mel jacobson on wed 17 oct 07
i know the system for home made burners is not
the final answer...in any way.
they are simple..cheap and easy for anyone
making a small backyard kiln/or raku fire.
the point is:
ward burners are about 300 bucks a piece ready to go with pilot.
nils burners are about $400 each.
a good set of compressed air burners would be close to three thousand dollars.
so...you would waste a great deal of gas before
you make up $780 in burner costs vs. my ten buck burners.
simple math.
like many things i suggest making.
it is about understanding. it is about learning
how things work.
the process of being a potter.
fire, earth and water.
if you do not understand fire, gas, wood...and it
is only an abstract concept...well, you are
always going to be on the outside wondering what
is going on.
of course the fear of trying, the fear of making...and
only trusting things you buy...well, is foolish in my mind.
but, that fear controls the modern human.
ransom burners are damn nice...noisy..but of course they work.
nil's burners are fantastic. well engineered, work like a charm.
but, the amazing thing is:
i can fire my farm kiln with the pipe burners, or the nils burners.
it still gets fired just fine. and, i never chart the exact amount of gas.
who as the time for that? we fire kilns...make pots.
lots of pots. thousands. and, by god, we sell them. all of them.
between kurt, bob anderson, andy k. and myself we have made almost
every kind of kiln know to humans...fired with gas, sawdust, wood, salt,
raku, primitive, maria, roman kilns, wheel kilns, garbage can, even made
a carboard box kiln. from that we have learned a great deal, had gobs
of fun...and failed many times. but, landing on the mini minnesota flat top
kiln...has been golden for all of us. quick to build, inexpensive and
they fire like dreams.
but, in our minds one of the best parts, and the one that makes us proud:
we have done it with our own funds...we don't ask for grants, help, handouts.
we pool resources. make do...own what we make...and share the knowledge.
it is what our summer camp `hay creek` stands for. adults, sharing knowledge,
information and the work and costs.
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Larry Kruzan on wed 17 oct 07
Hi Mel,
Just a couple questions so I don't blow myself up. (HeeHeeHaww) Is the pipe
length at all critical, looks like 8-10" but not sure? How is the flame
retention with these? I know to keep a close watch on them anyway but I have
much more experience with power burners than atmospherics.
Your humble student always,
Larry
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of mel jacobson
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 4:40 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: [CLAYART] mel's pipe burners/a philosophy
i know the system for home made burners is not
the final answer...in any way.
they are simple..cheap and easy for anyone
making a small backyard kiln/or raku fire.
the point is:
ward burners are about 300 bucks a piece ready to go with pilot.
nils burners are about $400 each.
a good set of compressed air burners would be close to three thousand
dollars.
so...you would waste a great deal of gas before
you make up $780 in burner costs vs. my ten buck burners.
simple math.
like many things i suggest making.
it is about understanding. it is about learning
how things work.
the process of being a potter.
fire, earth and water.
if you do not understand fire, gas, wood...and it
is only an abstract concept...well, you are
always going to be on the outside wondering what
is going on.
of course the fear of trying, the fear of making...and
only trusting things you buy...well, is foolish in my mind.
but, that fear controls the modern human.
ransom burners are damn nice...noisy..but of course they work.
nil's burners are fantastic. well engineered, work like a charm.
but, the amazing thing is:
i can fire my farm kiln with the pipe burners, or the nils burners.
it still gets fired just fine. and, i never chart the exact amount of gas.
who as the time for that? we fire kilns...make pots.
lots of pots. thousands. and, by god, we sell them. all of them.
between kurt, bob anderson, andy k. and myself we have made almost
every kind of kiln know to humans...fired with gas, sawdust, wood, salt,
raku, primitive, maria, roman kilns, wheel kilns, garbage can, even made
a carboard box kiln. from that we have learned a great deal, had gobs
of fun...and failed many times. but, landing on the mini minnesota flat top
kiln...has been golden for all of us. quick to build, inexpensive and
they fire like dreams.
but, in our minds one of the best parts, and the one that makes us proud:
we have done it with our own funds...we don't ask for grants, help,
handouts.
we pool resources. make do...own what we make...and share the knowledge.
it is what our summer camp `hay creek` stands for. adults, sharing
knowledge,
information and the work and costs.
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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Richard Aerni on thu 18 oct 07
Mel,
You can get a screw-on cast venturi burner (GACO 100) for about $58. I used
to build my own burners but never again. These things are good.
Just my .02...
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY
On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:40:14 -0500, mel jacobson wrote:
>i know the system for home made burners is not
>the final answer...in any way.
>they are simple..cheap and easy for anyone
>making a small backyard kiln/or raku fire.
>
>the point is:
>
>ward burners are about 300 bucks a piece ready to go with pilot.
>nils burners are about $400 each.
>a good set of compressed air burners would be close to three thousand dollars.
Taylor Hendrix on thu 18 oct 07
These are the MR 100s you can get from Ward or from most pottery
supply places, right? I just got one myself and am looking forward to
testing it agains my weedburner and my nice Mel pipes.
Yahoo!
Taylor
On 10/18/07, Richard Aerni wrote:
> Mel,
> You can get a screw-on cast venturi burner (GACO 100) for about $58. I used
> to build my own burners but never again. These things are good.
> Just my .02...
> Richard Aerni
James and Sherron Bowen on thu 18 oct 07
Laguna has the cast iron FS-122 VENTURI BURNER that used to sell (in 2006)
for under $40. It can furnish 78,000 BTUs on LP. We have seen them used on
several home made Raku Kilns.
The burners we use are home made exactly like the ones shown on page 107 of
Raku Pottery by Robert Piepenburg (Pebble Press 1994). Of all the raku books
I have read and owned this one has been the most useful for me.
JB
----- Original Message -----
From: "Taylor Hendrix"
To:
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 5:06 PM
Subject: Re: mel's pipe burners/a philosophy
> These are the MR 100s you can get from Ward or from most pottery
> supply places, right? I just got one myself and am looking forward to
> testing it agains my weedburner and my nice Mel pipes.
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