Pres]

Ms Maria, what grade levels are you teaching? Could you post a picture of the kiln here, or at least the specs of the kiln: Manufacturer, model etc.

I taught several years in a classroom that had the kiln setting in a corner, but as it was HS and warning signs and student warnings were standard for me. You could always have a screen put up to block entrance to the kiln corner. Venting out a window with a downdraft vent would probably handle the slight amount of gasses.

 

best,

Pres

[Denice]

If you don't have a vent you  should fire it on a weekend or free days,  that is what my teacher did in high school.    Denice

[Callie Beller Diesel]

My high school did the same as Denise: teacher turned the kiln on at the end of the day with the firing cycle set so that it would shut off in the early morning so she’d be there to check. Usually on a Friday or before a PD day. 

[Babs]

As well, is it sitting on a suitable base? Distances from walls.

I placed my"station" right next to the kiln.

I fully explained the workings  temps etc to classes, secondary.

I erected a "fence" and I had a safety chain so noone could open the lid. Putting on whIn students left school , then there in the wee hours to check the turn off., kiln sitter. Unpack a day later, packand so on. I inherited 30 firings of previous teachers pots, adult classes as well as students, whew.

Your kiln speci plates will say what cone it is capable of reaching.

Have a good time. 

[neilestrick]

The kiln should be vented for both fumes and heat. That could mean an overhead hood, a ceiling vent that's sized for the kiln and room size, or either of those in combination with a downdraft vent.

[Denice]

It would be nice if the school system did a little research and did things right and safe.   The high school I attended had a fire in the pottery classroom,  several years after I graduated I was there visiting one of my teachers.   I stopped by the pottery class to see what had changed,  there was a small closet added in a corner of the room.   My teacher smiling  opened the door and there was a large front loader gas kiln that filled the space.    It looked like a dangerous location to me,  I don't know how they made that decision.   Denice

[neilestrick]

Small closets that are just big enough for the kiln are not a good solution IMO. For one, there's not enough space to store shelves and posts and such. Second, they can be difficult to load and repair due to having limited space to move about. Third, they require really good ventilation, meaning an overhead vent pulling heat out, and a good source of fresh air coming in. It's really easy to overheat a digital kiln in a small space, because you're not only dealing with the heat directly from the kiln, but also the reflected heat from the walls. The controller will shut down if it gets too hot, so there has to be a lot of air moving past the kiln in order to keep the controller cool.

[Rae Reich]

On 5/25/2023 at 5:50 PM, Ms. Maria said:

and the cone size matters.

Maybe refers to using small cones in the kiln sitter shut-off and not the full size ones?

[Hulk]

If/when firing unattended, setting the timer to expire shortly after peak temperature is reached could be important!
Keep notes - size of the load (in weight), including furniture (shelves and posts); hours and minutes to target temperature; cone packs results.