Cindy on tue 26 aug 97
I've read a lot about wood/propane/electric firing, but no one ever
mentions coal. Is there a reason for this? I've just stumbled across an
on-going source for hi-temp coal--all I have to do is drive to Gillette
with a pick-up truck and it's mine. Can I use this for pit-firing, or in a
wood-fired kiln?
Thanks for your help,
Cindy
Dannon Rhudy on wed 27 aug 97
Yes, you can use coal in the same way as a wood fire; it burns
slower and hotter. Some potters in Kentucky and Indiana fired
with coal from the mines, and potters everywhere have fired with
coal when it was available. No reason not to use it in a pit
fire, I would think, though never have. It would take longer to
get it going, probably have to start with wood or some kindling to
get the temp up, coal can be reluctant. But once going, again,
burns a long time (yes, it depends on the kind of coal, and size,
etc).
Dannon Rhudy
potter@koyote.com
----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
I've read a lot about wood/propane/electric firing, but no one
ever
mentions coal. Is there a reason for this? I've just stumbled
across an
on-going source for hi-temp coal--all I have to do is drive to
Gillette
with a pick-up truck and it's mine. Can I use this for pit-firing,
or in a
wood-fired kiln?
Thanks for your help,
Cindy
Louis Katz on thu 28 aug 97
=3C/NOFILL=3E
------------------
Sulphur in the Coal might goof up your glazes. Some brickyards used
coal and some might still. At the Kansas City art Institute a guy
named Luby used coal dust and blew it into the wood kiln. He never got
above 04 and when the kiln was opened the whole chamber was clogged
with a loose open textured clinker. It was a cool experience but the
pots were a bust.
Along the same lines I fired a kiln with waste deep fat frier oil,
unlike deisel and auto sump oil it smelled like donuts. Worked good
too, except it was hell keeping the lines from plugging up. We got
fired above cone 8, up until this year i still had a pot from the
firing, but it vibrated off the shelf.
john eden on sat 30 aug 97
Coal was the reason that all those potteries were in the Midlands,
Stoke-on-Trent etc. You would need saggars. You could probably find a
"Saggar maker" but could you find a "Saggar makers bottom knocker" in this
day and age.
Dannon Rhudy on sun 31 aug 97
Ok, John. 'Splain us "saggar-makers bottom knocker", please.
Dannon Rhudy
potter@koyote.com
----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
Coal was the reason that all those potteries were in the Midlands,
Stoke-on-Trent etc. You would need saggars. You could probably
find a
"Saggar maker" but could you find a "Saggar makers bottom knocker"
in this
day and age.
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