Why you (probably) shouldn't buy a kiln
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 9. 07. 2024
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Please don't buy a kiln before considering these things! I am seeing lots of people get excited and rush into buying a kiln, and it's an exciting purchase for sure! But I want to warn you about a few things you definitely need to consider before buying your first kiln.
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0:00 - what I'll cover in this video
0:30 - how much does it cost?
1:45 - electrical wiring
2:25 - what if you rent?
4:45 - my insurance recommendations
5:55 - ventilation
8:10 - can you commit?
10:20 - alternative to buying a kiln #1
12:00 - alternative to buying a kiln #2
13:20 - alternative to buying a kiln #3 - Jak na to + styl
I bought a broken kiln ( broken bricks, broken elements, no control unit ), I repaired it, made my own ( bigger ) elements ( from 2400W to 6000W ), bought a control unit. Now I have a 60L kiln that cost me 500⏠total.
woww!! respect đđđ
That is great! I would have loved to do that (found a lot of broken kilns for sale), unfortunately I don't have the knowledge nor the courage to try that haha. Good for you!
I admire you for taking on the task of building a kiln. I just bought a used kiln. Itâs in beautiful condition; everything is good, but it needed a new cord. That was fine since Iâve had to replace one on a kiln I previously owned. This gave me the option of replacing it with the plug that allowed me to share the use of an existing outlet until I can get power installed specifically for the kiln.
I got very tired of driving my pieces to the studio an hour away, and then waiting weeks for them to be fired, so I started saving $50/wk until I had enough for my own kiln install last summer. it takes me a while to make enough pieces to run a bisque firing, but I'm having a lot of fun. no regrets. I think if I had done financing or paid through a credit card, I'd feel pressure to make and sell and pay it off/justify the purchase, but since I slowly saved up and thought about it for a few years before I finally bought it, I feel more comfortable slowly making at my own pace.
wow, thats great work! And definite a well-considered purchase đ
Lol! My mom and I bought a wheel, and my partner wants to be supportive so he offered to buy a kiln but we hadn't even had our first pots from our home wheel fired at the community studio! Your video helped me feel much better about telling him no, that we're not ready for a kiln yet!
That is awesome! Maybe someday but its definitely a big decision đ
I've been doing ceramics for 10 years now, and I still don't have a kiln,đđ not only because of the price and my shared studio space with non-artist friends but also because a ceramics school is approximately 10 minutes walking from the studio, and the boss is super sweet and rents me the kiln when I need it. Thank you for the video!
My husband built me a primitive kiln last year and we've fired it three times. But this is TOO ironic, I was given two kilns for free to just come pick them up yesterday. A small one and a huge one. The big one needs an element and the small one is fine. I'll have to learn how to use them properly. Thankfully we have an enormous woodshop to put them in away from the house and my husband is also an electrician.
As someone who literally just bought my kiln today is was worried for a second, but I know this is the best time as I move from a hobby to an artist. I have been doing ceramic for 2+years and I just want to do more. Thank you for your advice and I will be watching the rest of your videos when my kiln arrives
Congratulations!! You totally sound ready for it đđ Feel welcome to reach out if you have any specific questions :)
hahaha bought mine yesterday and am doing my test fire this very moment while watching this video lol.
Good luck!
I made my own gas fired kiln which I only use outside. It's implied that both the size and number of pieces are limited.
So my long haul isn't all that long, being in my 70s. And it keeps me busy and alert as a retired manufacturer. You stop, you die.
True to my past performance, I try to add useful information based on my experience. And who knows, I may make a dime every now and again. I'm not overly vested in the craft.
Thanks again! â€
I bought my 2nd hand kiln from a ceramist who was moving back to her home country and she didn't want to carry the kiln with her back to Austria. But eh, that worked great for me and now I have a in-mint-condition 20 year old front loading Nabertherm Kiln with like 10 shelves and a million props for 2000eur. I am lucky enough that where I'm renting I have an extra room on a separate building meant as a "Hobby Raum", where I installed the three-phase electric system needed. Now, that + the counter cost me 800eur (that one actually hurt me more than the price for the kiln, haha). Great advices and I think this is gonna be a very useful video to many people!
I got a little 110 kiln a couple years before I retired as a ceramics teacher and a wheel
I already had a kick wheel so I guess I was already set up
Been working with clay since 1976 đ
Community is so important in the creative world. Totally agree! I bought a small kiln (Skutt 714) for home as I don't like to wait in line at the studio when I want to make a gifts or things, but for the large pieces, and creating in general, there is SO MUCH benefit to joining community spaces. Great video!
