Having A Kiln Outside ?

[Marcia Selsor]

Hi, well first of all if you have ever smelled the fumes when firing either bisque or glaze you won't want to have a kiln inside anywhere without a vent. I bought 2 of the first electronic Evenheat cone 6 kilns in 1992/93, had them in the cement/milk house room of an unheated barn in Western New York for years, firing (cone 6) like crazy (all throughout the year and in all temperatures), then took time off from pottery until 2003, moved them to coastal Florida where they sat in an un-airconditioned storage building until 2009. At that time we placed them outside of our house under a aluminum roof on a cement pad. I started firing again in 2011, everything worked great, sure they have a little rust on the lid hinge and the bung hole covers, but we did not even have to replace any elements until after quite a few firings. A couple of months ago after firing about 200 times we finally replaced the thermocouples in both kilns. Sounds like you need a place to fire your pieces, a local studio or pottery group; or at least a covered patio with a fireproof floor. If the newer electronics in kilns are more sensitive to outside temperature changes I do not know.   I hope this helps you and anyone else that is worried about firing outside.

I am concerned about the air here because it is predominantly from Matamoros, Mx. If I leave a utility blade outside over night it is rusted. Rubber is also rotting. Had to replace the wheels on pug mill and ware carts. Last week I was wearing a pair of shoes and the soles disintegrated as I was walking. Had to leave a meeting to change shoes. These shoes had been in my bedroom closet for years.My husband's golf bag has rotted in the garage. Something is seriously not right.Hearing your rate of rust, convinces me more than ever that we have a huge problem.

 

Marcia

[neilestrick]

Humidity kills electronics. I've worked on kilns in schools that aren't air conditioned or well vented and everything corrodes- the steel, the wiring connections, etc. I've even had a controller not work because it was too moist indoors.

[LovesPurple]

My first two kilns were "manual", the second one had a Firemate controller - awesome!  Anyway, I had them outside on wheels under the eve of our garage.  They were plugged in inside the garage, so to fire them I just rolled them away from the garage wall a little.  The problem is, even when they are done firing they stay really hot for a long time.  So, what I did was build a big box out of melmaine (because is is mostly waterproof) and lined the inside with cement board, and added some wheels.  I left it open on one side so I could just push the kiln back close to the garage (stucco) and slide the box over it.  There was enough room between the box and the kiln that the air could circulate, but the kiln was protected from the rain.  On cold days I just fired a little slower to avoid thermal shock.  When I bought my brand spanking new kiln I built a metal shed :-)