Kiln Adobe Workshops
Somehow I ended up running three kiln adobe workshops in the month of March. All three projects had been talked about over previous months and then all ended up being booked into the same month. Kiln Adobe is a series of layers, comprising different materials that form an insulating layer attached to the bricks of a kiln. Over the years I’ve experimented on my own kiln (and others) with different formulations and materials to find a solution that adheres well to bricks at high temperature (1300 degrees) and is low cost.
The first kiln to have adobe applied was a small wood kiln, with a firebox underneath the chamber. It has a single brick wall around the chamber so suffered heat loss and although it was mortared when built, now has numerous gaps between the bricks – which dropped its’ efficiency
The kiln owner thought that a workshop approach would work as a way of educating others in the area and speeding up the application process, so six keen individuals arrived to the outskirts of Hamilton for a weekend of mud chucking. It was an intense first day as we got to know each other, understand the different materials we were going to use and what part they played in the adobe and then applied the first one and a half layers, including the mesh. The second day was more relaxed and fun as we stomped mixes with our feet and built out the final thick layer with the chopped hay, leaving a soft, organic feel to the previous brick box look.
The second workshop was an intense one day workshop to strip off an existing adobe from a wood kiln chimney and apply a fresh, layered mix. Luckily it was a relatively small area and with about a dozen people taking part it was possible to make up mixes ahead of time and get all three layers on by the end of the day – which left a bit of time for some decorative touches.
The third workshop was in New Plymouth, where a small brick salt kiln (originally fired with diesel) was needing an overhaul. So the walls were reduced to a single brick thickness and the chimney lowered as the kiln was to be fired with LPG from now on. A keen group from the pottery club got stuck in over the weekend and by Sunday afternoon we had completed all three layers, now it’s drying before a first firing in about a month.
