How to Run a Kiln
Kilns are used to fire clay, turning it from a soft, pliable substance into a hard object suitable for everyday use. In essence, kilns speed up the natural process of baking clay by sunlight, allowing pottery artists to make vases, cups, bowls and objects quickly. Glazes are added to wet, formed pottery pieces before they're placed into the kiln. Electric, gas or wood-burning kilns all serve the same purpose, and can be operated safely and efficiently by following a few basic principles.
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Instructions
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Place finished, glazed pottery pieces into the kiln. Avoid setting pottery on the kiln floor, as this placement disrupts air flow and can cause damage to the kiln. Set pottery pieces 1 to 2 inches apart from each other and away from kiln walls.
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Place three 2-inch support posts on the floor of the kiln. Set a dry-pressed high-alumina kiln shelf on top of the support posts. Use silicon carbide kiln shelves for wood-burning kilns only. Load your tallest pottery pieces on this shelf. Place three more 2-inch support posts on the shelf at its ends and one in the middle, ensuring it doesn't touch any of your pottery pieces. Align all support posts perfectly with each other on successive shelf levels. Set another shelf on top of these support posts. Place additional pottery pieces on the second shelf. Continue loading pottery into the kiln in this fashion until it is full, or you have no more pottery pieces to fire.
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Place a pyrometric cone on the end of each shelf, also not touching the pottery or the kiln itself, to quickly and easily determine how much heat your pottery pieces are receiving during firing.
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Close the kiln lid after loading all pottery and cones into it. Preheat the kiln to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, by setting the temperature on the digital gauge on your kiln. Record the time that you start firing your kiln, and have a general idea in mind of how long your pieces need to bake until they are done.
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Set the cone or heat level of your kiln to low for 2 to 3 hours. Then turn up the kiln temperature to medium for 2 hours. And then raise the kiln temperature to high. Check the cones periodically during high temperature firing, such as every hour, until the cones have bent over at 90-degree angles -- indicating that firing is complete. Turn off the kiln.
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Allow the kiln to cool before attempting to remove items from it. Use kiln gloves when removing pottery pieces after the kiln has cooled, to protect your hands and arms.
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References
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