Adding a blank ring question

[Gail Capnerhurst]

I have a small Aim 84J 8 " kiln with a controller and I am wondering if adding a 2" or a 4" blank ring would make a big difference to the temperature? I am not sure if this would be a worthwhile purchase ?

[Morganica]

It would make a difference in that you're increasing the amount of air being heated. Your kiln is currently 8x8x4.5 inches, or about 288 cubic inches. If you add a 2" ring, you'll increase that to 416 cubic inches. Add a 4" ring, and you'll increase the air you're heating to 544 cubic inches, or roughly twice the volume you heat now.

If the ring you add doesn't include additional heating elements, the ones you have will have to work harder to get the kiln up to the same temperature as before. It's certainly doable, but it might take longer, or require that the kiln stay on for longer periods of time to reach the temperature required.

[Bert Weiss]

It would make a difference in that you're increasing the amount of air being heated. Your kiln is currently 8x8x4.5 inches, or about 288 cubic inches. If you add a 2" ring, you'll increase that to 416 cubic inches. Add a 4" ring, and you'll increase the air you're heating to 544 cubic inches, or roughly twice the volume you heat now.

If the ring you add doesn't include additional heating elements, the ones you have will have to work harder to get the kiln up to the same temperature as before. It's certainly doable, but it might take longer, or require that the kiln stay on for longer periods of time to reach the temperature required.

I agree with Cynthia's assessment. What I question is how much difference it makes to add air to the challenge of heating vs adding brick. Clearly adding mass requires more heat. Another factor is that the smaller the kiln, the greater is the ratio of surface to air. So, smaller kilns require more wattage per cubic foot than larger kilns do. I suspect you could add a ring of bricks and get away with it, but I don't really know.