karrib on wed 3 sep 97
We are looking for some information about a burner that we have been using
for Raku. The burner is stamped with the name "Big Bertha" and the lnumbers
1-3, and the name L B White Co Inc, Onalaska, Wis. Does anyone know
anything about these burners.
Karri Benedict
Willow Creek Pottery
karrib@mail.cvn.net
Craig Martell on thu 4 sep 97
Hi Karri:
It sounds like you have a Big Bertha T-3. They are actually torch heads for
weed burning but they work real well for firing kilns too.
I fire a 66 cu ft kiln with two of them with very good results. They have a
7/64ths orifice and I max them at 3psi, using propane. The disadvantage to
these burners is that they don't have air shutters so you can't adjust the
primary air. I get the amount of reduction that I want by using the damper.
I guess that you could obstruct the opening behind the venturi if you wanted
to retard primary air flow. At this point, I am visualizing Marc Ward
poised at his keyboard. The advantage to these burners is probably the
price. I just bought two more of them for my salt kiln and they were $35.00
each. L.B. White won't deal with individuals however so you have to get
them through your gas company. They also have smaller versions of this
burner.
Tom Turner told me about Big Berthas many years back and he used them as
well. Our kilns are about the same size and design. Tom used Natural Gas
and his orifice opening was 9/64ths with a max pressure of 3.5psi. Tom also
told me that he was sure two Big Berthas would fire a 100 cu ft kiln. Never
tried it myself.
I don't know what else I can tell you, so I guess I'll shut up now.
Regards, Craig Martell-Oregon
Dennis Davis on thu 4 sep 97
Karri,
The last contact I had with company their address was:
L.B. White Co.
N4251 Thomas Rd.
Onalaska, WI 54650
Tel: (608) 783-5691
I have penciled in the following toll free number which I hope is
correct: (800) 345-7200
The Big Bertha Model #113 is rated at 500,000btu/hr at 25PSIG LP-GAS.
Dennis in Stafford, VA
BobWicks@aol.com on fri 5 sep 97
Karrie: The Big Bertha is a weed burner. I use one for my Raku Firings It
does not have air control, but its a cheap way to get started and I used one
for years at the college before we installed better burners. Its a good way
to get started. It puts out a lot of flame so don't put it too far into the
burner port. That way it will draw in secondary air and you will be fine.
good luck.
Bob
George Mackie on sat 6 sep 97
Bob - I use two 200,000 BTU weed burners for a high fire propane kiln-
only $29.25 currently from Tiger Torch in Airdrie Alberta (403,
948-5528)- and its easy to regulate the primary air flow by wrapping
heavy-duty aluminum foil around the air-entry slots and
crunching the foil in until the atmosphere in the kiln looks right.
George
On Fri, 5 Sep 1997 BobWicks@aol.com wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Karrie: The Big Bertha is a weed burner. I use one for my Raku Firings It
> does not have air control, but its a cheap way to get started and I used one
> for years at the college before we installed better burners. Its a good way
> to get started. It puts out a lot of flame so don't put it too far into the
> burner port. That way it will draw in secondary air and you will be fine.
>
> good luck.
> Bob
>
David Jay on sun 7 sep 97
BobWicks@aol.com wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Karrie: The Big Bertha is a weed burner. I use one for my Raku Firings It
> does not have air control, but its a cheap way to get started and I used one
> for years at the college before we installed better burners. Its a good way
> to get started. It puts out a lot of flame so don't put it too far into the
> burner port. That way it will draw in secondary air and you will be fine.
>
> good luck.
> Bob
I used 2 big birthas to fire my 65 cu ft salt kiln for 18 years!
Reached cone 10 in 12-13 hrs including the salting. I think there
great, and I still use one for my raku. I build a tunnel so that when I
back it out the flame gets inside without air interferance.
Happy firing! Paul
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