Kiln Questions - Help
 

I am slowly creating a space for a torch and kiln. I have room in my electrical panel to have a dedicated circuit at 110 or 220. My issue is that I am just getting started and am not sure where this journey will take me. I'd like to get a kiln that will accommodate a variety of projects and while I will start out with boro I don't want to rule out anything. I'm confused about the various options especially in doors. Anyone willing to help a guy out? I see flip up doors and guillotine doors, 1/4 mandrel gaps and Punti doors. Full Height doors, bead doors and windows, top load doors, foot actuated doors, sliding doors, and on and on. I know I need a kiln to start but I'm not sure of the various benefits of the different door options or the downsides to some of them.

Help.

You really won't know what style suits your preferences best till you start making things and find what gets in your way and what helps your work. The vertical lifting doors really are ideal if you are doing blown work so that you can garage things easily with handles/points/blowtubes sticking out the flaps at the bottom. For a beginner, it's really hard to beat the Jen-Ken Chili Pepper Kiln. I got rid of mine when I got a bigger kiln, and honestly I wish I still had it as a supplement to the larger kiln.

I was going to suggest a smaller kiln too (I have a Chili Pepper annealer I got 2nd hand) because you can always sell it if you start working larger and need a bigger one. If you plan to do fusing the CP won't work (only goes to 1100 I think?), but it will anneal boro and soft glass. Some of the other kilns will also fuse, and will take larger pieces.