Burn baby burn? Firing up the kiln for the 1st time.

I have a confession…a few months ago I almost set fire to our house. With hindsight we were a bit stupid, putting ashes into a hessian bag…needless to say we were very lucky and not too much damage was done. Why am I adding this to a pottery blog? Because I didn’t much fancy setting fire to my house for a second time…so was quite nervous of setting up a kiln.

I was extremely lucky to find the kiln I did. While I did a lot of research on the wheel I would want, the kiln was definitely pushed to the back of my mind…but was actually the first thing I bought. It is one of the most important things really – after all, it’s what takes you from clay to ceramic and allows you to use the items you have made! A kiln came onto Facebook Marketplace at a great price (£350) for the predecessor to the Hobbytech 40 kiln – the KLN40B (sold through Held of Harrogate). The B apparently stands for the fact it has a brick lid. The kiln came with kiln furniture, shelves and (most important for me) a controller. I was looking for something smaller and more for hobby use – that size might not be for everyone. The kiln was fairly local to me (30 min drive) and when I contacted they said they had already had 3 people interested (they’ve literally only just listed it!)…so I went straight over and bought it.

As a used kiln, my major problem was that it had no instructions. Having no idea at all about kilns or anything like that, I contacted Cromartie. A lovely chap called Mark emailed me back, giving me info on the kiln itself and also helping me to find instructions for the controller, despite this not being something they made themselves. Was super impressed with them and would definitely look to buy another kiln from them direct in the future.

After that, it took me almost a month to build up the confidence to actually fire the thing! At first my plan was to fire this in one of the rooms, but I decided it was safer to fire it in the garage while hubby was away so there was no car in there. There are a few things in the (now) pottery space, so I was just a bit worried that something might overheat.

Once I’d decided, I started loading up. Now…I thought I actually had quite a few pots. Turns out I didn’t – they barely covered one shelf! So I think this kiln is perfect in size for me…I am not likely to be producing masses of pottery for a while yet, but it means I can take my time with it and just fire as and when.

I think the controller kind of took over for me from the point I got started with the firing. I don’t think I needed cones for this particular kiln (although I might stand corrected on that – be kind, it’s the first time I’ve done it!) – you simply put in what you’re after, and the things get fired. Or so it seems anyway…watch this space!

So far I’ve only done a bisque firing, but I’m hoping to do a glaze firing soon. Will post here once I have done it. I will also hopefully be able to update this more once I get a bit more confidence and knowledge of the kiln as this post doesn’t really help anyone looking for advice! Guess its moreso to say to kiln newbies…you’re not alone, and just give it a go!