Firing in my house - need to vent?

[missyjayne]

Hello! I am new to firing at home and I have an old Duncan kiln in my basement. I have it in my laundry room on a stand and I have been leaving the window open and closing the door to the room when I fire but I can still smell it upstairs sometimes. I have been trying to read up on kiln venting and I'm wondering if this is something I 100% need to do? I'm only doing low fire up to cone 04, does this make a difference?

[Pres]

If your basement is a finished area with no studs or joists exposed, I would think that a window fan would be the best option, along with a door open to the basement so that you have air moving through the basement out the window. I am assuming that you are following the precautions needed for a kiln, including distance from walls and ceilings, proper wiring, and general safety. I you still have the odor issue you may want to look into a fan with duct for a hood that is over the kiln and ducts out the window.

 

best,

Pres

[missyjayne]

Thank you for the response. Yes I'm following all safety precautions. My husband was thinking we might try opening the radon mitigation system cap next time and having a fan blow towards that since it seems to really suck the air out of the room. 

Edited March 19 by missyjayne

[neilestrick]

The cone you fire to doesn't really make a difference, because things start burning out as low as 500F degrees and is pretty well complete by 1900F degrees. Bare minimum you want a fan in the window pulling air out, and sufficient makeup air. If you find that doesn't work, then I recommend getting a downdraft kiln vent.