search  current discussion  categories  glazes - ash 

pellet stove ash

updated fri 12 mar 10

 

Fredrick Paget on sat 29 dec 07


Our little valley town just outlawed our old wood stove and so we
bought a legal pellet stove and have had it running through a ton of
pellets that I bought for $280.
The pellets are said to be made of hardwood and make very little ash.
I have been saving the ash and have only about 2 gallons of it from
that half ton of pellets that we have burned so far.
The ash looks strange. It is dark almost chocolate color and I
suspect that it has charcoal in it from incomplete combustion. I will
calcine some next time I do a bisque firing to see if it goes grey.
Have not tried it yet in a glaze. Since Tozan in B.C. is down I have
not done any cone 10 or wood firing. Mostly I have been doing
research on decals - cone 013 firings.
Fred
--
Twin Dragon Studio
Mill Valley, CA, USA

Fredrick Paget on wed 2 jan 08


I calcined some of the ash Sunday and it stayed the same color.
Still chocolate brown. I have never seen ash like this before.. I
wonder what is in it to make the brown.
Fred




>Our little valley town just outlawed our old wood stove and so we
>bought a legal pellet stove and have had it running through a ton of
>pellets that I bought for $280.
>The pellets are said to be made of hardwood and make very little ash.
>I have been saving the ash and have only about 2 gallons of it from
>that half ton of pellets that we have burned so far.
>The ash looks strange. It is dark almost chocolate color and I
>suspect that it has charcoal in it from incomplete combustion. I will
>calcine some next time I do a bisque firing to see if it goes grey.
>Have not tried it yet in a glaze. Since Tozan in B.C. is down I have
>not done any cone 10 or wood firing. Mostly I have been doing
>research on decals - cone 013 firings.
>Fred
>--
>Twin Dragon Studio
>Mill Valley, CA, USA
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, or change your
>subscription settings here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi.com


--
Twin Dragon Studio
Mill Valley, CA, USA

pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on wed 2 jan 08


Hi Fred,




Fire some of it to ^ 10 on a small Bisque Saucer or in a little Bowl
something, and see what it does...


They might have used some sort of Clay as a binder in making the 'pellets'
from Saw Dust, and if so, there'd be a darned near a ready made Glaze
there...


Phil
l v


----- Original Message -----
From: "Fredrick Paget"


>I calcined some of the ash Sunday and it stayed the same color.
> Still chocolate brown. I have never seen ash like this before.. I
> wonder what is in it to make the brown.
> Fred
>
>
>
>
>>Our little valley town just outlawed our old wood stove and so we
>>bought a legal pellet stove and have had it running through a ton of
>>pellets that I bought for $280.
>>The pellets are said to be made of hardwood and make very little ash.
>>I have been saving the ash and have only about 2 gallons of it from
>>that half ton of pellets that we have burned so far.
>>The ash looks strange. It is dark almost chocolate color and I
>>suspect that it has charcoal in it from incomplete combustion. I will
>>calcine some next time I do a bisque firing to see if it goes grey.
>>Have not tried it yet in a glaze. Since Tozan in B.C. is down I have
>>not done any cone 10 or wood firing. Mostly I have been doing
>>research on decals - cone 013 firings.
>>Fred
>>--
>>Twin Dragon Studio
>>Mill Valley, CA, USA

Nancy Spinella on thu 11 mar 10


I was watching a video on Ceramic Arts Daily about a pottery that has a
pellet stove and uses the ash from it in ash glazes.

I have a pellet stove, but I've never used an ash glaze. Anyone else out
there have success with ash glazes made with pellet stove ash? How difficul=
t
are they to make/use?

Thanks!
Nancy

William & Susan Schran User on thu 11 mar 10


On 3/11/10 9:21 AM, "Nancy Spinella" wrote:

> I was watching a video on Ceramic Arts Daily about a pottery that has a
> pellet stove and uses the ash from it in ash glazes.
>
> I have a pellet stove, but I've never used an ash glaze. Anyone else out
> there have success with ash glazes made with pellet stove ash? How diffic=
ult
> are they to make/use?

The sawdust used for pellets are usually mixed hardwoods, so they should
work fine.
You will need to screen the ash, to remove any unburned pellets. I would
suggest final screening be through a 60 mesh sieve.
One thing to remember - when wood ash is wetted it will release solubles an=
d
you have to decided whether to wash the ash first. The wet ash can be very
caustic, so where gloves when working with the wet materials/glaze.
There are many recipes online to fit your firing temperature.
One recipe I've been starting to test is very simple:

^6 ash glaze
Wood ash - 50
Redart clay - 50
Frit 3134 - 5

I have not run this through the computer yet, so no info on
stability/functionality.