I'm from Uruguay and pottery supplies are in general very expensive, so buying a kiln for me wasn't an option because of the price but also because for me, pottery it's a hobbie... So, I made my own gas kiln with an oil drum and ceramic fiber. They are usually used for raku but I use it as a regular kiln and works just fine. And the whole process of making it was really fun and educational! I learned a lot :)
This is so helpful! A kiln of my own Iâd definitely a bucket list item, but I have to say the studio where I take lessons and get studio time is wonderful!
Thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom!
Always so informative Mia. Thank you. Yep Iâm a community studio potter for all those reasons! Very fortunate.
I bought a kiln from offer up. She said she bought it from her aunt but she never got into pottery and that her aunt used ut quite a bit. I didnt know anything about kilns used or new. This one is old school with the cone activated auto shut off. I lucked out and had an outlet in the shop that was previously a wood shop. Since purchasing it, I have concluded that this kiln could not have been used. Prior to the lady recklessly loading it into my truck, the bricks were unbroken and pristine. The handful of times i have used have left a mark for sure. This leads me to the most shocking part of my purchase....i only paid $300. Less than i can find a heavily used old kiln. Happy dance.
Thank you, Mia, for this really helpful summary of things to be considered! And hey, I'm in the video twice ;-)) What an honor. I miss you and your studio here in Berlin! And Peanuts of course ;)
Thank you for the information and the kiln share! I have found two places in my area.
I recently got a kiln from someone who is getting a bit older and does do pottery anymore. I feel pretty lucky that I was able to get one at no cost to me. Very grateful! I already had the circuit in the garage for it!
Skutt's KM818 single phase will run off almost anyone's existing 220v household circuit, and it's pretty roomy. 18" x 18" interior dimensions. Alternatively, Olympic makes a cone 10 Doll E/Test kiln that will run off a standard 120v outlet (dedicated circuit with 20 amp breaker). It's not huge, but probably big enough for most hobby potters.
nice! That sounds about the size of mine.
Such a useful video, thgank you. You answered some questions I've had a for a long time. Moved to France and haven't been sure if I should take a leap with regard to buying a kiln.
Glad it was helpful! â€ïž
This video came out during the worst week yet with my kiln. I do kiln share (potters rent my kiln)- but am still at 0 income in a year just due to the cost of replacement and maintenance!
As a photographer, I know how expensive a hobby can get! But if you start with the right foundation and aren't afraid to outsource the things outside of your scope at the moment, it can be extremely cheap and rewarding. Pottery studio, photography studio, same thing đ
I bought my kiln last summer , and it took me 4 months to find an electrician to actually come and run a special outlet for my kiln in my studio and I have a small kiln : ( electrical work is in high demand in my area with tons of building) also the cost of installing the electrical was more than the kiln itself. I love my kiln though so no regrets
Thank you for sharing
Thanks for the video! I bought a kiln a few months ago and I love it so much, I personally don't regret it at all!
That is great to hear! Congrats on your kiln! â€ïž
This was really helpful thanks
Glad to hear!
Was stationed in Illesheim from 87-89. Actually married a German gal, and I must say, I was rather impressed when you busted out that German! Sounded pretty good, there!....lol!
You have a great channel. Wishing you much success!
Iâve been teaching myself slip casting for over a year, trying to gain enough skill and make enough pieces to start selling at craft fairs. Iâm lucky to have a pottery supply store in my area that offers kiln firings. I donât know how to run a kiln, and am not ready to buy my own, so Iâm glad I can pay the experts to fire my pieces for me!
I took classes at our community pottery center for two years. I started making things as gifts for my family. Traveling to visit in July i spent 6 months making things. Down to the glaze firing of the last platter i asked what the odds were of it getting fired before our trip. I was told very good, and in fact it was done a full week before i left. But when i came back there was a new sign about not expecting things to get fired in time to be gifts. That really upset me. At that point my wonderful husband bought me a kiln, which is installed in the garage. Sometimes i fire twice a week. Other times (when it's hot out) once every couple of months. I certainly won't make money, but i love the flexibility, and will continue to make gifts. Maybe I'll even try selling something.đ
I've seen some people make their own air dry clay - looks awesome! Like the idea of community studios. Fun!
Iâve seen recipes online for that! Looks totally doable!
This was interesting, and i watched one of the the videos in the link (about bisque firing) which was very informative. đ I noticed that you work with digital kiln. Do you have information about working with older manual style electric kilns - the kind with a kiln setter, two or three dials, and a timer?
Sorry I dont! Iâve never worked with such old kilns đ„Č
I spent nearly five thousand dollars to get my electrical upgraded to handle my kiln. It was certainly a major investment. I have a huge old kiln sitter that I bought used from a school and it is being converted to be an outside gas kiln. I am very fortunate my family owns our land and we donât have restrictions because itâs Appalachia.
