Am Saving up for a kiln

[SilverRiverJewelry]

Any suggestions on which ones would be the best to look at? I want to be able to anneal beads but also fuse glass with it. And I am total beginner as far as using a kiln goes.

[SilverRiverJewelry]

I should mention also that I don't have room for a full sized kiln, I need something much smaller. And as I am looking at these different options, I need it to run off my regular electric. I have a new electrical box so that's not a problem.

[echeveria]

How much room do you have? I am not sure what you mean by "full size" kiln, since there are lots of kinds. Also, how big do you want your fused pieces to be? Jewelry size? Dinner plates? Bathroom sink?

You should look at the Paragon kilns with brick liner and bead doors. I love my Bluebird XL. I can fuse small pieces, anneal beads and do pmc in this one kiln. Clay King has good prices.

If you give up on the fusing idea and just want a portable small kiln, I also love my Jen Ken chili pepper. Mountain Glass Arts has them on sale right now.

[SilverRiverJewelry]

Well jewelry size as far as the fusing goes. no dinner plated or bathroom sinks. at least not yet lol! Basically exactly what you are doing with yours, fuse small piece, anneal beads and pmc would be a nice option to have if I decide to give it a try.
Size wise I just don't want something like many of the ceramic people have, wayyy to big for me. I was looking at the kilns that run about $950 that have the pre programmed times in them.

[tasminann]

I really like my Jen-Ken kiln with a bead door. I use it regularly for annealing beads, but I can also fuse, slump and work PMC. It fits on the corner of my bench and uses a regular electrical outlet. It's a wonderful all-purpose kiln that is also great for annealing beads.

[RSimmons]

Check out the Skutt GM10. It runs on regular household current, has a bead door and will run up to 1800 degrees. It's got a relatively small footprint and is firebrick. You can put multiple programs in pretty easily so it's good to go for all sorts of things at the touch of a button. I've had one for about 6 years and really like it.

Robert

[Beckah]

I still love my Paragon Caldera with the bead door. I fuse with it and use it for annealling beads. It has a small footprint and lots of versatility. There are a few pieces that stack together so when I want to fuse, I remove the bead door section. Or if I want to do pot melts, I can add extra height by leaving the bead door section in the stack. There's also a method for doing wigwag rods which requires a kiln without a bottom, so if I ever pursued that, the Caldera is would work. I'm thinking about adding a second larger kiln to pursue larger fusing work but I would not part with my Caldera -- it is just so versatile.

[JoeDeM]

Originally Posted by RSimmons

Check out the Skutt GM10. It runs on regular household current, has a bead door and will run up to 1800 degrees. It's got a relatively small footprint and is firebrick. You can put multiple programs in pretty easily so it's good to go for all sorts of things at the touch of a button. I've had one for about 6 years and really like it.

Robert

I second the Skutt GM10, I've had mine for 5 years, and I really like the one button anneal, when you are done for the day.

[bshelle]

I use this from Jen Ken: http://www.aaproducts.com/KilnPic42.html

And here is the description:
AF3P11/9
with 4" Flip Door
Inside Dimensions:
11" wide x 9" deep

.55 cu ft
Unique Fiber 4" Flip Door
Elements in side
120 volts - 13 amps
Large Handle for moving
2400 Degree fire brick
Lid Prop
High temperature lid coating
2 Yr limited warranty


Shipping UPS $50
shipping weight 70 lbs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Controller: 3 key digital

Even heat distribution for annealing
Power Failure Resume
Flip door for easy annealing

Comes With:
Kiln shelf
Kiln wash
Firebrick to set kiln on.
Operators manual.
Controller


List Price $795
Sale Price $572

(http://www.aaproducts.com/KilnJK120.html)

I was in your shoes, too, as green as you can get. This one was easy to program, doesn't take up a lot of room, gets plenty hot to fuse, enamel, and anneal. Runs off household current, and the price is right! The surface gets hot, but it doesn't have alot of radiant heat.

[SilverRiverJewelry]

Thank you all for your replies! I will be checking all of these further. I do need to save the money up first of course but this gives me some to research and also a good idea what price I need to be saving for.

[IF-Designs]

I reall love my glasshive kiln its made beautifully and you can fuse in it as well. Probally one of the best things ive spent money on.