best way to load large heavy pieces into skutt kiln

[s6x]

I'm looking at kilns to buy, either skutt 1027-3 or L&L e28T.   both 27 inch heigh.  the L&L 28 inches wide, skutt 23" wide.    I'm limited to 60amp 1phase breaker, or I would get something larger. 

I make sculptures that are about 25" x tall x 20 inches wide, so I would be firing one at a time.   They're quite heavy to lift. possibly 80lbs.... so I'm trying to envision how I would even load them into the kiln.   Is it possible to remove the rings of the kilns first.   Place the sculpture,  and then put the rings around the ceramic piece afterwards?   Otherwise, I would need to figure out some kind of hoisting mechanism to load the sculptures down into the kiln.   Particularly concerned how this would work after glazing... how would you hoist a heavy object with a fragile surface... 

[Denice]

I had a older Skutt 1027-3 and would remove the rings,  my husband would help me with the rings and load the sculpture.   The rings on my new L&L are heavier and larger outside dimensions than my old Skutt.   I haven't had it very long,  I plan to fire a sculpture  in 6 months.   I am worried about the L&L rings being hard to handle because of the size.   I didn't looked at a new Skutt to check the outside dimensions,  they may have larger rings now.  I am wondering if anyone has ever lowered  a sculpture that size using a sling made with sheets.    If you aren't able to slip the sheets out would have to let them burn and have some smoke to deal with.   I built one sculpture that was glazed,  I placed it on the shelf that was being used in the kiln,  my husband and I carried the shelf with the glazed piece on it and set  it on the bottom of the kiln and put the rings back being careful not to bump the glaze.   The wider L&L may be easier to  put over a glazed pot.   Make sure of your dimensions  I didn't know if your measurements were inside or outside,  if they are outside  measurements neither kiln will be big enough.    Denice

[s6x]

44 minutes ago, Denice said:

thank you Denise.  those are the inner dimensions.  all your suggestions were really good.  thank you. 

 

[Dick White]

Both the Skutt and L&L kilns have a full-height control column for the digital controller with fiddlie electrical connections to the elements that make it very inconvenient to casually take the sections apart for loading large sculptures. Note also that while both use a 60 amp circuit, the Skutt 1027 kiln is smaller total volume and is rated for cone 10, while the wider L&L e28T is rated to only cone 8 (generally regarded as usable to cone 6 in the long term) because of the greater volume.

You might consider instead the L&L Jupiter series. The individual sections are not hard-wired to the inside back of control panel, but are plug-in to the side of the control panel. There will still be some disassembly needed to take the sections apart, but would be easier than either the Skutt or L&L e-series kilns.

[s6x]

7 hours ago, Dick White said:

Both the Skutt and L&L kilns have a full-height control column for the digital controller with fiddlie electrical connections to the elements that make it very inconvenient to casually take the sections apart for loading large sculptures. Note also that while both use a 60 amp circuit, the Skutt 1027 kiln is smaller total volume and is rated for cone 10, while the wider L&L e28T is rated to only cone 8 (generally regarded as usable to cone 6 in the long term) because of the greater volume.

You might consider instead the L&L Jupiter series. The individual sections are not hard-wired to the inside back of control panel, but are plug-in to the side of the control panel. There will still be some disassembly needed to take the sections apart, but would be easier than either the Skutt or L&L e-series kilns.

Thank you so much dick.  I'll definitely look into that.  

[neilestrick]

L&L can make the Jupiter kilns with a pull-apart option, where the control box is mounted on a stand next to the kiln rather than on the kiln itself. You just unplug the sections from the controller and unstack them.