I want a kiln but my landlord no and kilnshare in my state of NJ is limited and I only need a kiln that runs on 115/120v and I do not make large pieces so my kiln would be smallish. But I can only get a kiln if I get a house and not rent apartments.
I recently learned of microwave kilns. I haven't done much research on them as of yet, but since you don't intend to make large pieces perhaps one will suit your circumstances. Best wishes on your art journey!
Another fantastic video! Yippee, I found a kiln to rent locally!!!
Nice!! đđ
Iâm looking into getting a kiln, however the timeline is likely a year or two out. Iâm definitely just a hobbyist and have enjoyed firing with my local studio but there are certain aspects of this hobby that I just need my own kiln for, primarily, glaze testing. When you donât have control of your own kiln you canât really adjust things like firing schedule, experiment with crystallization, or use glazes that could be at risk for damaging other work or could cause fumes that may be harmful to breathe in a shared space. I considered a tester kiln, but people still ask for nearly $1k or more for these so, I decided to just get a full kiln.
However, I lack space, and the correct electrical setup. The first issue is being resolved now. Weâre getting our deck redone, and we are putting in an accessible space underneath which will serve as my semi-outdoor firing space. The second will need to be done eventually. I will need to hire a professional electrician to put in a 240V outlet plus other updates weâd like.
I bought two kilns and installed them in the house I rent without telling my landlord. ;)
If you're someone that's good with tools and have basic physics / electricity knowledge, there's a lot of resources on the internet and youtube that help you build your own kiln for a fraction of the price of a commercial one. I basically built a 60L, 3.2kw kiln based on your Rohde ecotop with all the same features and the materials cost around âŹ600. I fired it twice to 1050C so far, and it works great. Doing 1220C next week, fingers crossed.
Excellent video, and this is why I stick to air-dry clay. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful! Air dry clay is pretty awesome
I definitely got over eager and bought a second hand kiln real cheap without realizing the issues id face with electrical and ins and all that. It's still sitting a year later (not hooked up) in my garage.
If you are a part-time hobbyist it probably doesn't make sense. A wheel and a kiln are necessary if you want to get serious about the craft simply because having 24/7 access to them will improve your work exponentially.
That is true!
First, hehe! Love your content.
yeeahhh!! đđ gold star
So many reasons to buy a kiln though. Studios might underfire your clay to save cost and your work suffers. It also limits the your options with glazes and makes you dependend whatever your studio may fire too. Your work might also be less consistent because in a community kiln someone may fire with chrome or copper which become volatile and ruin your white glazes and or make them turn pink or green. Also pottery is hot shit and if you ever decide to sell your kiln, you probably can do that fairly easily. Firing at low temps in a community kiln will limit your options with glazes and be cost intense when making your own (everythings needs a pricy boron source). I own a rohde te-s and formulate my own glazes with rather particulare firing schedules up to cone 11 (which in an amazing rohde is just 1284 with a short hold.) and in my case owning is best. Love my kiln.
In Portland at least, it seems rare to find a ceramic studio that will fire your work if you don't have a membership or are taking a class with them. I'm so lucky to have found one because I otherwise wouldn't be able to make ceramics and have the small business I have now.
đ
I've done outside firings with Morning Ceramics and Georgies. There are some other new studios which do outside firings too but I haven't fired with them. We also have quite a few kiln shares in our city. Portland has a pretty large ceramic community actually. Skutt even has their main offices here. It should not be rare at all unless you're talking about Portland, ME maybe.
@@chuckfaber7521 No, I'm in Oregon. From what I've found, there are only 3 in the local area that offer this. There seem to be so many more studios than that though.
Most times I don't consider Georgie's though because they're closed when most people get off work and during the weekend.
@@calieandco I believe that's fairly high for a city the size of Portland. Most potters I talk to from different areas complain about no community studios or kilnshares at all let alone three studios that will do outside firing and many more that will fire for members only. But I feel you on Georgies having annoying hours. Definitely check out kilnshare though. There are several available.
I was ready to buy a kiln but when we contacted our homeowners insurance they said itâs not allowed. I havenât heard of others having this issue so I was surprised and disappointed of course
thats so disappointing! Maybe you can try speaking to another agent, or maybe itâs time to switch insurances⊠đ
âŹ5 in electricity per firing sounds so cheap to me. At our local pottery studio, they charge âŹ5 per kg of clay you bring in (bisque firing), and though they have a very big kiln and thus more costs, I think my 60L kiln fires a lot less efficiently than âŹ5 per firing. Any tips on how you keep the costs low? Great video also, thank you for the advice!
Yeah I think thats pretty standard pricing! The electricity is pretty cheap but once you factor in the maintenance, labor, and overhead, I think 5⏠per kilo is quite fair. There is a LOT of costs that go into running a studio, so money has to be made. At the studio I ran, we charged 5âŹ/piece for both firings (and that was considered very cheap in my area).
