Oh No!

Creating and firing pottery does not come without its headaches! This weekend was supposed to be a successful bisque and glaze fire but when I was ready to turn the kiln on, it shorted and flickered and the breaker blew. Upon trying to turn it on a few more times and then conducting a test fire, I likely killed the coils. Coils should be replaced about every three years and is always a stressful activity. And since I am more of a hobby potter I don’t fire the kiln as often as most more full time potters - so the coils should have lasted much longer and likely burnt out from this mysterious electrical shortage.

I promised myself that the next time I needed to replace the coils, I would just buy a new kiln. I’m ready. I have owned 3 used kilns and feel like I am at that point in my pottery life that it is time. Sooo, I am currently shopping for a new kiln and trying to get over the sticker shock of these things being so darn expensive...

Update - a few days later!  My new kiln is on order and will likely be here by November! In the meantime, new coils are being installed in my current kiln so that I can continue to bisque and fire. If I did not have this great guy to help me, I would likely have to hire this part out. I’ve replaced the coils before, a nerve racking stressful chore at that, but I could not do any of the wiring.