Buyinga kiln for handmade pottery is no low cost undertaking. It is thebiggest investment a potter has to make. But what should you look forwhen purchasing a pottery kiln Good question. In this article, I willtake a closer look at various types of pottery kilns available and ahistory of how pottery kilns were used.

Primitivekilns were no more than the simple hearths used for cooking, warmth,light, and protection. In fact, these very simple 'pit' kilns are stillbeing used today. Clay has been used since prehistory for decorationand function but it is unknown how the actual firing process wasdiscovered. It is thought that the first fired pots originated nearly10,000 years ago, when agriculture began. These early farmers neededstorage containers and fired clay served these needs well. The earliestkilns were pits dug into the ground and the pottery loosely stacked ontop of each other. Flammable materials were placed around the potteryand the fire was allowed to burn down. After cooling, the pots werecleaned of the soot and were then used.

Anotherearly form of kiln, the beehive kiln, was the first kiln constructedthat looks like what we consider a kiln. The pots are stacked in anarched chamber retaining greater heat than the pit kiln and making thepottery more durable. A alternate type of the beehive design wascreated in China around 500 A.D. and called the stepped kiln. This kilnutilized the basic form of the beehive, but had multiple chambers in aterraced pattern so that the kiln capacity could be increased. Thisworked well in villages where pottery making was a primary activity,and where a large volume of pottery was needed.

Acommon kiln design that is used today for handmade pottery is thenatural gas kiln. Rather than using the flammable materials of the pitand step kilns, natural gas is used for the fuel. There are bothupdraft and downdraft natural gas kilns available. The advantages ofnatural gas as a fuel are that it produces very low levels ofpollution, and that the fuel is relatively inexpensive. In some areaspropane is more commonly used as a fuel; however care must be taken aspropane is heavier than air and if the flame should get extinguished,the gas can settle and produce a potential for explosion. Natural gaswill disperse on its own since it is lighter than air.

Theonly new kiln technology is the electric kiln. Unlike other methodswhich utilize a fuel for operation, electric kilns run by coiled wiresthat bring about heat. A toaster operates on the same principle. Mostmodern electric kilns are equipped with electronic shut off devices,called kiln sitters, to monitor the firing process. Still, any kilnmust never be left unattended.

Source amazines.com