Looking to purchase first kiln

[Riverglass]

Just wondering what all your choices of kiln are, I’ve been aiming for the paragon sc2/3 for the past year but every time im getting close to been able to purchase something comes along ,this time my car gave up. Looking at the promethius at the minute just because of value for money and in a position to hit the buy now button but for the sake of saving a couple more £££ hundreds am I sacrificing anything other than the paragons aesthetic.
I’m in a position where I am producing some nice pendants that people want to buy from me but without any way of annealing I’m not able to do this .

[BORO]

Got a link to the non paragon? I saw one prometius but it was tiny.

My short list of kilns..

Aim96j. The analog one is under 600?

Regular guy from glasshive (795$ one I think its 850ish shipped)

Or whatever kiln is on sale used. Sometimes deals pop up on classifieds.

I prefer the glasshive. They are stout and have the best service department. Its a mom and pop style company.

Aim is great for what you get and what it costs.

Paragon is built like a tank on the outside. Howver they cost more. The guts/bricks innards seem to be about the same. Paragon bricks seem softer than glasshive. (Opinion)


I never ran a king pin 88 w/ bead door.. But they look like a sc2

[Zed]

Look around for a broken kiln for cheap, if the bricks and door mechanism are in good shape they are easy to fix. I got a $2,000 older AIM cantilever one for $100, put a new controller in for $80 and it works like new for less then 10% of the cost. People give up on broken stuff way too easy these days.

[snoopdog6502]

A pagagon quick fire is around $300, you can retrofit a ramp soak controller to make it digital real easy.

You could also build a "Mail box annealer" it is a low cost project that would also give you a complete understanding of how a kiln operates.
kiln controller kits can be had cheap.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Professional-Ramp-Soak-Temperature-Controller-Kiln-SSR-Kit-Ceramic-Thermocouple/121092751234


I make lots of pendants and marbles myself. I could get away with a smaller kiln then my F130 for sure. very rarely do I need a cubic foot of space.
A small kiln will always be useful, you wont have to fire a big kiln for small work. I also have the Paragon Caldera and its been great. I fire ceramics in it now and run it up over 1,900F.


Kilns are like Motorcycles in that its ok to have 2,,,, Or 5. :D