Great news for UK potters and ceramic studios: ADVANCER® Kiln Shelves are now available directly in the UK. The only nitride bonded silicon carbide kiln shelves with a proven 30 year track record for performance and reliability. New sizes are available, optimised specifically for UK top-loading electric kilns. No more waiting for special orders or international shipping for the common top-loading sizes.
What Makes These ADVANCER® Top-Loading Kiln Shelves Special?
ADVANCER® Kiln Shelves are made from a proprietary, fine grained, nitride-bonded silicon carbide mix. This material was originally developed and patented for high-volume ceramic production. This isn’t just another kiln shelf, it’s a fundamental upgrade in kiln furniture technology designed for extended service life and ultimate performance.
Key advantages for top-loading kilns:
Lightweight handling: At only 8mm thick, ADVANCER® shelves weigh approximately 50% less than traditional 25mm solid cordierite shelves. A 534mm round ADVANCER shelf weighs about 4.9 kg compared to 7.9 kg for cordierite. This makes loading and unloading any kiln dramatically easier.
More vertical space: Thinner shelves mean you can fit more layers into the kiln. For a typical top-loading kiln, switching from 25mm thick cordierite to 8mm ADVANCER® shelves can give you room for additional layers. The ultimate goal is more pots in every firing while reducing kiln furniture mass.
Stays flat: Unlike cordierite shelves which warp over time, ADVANCER® shelves maintain their flatness through hundreds of firings. This prevents ware from warping or sagging and eliminates the need to flip shelves.
Available Sizes for Top-Loading Kilns
Now available direct in the UK (no special order required):
• 254mm round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 350mm round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 381mm round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 418mm round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 467mm round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 508mm half and full round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 534mm half and full round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 635mm half round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
• 686mm half round kiln shelves (8mm thickness)
These sizes fit the most common top-loading electric kilns used in the UK, including popular brands like Rohde, Nabertherm, Northern Kilns, Skutt and L&L.
Sizing Guide: Which Shelf Size for Your Kiln?
Choose your shelf size based on your kiln’s interior diameter. The best sizing practice is to leave approximately 2.5cm (1″) of clearance between the shelf edges and the kiln wall for proper air circulation and to protect the shelves from uneven heating/cooling.
400-410mm diameter kilns: 350mm (13.7”) round shelves
457-480mm diameter kilns: 418mm (16.46″) round shelves
520-550mm diameter kilns: 467mm (18.39”) round shelves
590-597mm diameter kilns: 534mm (21”) round & half round shelves
740mm diameter kilns: 686mm (27.01”) half round shelves
Not sure about your exact kiln dimensions? Measure the interior diameter then select a shelf that’s 4-8 cm (1.5-3″) smaller than the diameter. This will ensure there is at minimum 2.5cm (1”) of clearance between the shelf edge and the kiln wall, all the way around the shelf.
The Energy Efficiency Advantage for UK Studios
With UK electricity costs significantly higher than many other markets, the energy efficiency of your kiln furniture becomes increasingly important. ADVANCER® Kiln Shelves’ low-mass design can directly impact your operating costs.
Here’s why thermal conductivity matters: Traditional cordierite shelves have low thermal conductivity, they act as insulators. Your kiln has to spend more energy heating the mass of traditional shelves. The high thermal conductivity of ADVANCER® shelves means heat transfers through the shelf quickly, reducing the energy required to achieve and maintain temperature. Many users note significant decreases in cooling times compared to solid cordierite shelves due to the increased thermal conductivity of ADVANCER® shelves.
Mike Arbini, Commercial Director at Saint-Gobain Ceramics, explains: ‘Lower mass and faster heat transfer means shorter firing cycles and reduced energy consumption. That allows you to create faster firing cycles and reduce the amount of gas or electricity that you’re using for each kiln fire.’
Easy Maintenance Saves Time
One of the best features of ADVANCER kiln shelves is how simple they are to clean and maintain compared to traditional cordierite kiln shelves.
Glazes can penetrate and embed themselves in porous cordierite shelves. The extremely low porosity of ADVANCER® kiln shelves means glaze drips do not penetrate the surface. They can be easily removed with the GlazeEraser® Hand Tool or a similar scraping/grinding tool.
‘With traditional shelves, those are porous and typically the glazes embed themselves into the shelf and it’s very hard to get that off. A lot of grinding and physical labour is required to clean those shelves up for the next firing,’ Mike Arbini notes. ‘With ADVANCER, it does not bite into the material. You can easily chip off glaze runs and anything that sticks to it. Simple. No grinding, simple cleaning up. The maintenance is drastically reduced.’
This benefits production studios, educational settings and hobbyists alike where time spent on shelf maintenance takes away from productivity.
Compatible with Gas, Electric, and Soda Kilns
ADVANCER® Top-Loading Kiln Shelves work well in most common firing atmospheres and temperatures used in top-loading electric kilns:
Oxidation firing: Excellent performance up to cone 12+ (1300°C)
Glaze firing: Non-porous surface resists glaze adhesion and kiln debris; easy cleanup
Bisque firing: High strength supports dense loads of greenware
Multiple firings per week: Designed for high-cycle use; high strength body, no warpage
Maximum use temperature of 1450°C (2642°F / Cone 16) means you’ll never reach the limits of these shelves in a standard top-loading electric kiln.
What UK Potters Are Saying
The feedback from potters who’ve made the switch to ADVANCER shelves has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s a thing of beauty. It is a fraction of the weight of a normal kiln shelf. I am really excited to try this ADVANCER shelf because I like a lot of drippy glazes and I’m very anxious when I put them in the kiln so I raise them on stilts and then I put them on cookies, so I lose a lot of space in my kiln when I do that.” @farforestceramics
“All I can say is wow, I know that ADVANCER shelves are expensive, but the time that they have saved me is absolutely amazing.” @colleypitpottery
Order Your ADVANCER Top-Loading Kiln Shelves Today
Ready to upgrade your top-loading kiln with high-performance ADVANCER® shelves? All standard round and half round sizes (350mm, 381mm, 418mm, 467mm, 508mm, 534mm, 635mm, 686mm) available for immediate dispatch within the UK.
Shop ADVANCER top-loading kiln shelves →
Need square or rectangular shelves? Enquire about special orders →
