Glass Kilns

It depends on the result you want. Slumping and tack fusing happen lower, a full fuse happens higher, and the exact numbers vary by the glass you use. Always work from the glass manufacturer's published schedule rather than a general rule.

What matters when buying is headroom. Every kiln in this collection is rated between 1650F and 2000F, so check the rating of the specific model against the hottest step in your schedule, not against the brand's advertised range.

For flat fusing, lid elements are the usual choice. Glass absorbs radiant heat mainly on the surface facing the element, so heat coming down onto the face of the piece is what brings the top surface to a full fuse or a fire-polished finish.

Side-fired designs heat the perimeter of the load first, which can leave the center of a wide flat piece cooler than its edges. They suit deeper vertical loads and slower slumping work. Some kilns use both: the Olympic Square 149GFE fires a lid element for the fusing segment and body elements for ramping and annealing.

Measure the largest flat piece you want to make, then add clearance on every side. You cannot fill a shelf edge to edge.

As a guide: up to 12 inches covers jewelry, cabochons and small dishes. Fourteen to fifteen inches covers plates, trays and small panels. Sixteen inches and up is for larger panels and firing several pieces at once.

Sometimes, but it is a compromise. Pottery kilns are built to reach far higher temperatures and usually fire from side elements, which is the wrong heat direction for flat fusing and can give you an uneven result across a wide piece.

They also tend to have thicker walls and heavier mass, which makes the fast, precisely controlled ramps and holds that glass work needs harder to achieve. If glass is your main craft, buy a kiln built for it.

Often not, which is one of the reasons glass is easier to set up at home than high-fire pottery. The Evenheat Studio Pro STP, Studio Pro 14 and Studio Pro 17, the HotShot HS-12G and HS-16G, the Olympic Champ XL and the Paragon SC2 all run on 120V.

Larger models do need 240V. The Evenheat GTS 23 draws 30A at 240V on a NEMA 6-50 plug. Check the product page for the specific model before you order.

A clamshell opens from the front on a hinge, so the whole lid lifts away and you load onto a shelf at working height instead of reaching down into a chamber. The HotShot HS-12G and HS-16G work this way.

Evenheat's Studio Pro models offer both front and top access, which the manufacturer calls dual access rather than clamshell. Dealers often use the two words interchangeably, so check how a specific model actually opens.

Annealing is a controlled slow cool through a specific temperature band that releases internal stress in the glass. Skip it and the piece can crack days or weeks later.

Every kiln here with a digital controller can run an anneal segment, but you have to program it as part of your firing schedule. The kiln follows the schedule you give it; it does not decide the schedule for you.

Yes. Both are firing schedules rather than different machines, so any programmable glass kiln with enough headroom for your fusing temperature can also slump.

The practical limit is height rather than heat. A deep slumping mold plus the glass needs vertical clearance, so check the chamber depth on the product page, not just the shelf width.

A vitrigraph kiln has an opening in the floor so molten glass can be pulled downward through it into stringers, murrini and other drawn components. You set the kiln up raised, with a collection point underneath.

The HotShot HS-7GV is built for this. It is a specific technique rather than a general-purpose feature, so only buy one if you intend to pull glass.

Shipping is discounted flat-rate freight calculated at checkout before you buy, based on the kiln's size and your delivery region, with no surprise charges afterwards. That covers curbside delivery, appointment scheduling, tracking, and liftgate service where the delivery requires it. Standard rates apply across the contiguous United States. See our shipping page for the detail.

On returns, performing the manufacturer's recommended initial test firing will not by itself void a return, as long as the other conditions in our policy are met. Full terms on the returns page.