Welcome to Pottery Kiln Lab – a little corner of the web devoted to the development and operation of practical and efficient fuel-fired pottery kilns.
No Vague Rules of Thumb
The approach is based on engineering and scientific principles rather than vague rules of thumb rooted in historic designs. With a focus on studio and home-scale kilns, the work explores practical DIY kiln construction, with gathered data and real-world tests that bring together theory and practice to form a solid foundation for designing, building and operating fuel-efficient kilns.
Concepts explained
The website will include explanations of key concepts and the way they impact on the design and use of pottery kilns, challenging a number of commonly repeated assumptions while clarifying the principles behind many long-established practices and suggesting fuel-saving strategies during the firing cycle.
Practical information
For new kilns, key dimensions such as sizing for chimneys and burners will be provided and innovative design and construction ideas are explored.
Innovations
Tests and experiments on new burners, refractories and insulating materials are shared, together with details of an innovative heat recovery system that has potential to achieve significant fuel savings. The system is currently being tested in my own experimental kiln.
Free to Use and Share
The information published on this website is free to use and can be freely shared under the Creative Commons License. Comments, discussion and feedback are welcome.
No Spam
To help maintain a spam-free site, we will need your name and email address, but we won’t share your email or bombard you with spam. Our privacy policy is here, and your details will only be used to authenticate your comments or to send you updates if you’ve requested them.
I’d love to know what you think, so please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question in the comment box below.