What size kiln should I buy?

[Paulneill]

what’s your biggest bonsai pot?

I make bonsai pots and am finally going to buy a kiln. I don’t want to buy one and wish I had bought a bigger one. I also don’t want to buy one that’s too big as the wasted space inside will just be a waste of electricity and money.

I’m thinking Most pots will range from 200mm - 400mm

The kiln I’m looking at is cylinder shaped and has a diameter of 580mm so I should be able to make pots 500mm long. I’m thinking that is plenty big as my largest pot atm is only 350mm
Just asking around to see as a potter friend of mine think I need to go bigger.

What’s everyone’s opinion please?

[TimS]

I suppose there is a question of how many pots at a time you are planning to fire as well to be considered as regard space and cost of running the kiln vs return on the price of the pot. You might find you fill that size kiln you're talking about much faster than you expect and consequently your full cost of running the kiln falls to one or two pots, particularly with making individual pots that are 500mm.

My larger pots that i have in use are rectangular ones in the region you suggest of 400mm x 350mm kind of area or below, though most are smaller. I don't do pottery but i know that as pots get larger it gets harder to fire them without distortion, cracking or complete loss under heat, so that is an argument for keeping the size down too.

[shibui]

You are already making bonsai pots so are probably already aware of the problems associated with firing larger pots so no need to go into that.

I'm with you on keeping pots a bit smaller. Big trees do make a statement and almost always win prizes at shows but I'm definitely using much smaller pots these days. I guess it depends what part of the bonsai pot market you want to cater for.

580 diam cylinder should allow for a 500mm oval, round or hex, but can only take a smaller rectangular pot. I just went out and measured a couple. 450x350 rectangle measures 530 diagonals so you won't get much bigger than 450 rectangular pots in the 580 cylindrical kiln.

Hope some of the experienced potters will chime in with some first hand experience.

[GavinG]

Maybe have a look through Luke Parsons' Facebook page - he has photos of his fairly modest-sized electric kiln loaded with pots. You can work out how many pots you want to make in a month or so and work out what you need from there.

There are also issues of what kind of kiln, electric or gas - wherever you've had your pots fired up till now will be able to discuss the issues with you. Be warned that there are usually connection/rewiring/gasline costs, as well as the cost of the kiln, delivering the kiln, and the power to run it. It all adds up. Larger kilns are more efficient in costs-per-pot, but obviously more expensive to buy, and a failed firing (and they will occur!) will be much more of a pain. (Also, don't fire a half-filled kiln - it's a waste of expensive power, pots fire unevenly, local temperature will be all over the place, and pots are likely to crack. Just for starters.)

There can also be some nasty economics that factor in - if you are making only for yourself, you will possibly not make enough to learn all you need to make progress, and justify the overall outlay. If you plan to make quite a lot, it is difficult to make enough to cover the costs of your labour, and the inevitable marketing, selling at shows and so on that needs to follow on. "Bad Swan" in Perth also has a strong Facebook presence, and you may get ideas from his page.

Best of luck - there's nothing better than making exactly the right pot for trees that you treasure! I have great admiration for those who make a go of it.

Gavin