riff@bbs.slv.org on fri 28 feb 97
Careful. Just poking something into the orifice of a burner won't
be too effective in cleaning them out. One morning a few summers
ago I went to light our kiln and there was not gas available. I
checked my main valve, and it was open. The meter was working ok,
but there was no gas coming out of the burners...none of them. (I
have six). The pilot light for a heater in the studio lit ok.
What was wrong?? It didn't take too long to discover the
problem. If Vince had been there..well. Each orifice had been
plugged up by wasps, and the pipe ahead of the orifice for about
two inches had been filled-in with tightly packed leaves and stuff.
So each burner had to be taken apart, the orifice removed, and the
plumbing cleaned out. Any loose debris in the gas line can lodge
up against the inside of your orifice and really affect the firing
of your kiln. If you haven't fired for a while, you might consider
checking each orifice (your kiln's) by removing them and checking
the plumbing too. My kiln is outside so I just remove the orifice
and pass a little gas. :-) (hey, every potter has his little
rituals)
riff
riff@bbs.slv.org
Richard Gralnik on sat 1 mar 97
I've been reading these reports of clogged burners and an idea occurred to
me that might help -
Why not just close the primary air spinner and put a piece of aluminum foil
over the opening at the end of the burner? The foil will pop off easily
enough, and you just respin the primary air plate back to its normal setting.
I haven't seen too many wasps that could undo this sealing system.
Richard
p.s. Another idea to seal the orifices - get welding rods of the nearest
diameter to your orifice size. They're long enough to reach down
into the burner from inside the kiln so you can put them in and
take them out easily enough. They'll stop spiders from getting down
inside the orifice.
At 06:57 AM 2/28/97 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Careful. Just poking something into the orifice of a burner won't
>be too effective in cleaning them out. One morning a few summers
>ago I went to light our kiln and there was not gas available. I
>checked my main valve, and it was open. The meter was working ok,
>but there was no gas coming out of the burners...none of them. (I
>have six). The pilot light for a heater in the studio lit ok.
>What was wrong?? It didn't take too long to discover the
>problem. If Vince had been there..well. Each orifice had been
>plugged up by wasps, and the pipe ahead of the orifice for about
>two inches had been filled-in with tightly packed leaves and stuff.
>So each burner had to be taken apart, the orifice removed, and the
>plumbing cleaned out. Any loose debris in the gas line can lodge
>up against the inside of your orifice and really affect the firing
>of your kiln. If you haven't fired for a while, you might consider
>checking each orifice (your kiln's) by removing them and checking
>the plumbing too. My kiln is outside so I just remove the orifice
>and pass a little gas. :-) (hey, every potter has his little
>rituals)
>riff
>riff@bbs.slv.org
>
>
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