KilnBay

For potters, studios & kiln technicians

Fire smarter.
Learn from every kiln load.

KilnBay is a technical home for ceramic artists: honest kiln buying guides, firing and defect knowledge, studio operations, and tools built on real-world firing data, not generic craft inspiration.

What we're building

Everything between choosing a kiln and opening it after a firing.

Kiln knowledge is scattered across manuals, forums, and the memory of whoever ran the studio before you. We're organising it into consistent, reviewed, searchable references.

01

Kiln buying & ownership

Electric, gas, wood, raku and specialty kilns compared on consistent specifications.

  • Capacity, cone rating & controllers
  • Electrical service & ventilation
  • Used-kiln inspection & fair value
In progress
02

Firing knowledge

Bisque, glaze, single-fire, crystalline, luster and alternative firing, explained step by step.

  • Ramps, holds & controlled cooling
  • Loading & witness cones
  • Atmosphere & reduction
In progress
03

Defect diagnosis

Start from what you see: pinholing, crawling, blistering, crazing, dunting, color shifts.

  • Organised by observable symptom
  • Likely causes, ranked
  • What to change next firing
In progress
04

Studio operations

For community studios, schools and shared spaces running kilns for other people.

  • Firing fees & scheduling
  • Maintenance & element life
  • Shared-studio policies
In progress
05

Materials & compatibility

Clay-body and glaze outcomes recorded with cone, atmosphere, application and cooling.

  • Firing-temperature reference
  • Compatibility records
  • Evidence-led troubleshooting
In progress
06

Tools

Practical calculators and checklists you can use mid-firing or mid-purchase.

First tool live

Live now

What does a firing actually cost?

Enter your kiln's volts and amps (from the nameplate), how long the firing runs, and your electricity rate. Get a cost per firing, per month and per year, plus the numbers behind it.

Open the calculator

Founding contributors

Firing logs are the best teacher. Let's share them properly.

We're recruiting potters, studio managers and technicians to help shape structured firing logs: kiln model, load, program, cones, atmosphere, result photos and lessons learned, so one person's surprise becomes everyone's reference.

Firing logs

Program, cones, load and results, recorded in a consistent format you can search and compare.

Kiln registry

Real electrical configurations, repairs and long-term ownership notes, model by model.

Defect clinic

Structured submissions so diagnoses build on evidence, not guesswork in a comment thread.

How we work

Kilns are hot, heavy and electrical. We take that seriously.

  • Safety firstElectrical, gas, ventilation and materials guidance is reviewed by qualified people, cites its sources, and says clearly when to stop and call a professional.
  • Evidence over anecdoteCommunity experience is valuable and labelled as such. It is kept separate from verified guidance.
  • Nobody pays to rankSponsors and manufacturers never control rankings, comparisons or defect reporting. Paid content is always labelled.
  • Corrections in the openWhen we get something wrong, we fix it and note the change on the page.

Read our editorial standards →

The Kiln Load

Get the first issue, and early access to firing logs.

Tell us who you are so we can build the right things first.