Seattle Pottery Supply 18" by 18" Electric Pottery Kiln, 240V, Fires to Cone 10, Bartlett V6CF Review (2026)

Who this kiln suits

This is Seattle Pottery Supply's Model 184, an 18 inch by 18 inch kiln sized between the company's smaller test kilns and its larger 27 inch deep model, which makes it a fit for a home potter or small studio firing a steady stream of mugs and mid-sized bowls rather than production-scale batches. Because it fires to Cone 10, it suits someone working in stoneware or porcelain and wants headroom above the Cone 6 ceiling of many compact electric kilns, not just someone doing occasional low-fire earthenware. Its 2.8 cubic foot interior is large enough for a real load of work but still runs on a single 240V home circuit, which puts it within reach of a garage or basement studio rather than requiring commercial three-phase power.

Specs and the Bartlett controller explained

The kiln has an 18 inch interior diameter and 18 inch interior depth, giving it 2.8 cubic feet of firing space across two brick rings, with four heating elements and 3 inch thick fire brick insulation. It runs on 240V and needs a 30 amp breaker and a NEMA 10-30 receptacle, a fairly standard electric dryer-style circuit. Every Model 184 ships with a Bartlett V6CF digital controller, which offers a cone-fire mode for quick standard firings in as few as six button presses, plus a vary-fire mode that stores up to six custom eight-step programs for different clay and glaze combinations. The controller also handles delay starts, a preheat option, alarms, and adjustments for cone number and thermocouple calibration, switching between Fahrenheit and Celsius as needed.

Living with it: setup, firing and maintenance

Setup means running a dedicated 240V line to a NEMA 10-30 receptacle, which most homes without an existing kiln or dryer circuit in the right spot will need an electrician to install. Once wired in, the kiln includes a lid brace to help lift and support the heavy lid during loading and unloading, a detail that matters given how often a working kiln gets opened. Seattle Pottery Supply builds its kilns with the thermocouple offset from the control box specifically so it can be swapped out in under ten minutes without digging into the wiring, which keeps a common maintenance task simple. Like any kiln this size, it needs a ventilated space away from combustible materials, since firing to Cone 10 generates significant heat over several hours.

Trade-offs against other kilns in the guide

Seattle Pottery Supply's own 18 by 27 inch model sits in the same guide with a matching score, offering roughly 4.2 cubic feet, about half again the capacity of this 18 by 18 inch kiln, for a potter who needs more room per firing and can accommodate the larger footprint and higher amperage that model requires. Lower-ranked entries like the INTSUPERMAI electric ceramic kiln top out well below Cone 10, which limits them to low and mid-fire work and rules them out for anyone committed to stoneware or porcelain. Against both, this Model 184 sits in a practical middle ground: full Cone 10 capability and a proven digital controller in a footprint that still fits a standard home electrical circuit.

Verdict and who should size up or down

Choose this kiln if you want genuine Cone 10 firing capability with a reliable Bartlett controller in a size that fits a home studio's electrical service. It earns our score of 8.8 out of 10 for combining real firing range with manageable power requirements. Potters who regularly fire large batches or bigger pieces should look at Seattle Pottery Supply's 18 by 27 inch sibling for the extra depth, while anyone working exclusively in low-fire earthenware and wanting to avoid the cost and wiring of a 240V circuit may be better served by a smaller Cone 6 kiln instead. Either way, budget time and cost for an electrician if a compatible circuit is not already in place.

Frequently asked questions