Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Which Should You Choose Big kiln or Small Kiln
52 Plays2 years ago
In this episode of "Shaping Your Pottery" with Nic Torres, listeners are guided through the crucial decision-making process of selecting the right kiln for their pottery needs. Nic discusses the merits and drawbacks of both compact and large kilns based on his personal experience with a newly purchased 120-volt kiln from Clay King. He emphasizes that while smaller kilns are economical and ideal for quick testing and beginners, larger kilns cater to those aiming for higher production despite their need for more space and an electrician's services. The episode aims to help potters at various stages make an informed choice that aligns with their pottery aspirations and circumstances.
The Questions we ask will determine how our pottery will look like that's why I created a Free 15 questions to help you discover your voice template go grab it here www.shapingyourpottery.com/questions
Recommended
Transcript
Choosing the Right Kiln Size
00:00:00
Speaker
Should you get a big kiln or should you get a smaller kiln? Let's find out. What is up Shaped Nation? This is Nick Torres here and on this episode I'm going to be talking about the benefits of a smaller kiln and the benefits of a bigger kiln. I'm also going to be talking about the pros and cons of it as well.
Small Kilns: Cost-Effective and Convenient
00:00:16
Speaker
So recently, very recently, I just bought a kiln.
00:00:20
Speaker
And it literally just came like last week and I've already fired it three times. I'm absolutely loving it. It took me three years to be able to fire my pottery. And I'm so grateful that I could fire it now. But should you get a smaller kiln or should you get a bigger kiln? So the kiln I have right now, it's from Clay Kings. It's not sponsored, but it's one of their 120 volt kilns. So it fits into a regular wall outlet pretty much.
00:00:50
Speaker
And I bought this kiln one because it was a little bit cheaper to buy, but two because because of the wall outlet, I didn't have to get an electrician into my house. I didn't have to do a bunch of stuff to do that. So I bought a smaller kiln first because of those two reasons, really.
Limitations of Small Kilns
00:01:11
Speaker
And if you want to go down the route of buying kiln, I suggest that you do buy a smaller kiln first, especially if you aren't a full time potter yet and you want to build up to that. A smaller kiln will help you so much because you can test things so much faster.
00:01:29
Speaker
In a smaller kiln, if you get the right kiln, you don't need to have an electrician out there to change up all your electrical stuff. You don't need to really wait that long to test things. Overall, if you are a beginner and you just want a kiln, get a smaller kiln. This will help you so much.
00:01:52
Speaker
But there are also benefits to, there are also cons of getting a smaller kiln. A smaller kiln you can only fit like a few things at a time. And while that can help you test things very, very quickly, it also means that you have to wait a little bit to, you know, finish all your pottery if you're making a lot at a time. You know, like right now I can only fit like four mugs maybe in my kiln, which is fine.
00:02:20
Speaker
But in the future, I will definitely get a bigger kiln so I can fit more things at a time. But that's one of the cons of having a smaller kiln. And then. And another con is that you can't really you can't fit big things in there. Like I made a couple of bases and they're a bit taller and I can't fit my bases in there because the kiln is so small.
Advantages of Larger Kilns
00:02:42
Speaker
So those are just a couple of kinds of having a smaller kiln.
00:02:46
Speaker
Now let's move on to the bigger kiln. A bigger kiln has really good pros. One, you can fit a lot of pots in there. You can fit bigger pots in there. You could fire more for what you are making. And I guess technically it would kind of save you energy, but maybe not really.
00:03:05
Speaker
But a bigger killer, you'll be able to fit more stuff, be more into production mode and just kind of overall, you might even be able to test things more often if you want to go down that route, simply just testing pottery. In a small killing, you could test things really fast. In a big killing, you could test many things all at once. While it takes a little bit longer to do it, you could test many
Challenges with Larger Kilns
00:03:28
Speaker
things once. But what are the cons to getting a
00:03:31
Speaker
a bigger. Well, a con is if you aren't necessarily a productions type of Potter, it takes a little bit to fill up that kiln. So you have to fill up that kiln, then you have to wait to bisfire, then you have to do all these different things.
00:03:46
Speaker
So that is one of the cons of getting bigger kiln. A second con is it's probably gonna cost you a little bit more money compared to a smaller kiln because you have to get the electrician, you have to get electrician to look at your wiring. You have to buy the kiln itself, which is gonna be bigger. You have to buy the shelves, you have to buy a lot more stuff because the kiln is so much bigger. You also have to have more space for it because the kiln is so much bigger.
Advice for Selecting a Kiln
00:04:12
Speaker
While for a smaller kiln, you don't need that much space,
00:04:15
Speaker
And you can put it in the corner of somewhere in your house that is safe, not in your kitchen, not in your living room or anything like that. But you need more space for a bigger kiln. But there are definitely pros and cons for both. So which should you get first if you're thinking about getting a kiln? So it really depends on your situation. If you are a type of potter that makes pottery all the time and you really kind of know what you're making and you already know what has been tested a lot,
00:04:43
Speaker
A bigger kill might be your way to go. And that's if you want to spend more money on it. But a bigger kill might be your way to go because you can buy more pots at once and get more bang for your buck because the killing is bigger.
00:04:57
Speaker
But if you're kind of just simply kind of a little bit newer to firing pottery and maybe a little bit newer in pottery in general, a smaller kiln is probably your way to go. And maybe if you don't have space as well.
Conclusion and Resources
00:05:08
Speaker
Smaller kilns way to go because you don't need an electrician to go get to fix your outlets. And then you also can test things very, very quickly.
00:05:18
Speaker
and you don't have to wait to fill up the kiln to fire your kiln. So those are the pros and cons of both a bigger kiln and smaller kilns. I hope these guys helped you and I'll see you guys in the next one. Thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres.
00:05:36
Speaker
If you want to start discovering your own unique voice, you must first start with the right questions. That's why I put together a free 15 question booklet for you to start discovering your own unique pottery voice. All you have to do is go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash questions to get this free booklet.