The Ultra-Lite Kiln



Overview

The UltraLite Kiln, (I am told the smallest kiln in the UK), is perfect for drying and firing your PMC, for enamelling, glass fusing, making jewellery, and keum-boo work. Please note that the Ultra Lite is not programmable - it's an 845°C, 250W, low-cost, compact, round kiln, with a lift-off lid (and so very cute!!)

The UltraLite Kiln heats and cools quickly, but costs very little to run. It's ideal for small-scale work in your home, school, craft workshop, or jewellery studio, or at an arts centre running jewellery courses.

The UltraLite Kiln weighs just 1kg, so is easy to take to craft fairs, demonstrations, and exhibitions. If you already have a kiln, you can use an Ultra Lite for drying metal clays, firing single pieces, or quick tests. If you run courses, use several so that more experienced students can optimise their time, rather than wait for the slowest to catch up.

 Firing Characteristics

The UltraLite is a small, fast-heating, ceramic-fibre kiln, with one embedded heating element in the bottom.

The maximum temperature, about 845°C, is a function of the kiln's design: it stabilises when the heat being supplied is equal to the heat being lost. Putting the lid off-centre will effectively vent the kiln and reduce the temperature but, unless you use a pyrometer, you won't know what that temperature is.

However, it's been designed for firing Art Clay and PMC using the firing disc insert, and for keum-boo work using the red brass tops. At 845°C you can't over-fire silver clays as silver doesn't melt until about 962°C. You can work with dichroic glasses, enamels, and fused glass, but will need to experiment.

Keep a firing log: the material you used, the arrangement of pieces on the shelf, the firing cycle, and the end result. The log is useful if you're learning about colour, materials, temperature, and firing time, and a skilled artist will use the firing characteristics to advantage for different effects.

 Technical

 The UK kiln comes with a 0.4m power cable, so you'll need a short extension. If it's a multi-socket extension, each socket should have a switch so that, when you turn the kiln off, you don't turn other things off as well.The ceramic-fibre body measures 127mm x 65mm externally, and is fixed to a 62mm high metal stand. There's a front vent for any processes that release fumes. The ceramic-fibre firing chamber measures 76mm x 38mm internally, and heats from the bottom, with the fast-firing element safely embedded in the fibre. Putting the lid off-centre will effectively vent the kiln and reduce the temperature. The recommended firing kit for the UltraLite, included in the price, consists of one 77mm x 4mm cordierite firing disc for Art Clay and PMC metal clays. Cordierite is a magnesium aluminium silicate that resists thermal distortion and fracture.

Cordierite is brittle so, if you drop the shelf, it will usually break. Although shelves can be repaired, it's not worth the risk as, if they break again, it will be just as you put your delicate unfired pieces in the kiln. It's a good idea to have spare shelves, especially if your business depends on your kiln or you're running courses..

For enamelling and glass work, you'll need to put kiln paper on the firing disc. Kiln paper is simpler and more convenient to use than glass separator for stopping enamels and glass sticking to the firing disc.

Because the kiln heats from the bottom, you can't stack firing discs. However, two extra discs allow you to put one on the lid to dry metal clays and use the other to lay out your next pieces for firing.

The two red-brass hot-lids, one of which has a shallow hollow for round pieces, are generally used for keum-boo work, and are described below.

The Ultra Lite Kiln is a good first-kiln, popular with keum-boo artists. Apart from its internal size, the only minor limitation is that, although 845°C is hot enough for silver metal-clays, it's not hot enough for gold metal-clays, ceramics, porcelain, pottery, and stoneware: they need a 1260°C or 1290°C kiln.

The elements are embedded in ceramic fibre, an important safety feature if you like to remove the lid whilst you work. However, never get careless: kilns are hot and connected to the mains.

 Firing Discs

For firing PMC and Art Clay, the UltraLite doesn't use a conventional kiln shelf, on short posts. Instead, it uses a firing disc made from cordierite: a magnesium aluminium silicate that resists thermal distortion and fracture.

Because the kiln heats from the bottom, you can't stack the discs. However, two extra discs allow you to put one on the lid to dry metal clays and use the other to lay out your next pieces for firing.

If your pieces are delicate or irregularly shaped, you could rest them on a ceramic-fibre cloth so they're supported during drying and firing.

 Keum Boo Red-Brass Hot Lids 

The red-brass hot-lids are used for keum-boo work. We believe you are better off coming to a class to learn how, but here's a brief description:

Keum-boo is a simple technique that bonds pure gold foil to another pure metal, such as fine silver, producing a rich gold colour. Because the gold foil is thin, the cost of adding pure gold to your work is low.

When pure silver and pure gold are brought to the correct temperature, under pressure, the molecules mesh easily to create a permanent bond. This diffusion bond occurs well below the soldering temperature for either metal.

Pure silver usually needs no preparation. Sterling silver needs treating to remove other metals from the alloy, to leave a layer of pure metal on the surface.

In Brief

It's very important to understand that the UltraLite does not have a controller or a programmer. There are limitations that you must be sure you understand.

The Ultra Lite isn't programmable, but it's perfect for short stop-start processes that aren't temperature-time critical and aren't limited by the kiln's 845°C maximum temperature.

The Ultra Lite heats to a set temperature and stays there until you turn it off. For most people doing small-scale work, that's enough, although it helps if you buy a small digital timer to remind you that time's up.

Shopping and Prices

ULTRALITE KILN UK £ kiln, including one firing disc 179.95 kiln, including three firing discs 189.95 kiln, including one firing disc and two keum-boo hot-lids 199.95 kiln, including three firing discs and two keum-boo hot-lids 209.95

ULTRALITE KILN ACCESSORIES UK £ firing discs  two 14.95 keum-boo hot-lids  two 24.95 replacement 230V element 49.95

We want to be sure have bought the right kiln for your needs, so we do not add them to our shop. Please ring and talk to Mary on 0113 293 7053. She will go through your requirements with you, and make sure you have everything you need, and nothing you don’t (unless that’s how you want it of course….) She will let you know if your kiln is in stock or if you may have to wait a few days.  Within the UK the prices include VAT and door to door delivery – there are no other charges.

However, there's one exception: if the package weighs over 1kg and your delivery address is outside the UK mainland, there'll be an extra distance-related delivery charge. So mail or call first.