[Clayart] warming pots

[mel jacobson]

i have always been a kiln stacker.  because i make a great
many pots, there is always a batch waiting for bisque.  so,
i stack many pots on top of the electric kiln during a
bisque firing.  since i bisque fire slow....those pots get
very hot over a 10 hour period.

the stacking is safe and easy.  make sure that heavy pots are
over the walls of the kiln, make a pyramid out of the other pots.
this method lets you use the waste heat from the firing to prepare
your pots for the next firing.  no need for long candle. the pots are
realllly dry.

when teaching i would stack big clumsy pots and sculptures
around the kiln, on the floor for a week.  it was always extra
warm and those pots got really dry. i hated blow'd up pots.

since i am very prudent...(some call it cheap.) i do not waste
fuel. my motivation is bottom line.  wasted fuel costs a lot of
money.  as i have said many times from my travels, fixing and
helping folks with kilns....`you have people that would never throw
away a beer can, or pop bottle, but will send millions of btu's of heat
up a stack and never think a thing of it.  it is called ignorance`

the greatest ecology savings in a pottery is pre/heating pots with
waste fuel, timing your firings to get the best dollar value, never
waste anything.  and, i have discovered that fast firing, getting it
done is the best of all.

again i say...`a long candle overnight will destroy the insulating quality
of your kiln. you only candle to make sure your pots are dry. and a great
ceiling fan will dry pots really fast. air movement is critical. and, in fact
during the winter when my furnace is running, my pots dry so fast i have to
use sheets of plastic, all the time.

in my studio i have two ceiling fans, a big floor fan, two small fans
and six fans in my kiln room. including a large attic fan that sits
behind my kiln (mounted in the wall.) and has a rheostat. so, when the kiln is done...that
gets turned to super high. gets the heat out of the room. fans are cheap.
get them at garage sales.  (or take apart old appliances that have fans in them.
yes, i am cheap. but, i have money in the bank.
hooooza.
mel


website: www.melpots.com