What do you think of your MAXI, MAXINE if you're lucky to have one!

[silverlemon]

Oh well, the deed is done, and I've taken the plunge and ordered my very own Maxine, in pink of course, I love the blue but that's so boring as almost all kilns are blue. I shall be naming her Beadica ne Maxine, when she arrives, because I love the name that someone on here came up with, and just cos she's not called that officially don't mean I can't! lol.

Cheers Lee, I can't wait, although I suspect I'll have too since I'm not sure I trust the guys that deliver parcels. Anyway half term is next week so I wouldn't get much chance to play, I'll console myself with that.

I'm really impressed that I can choose how I receive my kiln, it's not just going to be shoved out and delivered by couriers if I'd prefer to have it delivered by Kilncare....that's what I call caring for kilns ...pun intended. 

goes off singing..'I'm so excited....and I just can't hide it....' 

[Lee - Kilncare]

Yes mate, it is good to have you joining the familly

Just to widen the delivery methods thingy.

The MAXI/MAXIne's now go out in custom sized boxes and are packed with polystyrene slabs and expanding foam bags. They are really well packed and I have checked on the two that were delivered yesterday and one was perfect and the other, believe it or not, was delivered by an Eastern European chappy who spoke little English and rolled the box, end over end, from the van to the house, even though it says fragile all over it and has a sticker on all sides with arrows pointing up and a wine glass, as well as the words glass - fragile on them.

The lady was to open the box last night but apparently the box looks fine so the kiln should be also. I would have thought I would have heard by now if there was a problem.

We have also just heard that a MAXI we sent to Germany is actually fine even though the box had taken a right pasting.

However, as with anything, the kilns, when using any national courior go through depots and are handled by multiple persons. So whether it is a kiln or a piece of glass or a T.V. the risk is there. We have packed them as well as they can be so the risk is the same as with any item.

One lady has chosen to take a pallet deliver for her kiln which meant the kiln was straped to a pallet and then boxed over, this way means that the boxes are handled by machine and this method tends to be more gentle, unless some careless +@#* sticks the forks of a fork lift straight through the side of the box as happened to a poor lady in North Wales last year on her £4500 kiln!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unfortunately the pallet method costs around £55-60 more.

What we are actually trying to do is batch the kilns if possible, for instance, if there were enough sales in the next week to Beaders who are going to the Sandown show, then it may be worth filling the van up with the kilns and handing them over down there personally. That may be something to bear in mind. We already have one candidate, Silverlemon, so a few more and it may be worth it.

Then of course there is the final option. It is the final one because it does cost a fortune, but all the same it is an option but normally taken on bigger kilns.
We can bring the kiln to you personally, at your given time, be it 6pm, 11.30am or whatever. We will site the kiln, check the site is O.K. and then go through the options on how to use the kiln and give full instructions on how to use the controller, what to do and what not to do etc.
We do try to batch these types of delivery so that we can spread the cost over a few customers.
To give you some idea of the cost here, we have delivered a casting kiln into Durham this week. The fuel cost was £102 alone and the engineer was out for 13 hours which all have to be paid for. So it can be expensive.

Basically, we try to offer the best alternative to suit the customer.

Oh and Sal, keep on about your opening and I shall expect a swift punch on the nose off Adam the next time I'm calling to your place

[Billie]

So you delivering a kiln to me in France might get a bit pricey then, Lee...    Maybe I'll get my mitts on a MAXine next year