Here are some things to look for in a kiln:
Fire brick is great, but fiber works well too. Fiber must be more closely controlled during the annealing process because it loses heat much faster than a brick kiln.
On the inside of your kiln you need to look at the heating coils. For safety it is best to get a kiln where the coils are cased inside clear quartz glass tubes.
Of course, as the Aim kiln has, best to look for a kiln with a bead door.
Most kilns designed for glass beadmaking are good, but the most important thing to look for is the controller. What kind is it? Does it ramp up and down? An infinite controller is fine, but you have to manually turn it down slowly over a period of time to get correct annealing. A programable digital controller is best, but ofcourse is more expensive.
My own preference is for a stand-alone digital controller that a kiln plugs into. The advantages to a stand-alone is that it can be easily switched from one kiln to another and can also easily be sent back to the manufacturer if there is a problem.
Let's see, any other hints? Keep in mind that the larger the kiln the more it will cost to heat and the longer it will take to bring it to garaging temperature. My kiln takes less than 10 minutes to heat to 960. Some things are more important to some than others, so decide what is important to you in finding just the right kiln for you, and above all else, HAVE FUN!!
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Pam
"It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it." Johann Wolfgang Von Goeth
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