The rocket-fired kiln idea came to Lisa Orr while she was taking a course in permaculture design, which included training on building rocket mass heaters. The ability to heat her studio with locally available wood that burned with nearly no smoke or odor of fire, the metaphorical "rocket" was appealing. Soon after, she was warming her studio with her rocket mass heater and began to seriously consider the idea of using a rocket-style firebox to heat a kiln. Her experience with traditional low-fire wood-fired kilns in Europe and Mexico made the concept seem tangible. She enlisted the help of professional rocket builders/instructors Rodney Morgan and Chris McClellan, and fellow wood-fire specialists Chris Alveshere and Lindsay Rogers in this project.
The primary goal of the rocket firebox design is to burn wood in a specially engineered, insulated environment at sufficiently high temperatures to completely combust all flammable wood gases, thereby maximizing fuel efficiency while generating useful heat and reducing smoke. The windy, rocket-like sound it makes during burning is where it gets its name. Typically, rocket “engines” have been used for cooking, heating, and now for firing ceramics. There are some essential features that contribute to its ability to meet these goals: its unique shape, its use of insulative refractory material, its use of small-diameter wood, and its tight control and constant oxygen delivery to the hot coals, which functions like a blower or bellows to dramatically improve combustion. Historically, there are many cases of potters being forced to move their businesses away from populated areas due to the bothersome air pollution their kilns created. There are contemporary ceramicists who are notable and influential for finding ways to reduce wood-fired kiln smoke; among them are Jean Girel, the late John Neely, Musanobu Kusakabe, and John Baymore. The rocket-fired kiln is just another small effort in the evolution toward smokeless wood-firing.
