[Clayart] Packing small gas kilns to achieve cone 10

[Jeremy Keala Ceramics]

Well I don't know if this counts as an interesting conversation, but it has
taken up a lot of my time and energy :

- Does anyone have feedback about how packing tightly or loosely a small
downdraft gas kiln impacts heat flow and the ability to reach cone 10
efficiently?

By "small kiln" I mean an 80L kilnn (around 3 cubic feet, or four 16 in.
diameter shelves).

I'm asking because my personal experience with my kiln is that if I pack
tightly, I can't reach cone 10 temperatures. If I pack loosely, I reach
cone 10 "rather" easily.

For more precision, my definition of "tightly" is that glazed pieces are
almost touching. Little and big pieces are really packed in to fill up the
kiln most efficiently. And max 1cm of space between the top of a piece and
the next shelf.
My definition of "loosely" is around 1cm minimum between pieces, anywhere
from 1-3 cm space between top of pieces and kiln shelf, and same between
side walls and the nearest pieces.

I love my small kiln, but sometimes it's really frustrating to not
understand it... Thanks for any feedback :).

I would also add a big thanks to everyone who has shared tips about air
intake, gas pressure, chimney usage. I went back to square one with all
your advice and tried to re-learn everything I was doing. It was
frustrating but quite beneficial to my understanding of my kiln!

Cheers from France
Jeremy


On Tue, Feb 11, 2025 at 1:02 PM <clayart-request at lists.clayartforum.com>
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-- 
*Jeremy Keala Ceramics*
www.jeremykeala.com
Instagram : @jeremy_keala_ceramics
<https://www.instagram.com/jeremy_keala_ceramics/>
+33 (0)6 59 96 92 54
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