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Increasing the Height of Your
Kiln
Looking for a way to increase the height of your
kiln to be able to fit in a tall drop ring, pot melt, or other
project? Here's a solution that will work for most top-loading
brick kilns.
Purchase eight or ten firebricks, depending on the
number of sides in your kiln. For eight-sided kilns, miter
each end of the bricks to 22 1/2 degrees; for ten-side kilns, an 18
degree cut is best. Bricks cut easily with a hack saw or other
blade, and once cut properly they will fit together to surround the
top of the kiln.
Now remove the hinge from the top of the kiln, set
the bricks carefully in place, and set the lid down gently on top of
the bricks. This will increase the kiln height about four
inches and if you cut the bricks precisely heat loss will be
minimal.
Some smaller sectional kilns, such as Evenheat's
Hot Box, work best for pot melts if you add the bricks beneath the
middle section, so that the heat is at the top of the kiln.
Caution: not all kilns with elements in the
lid have enough play in their wiring to allow the added height from
the bricks, so check to make sure they do before trying this out.
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Copyright 2005 Brad Walker. All rights
reserved.
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