Here in Switzerland considering the kwh price every firing is close to 12eur. I wish it was 5eur! Now I won't be firing anything until my kiln is truly full haha
â@@eliveanhere in the Netherlands as well! I've had some issues with my kiln (due to the voltage dipping at high temperatures and the kiln taking much longer to heat up than it should) so it might work more efficiently when this issue is resolved, but so far I think bisque firing alone came around to âŹ15 in electricity, glaze firing even higher. đ„Č But true haha, it does make you very good at loading a kiln at max capacity!
â@@PotterytothePeoplethank you for the reply! And that's fair - in the studio I use, they charge âŹ5 for bisque and âŹ6 for glaze per kilo, so depending on the size of your piece that might be around that price. The maintenance, upkeep and loading the kiln take a lot of money and effort too, of course!
I started pottery over a year ago and have loved it since. I go every week two times a week but the studio I go to is getting so expensive and I just want to do more. I am paying 250 dollars a month for 8 hours a week which isnât bad but I wanna do way more⊠Iâm thinking of making my own studio and selling my stuff and give classes to children but idk if I should⊠because Iâm scared of losing interest (this is the longest hobby Iâve ever had)⊠but honestly I love it.
I forgot to mention Iâve tried looking for places that rent kilns in high temperature but I donât find any..
Another point about ventilation: pets. The amount of ventilation needed to make having any offgas-producing device safe for a cat or dog is significantly more than it is for a human, and for a bird it's even more. For birds, also, the first sign you may get that you haven't sufficiently ventilated your home from something is often the death of the bird. Even using nonstick cookware with a bird in the house is dangerous to a bird, so consider how much more dangerous a kiln would be, if you have a bird.
Great info, thanks for sharing!
I bought a 45L kiln that cost me 1000 usd, it's so helpful
Hi Mia,
Could we get a video on your thoughts/ opinions on bat systems? Ones youâve tried or worked well for a community studio.. if you have strong opinions. Idk if you have mentioned this in another video already
My community studio used the same ones I still use today! They were available but few people used them because I teach folks to throw without bat. Thats what I would recommend. If you want to offer bats, just make sure they will withstand abuse for a community space! Mine are made with offcuts from a friend, so idk the exact material but itâs some HDF i think coated in plastic. Some folks wanted more complex bat systems so they bought their own.
@@PotterytothePeople thanks so much! I adore everything you do!!
I think it's also good to mention that you really need to know the science behind ceramics and what happens during the firing of clay. A kiln is not something to play around with if you have no idea how the basics work. So also knowing about glazes, different clay types and why they need to be fired differently, the fire curves, cones etc.
for sure. I talked a bit about that in my kiln playlist.
I was lucky I found a 40 yr old kiln came with everything and then some that = more than the 350 I paid for the kiln, I bought new elements thinking I would need to replace still have not had to, I have access to a shop that is set up to run a large welder and my cheap kiln. I feel very lucky as there is no one near me with a studio . Maybe one day I will have a need for a very expensive new kiln. But I think anyone starting out should start with these old girls and maybe work up.
That sounds amazing! My first kiln was 40 years old too đ
Similar to my story...$300....already had an old woodshop...so an outlet.
agree with this video 100%
great!! đ„°
Omg if you have to change elements yearly something is wrong! Even with almost daily fires, that sounds like way too much to me. Iâve been firing regularly for about 30 years both solo and in a community studio, and I think every four or five years is more realistic. Maybe it depends on the type of kiln?
I couldnt afford to buy a kiln so i built one. A couple hundreds euro for a gas fired fiber kiln. Works pretty alright. Its not automated so i need to baby it but thats fine for me. Buying a kiln with 150 liters is just too expensive for what it is.
That is so cool! I wouldnt know where to start with building a kiln.
if I Get babbel from you, I need to hear ALOT of ceramic terms
Im probably just gonna buy the kiln I want and not use it til I move. I been serious about pottery for 4 years and for the last 2 years been serious about selling my work.
4 years sounds like youâre ready! Good luck!
My bank account thanks you for this video đ
Getting super hyperfocused on a new hobby before losing interest a few months later? Hehe, my ADHD ass wouldn't know anything about that... hehe... \*Hopes you don't notice the closet full of all the supplies I have for like, 80 different hobbies I have tried out before ditching*
hahaha I dont have ADHD but SAME đ
I have never replaced my elements. It would cost me $5000. My kiln is 30 years old. It only costs $20 per load. You are being a bit negative.
a Kiln is just a really hot oven.
NEIN! ES IS NICHT EIN SCHWERES SPRACHE! NEIN!