Kiln elements

Here at Embar Pottery we have 3 kilns. We have our workhorse kiln, which is an electric kiln with an internal size about that of a fridge. We have a small electric toploading kiln, and a gas fired outdoor Raku Kiln (the potters favourite!) which is about oil drum size.

The electric kilns have coiled elements which heat up to heat the kiln and these have a life span. The elements life span is dependant on what type of firings you do.

We like to make things for outdoor use, and to make things that are frost proof they have to be stoneware and fired to a high temperature. We also like making things in a sandy texture clay which gets a raw but toasted finish, and to achieve this the temperature is even higher!

Items that would be for indoor decorative use only are fired to a much lower temperature (between 100-200 oC lower) and thus the elements last longer.

Unfortunately the elements in our workhorse kiln have worn out.

 

 

As you can see the coils are misshapen and not evenly distributed along the element. They also have a layer of deposit over the metal.

When the elements are almost worn out the struggles to reach the required temperature. It takes much longer to get up to temperature and uses far more electricity. The other problem is that the clay matures best when fired at a particular speed. If it is taking much longer to reach maturing temperature the clay becomes overworked.

 

So this week it has been the job of the (other) pottery assistant to make new elements for the kiln. The special kiln wire was collected at the beginning of the week, and he has been hard at work coiling and fitting them so we can be back in service.



And look how fab they are looking now, so this week they will be tested out as the potter has now got a pottery full of things that are ready to fire (and needs the space!)