Bill

--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com

steve graber on thu 11 mar 10


ash is ash....=3DA0 generally.=3DA0 =3D0A=3D0Ayears ago when i first heard =
of ash g=3D
lazes i made some up.=3DA0 i didn't bother reading anything.=3DA0 so i used=
raw=3D
ash in a bucket and glazed a lot of pieces.=3DA0 someone had told me ash r=
un=3D
s a lot, so i used it inside bowls, the rims of vases.=3DA0 got AWESOME res=
ul=3D
ts!=3DA0 later i learned to mix sort of 50-50 with porcelain - slows down t=
he=3D
runny.=3DA0 and later i threw in some colorants - a spalsh of this or that=
.=3D
=3DA0 ~ i don't measure usually...=3DA0 =3D0A=3D0Aso use it as you want.=3D=
A0 raw, wa=3D
shed, or with other materials.=3DA0 =3D0A=3DA0Steve Graber, Graber's Potter=
y, Inc=3D
=3D0AClaremont, California USA=3D0AThe Steve Tool - for awesome texture on =
pots=3D
! =3D0Awww.graberspottery.com steve@graberspottery.com =3D0A=3D0A=3D0AOn La=
guna Cla=3D
y's website=3D0Ahttp://www.lagunaclay.com/blogs/ =3D0A=3D0A=3D0A=3D0A----- =
Original M=3D
essage ----=3D0A> From: Nancy Spinella =3D0A> To: Claya=
rt@L=3D
SV.CERAMICS.ORG=3D0A> Sent: Thu, March 11, 2010 6:21:13 AM=3D0A> Subject: P=
elle=3D
t stove ash=3D0A> =3D0A> I was watching a video on Ceramic Arts Daily about=
a p=3D
ottery that has =3D0A> a=3D0Apellet stove and uses the ash from it in ash g=
laze=3D
s.=3D0A=3D0AI have a pellet =3D0A> stove, but I've never used an ash glaze.=
=3DA0 An=3D
yone else out=3D0Athere have =3D0A> success with ash glazes made with pelle=
t st=3D
ove ash? How difficult=3D0Aare they to =3D0A> make/use?=3D0A=3D0AThanks!=3D=
0ANancy=3D0A=3D
=3D0A=3D0A

Lee Love on thu 11 mar 10


I have 3 huge trash bags full. Will test it when spring arrives so I
can process it outtside.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/

=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi

Bob Johnson on thu 11 mar 10


Until you are sure of your results, I'd recommend firing your ash-glazed
pots on "cookies."
Bob


-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Nancy Spinella
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 6:21 AM
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Pellet stove ash

I was watching a video on Ceramic Arts Daily about a pottery that has a
pellet stove and uses the ash from it in ash glazes.

I have a pellet stove, but I've never used an ash glaze. Anyone else out
there have success with ash glazes made with pellet stove ash? How difficul=
t
are they to make/use?

Thanks!
Nancy
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2735 - Release Date: 03/10/10
23:33:00

Eric Hansen on thu 11 mar 10


Be bold and test - test tiles - shot glasses - tea bowls make better tests

50/50 (by weight) slip clay and wood ash. I fired this to cone 8 and it was
too runny. Try cone 6 or lower. The slip clay is called "Ohio Slip"

50/50 (by weight) red art and wood ash. Cone 6-10

50/50 wood ash and yellow ochre. This is supposed to be "raw" ochre. But it
use what I buy. I can't get it to flux out at cone 9 try cone 10 or
higher/longer firing

50/50 wood ash and your local red clay. You have to dig the clay then dry
and crush it, then weigh and melt it in lots of water. Get blunger (best)
attachment for electric drill or paint mixer (okay) attachment.

It's always a good idea to ball mill these kinds of glazes but screening
will help anyway.

A small 1/2 gallon pail with a lid is big enough for dipping tea bowls, but
a larger plastic bucket is needed for the mixing detail

- h a n s e n



On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 9:21 AM, Nancy Spinella wrote:

> I was watching a video on Ceramic Arts Daily about a pottery that has a
> pellet stove and uses the ash from it in ash glazes.
>
> I have a pellet stove, but I've never used an ash glaze. Anyone else out
> there have success with ash glazes made with pellet stove ash? How
> difficult
> are they to make/use?
>
> Thanks!
> Nancy
>

Marcia Selsor on thu 11 mar 10


I used them in Montana. They work like fireplace ash.
I treated them the same.
Marcia

Marcia Selsor
http://www.marciaselsor.com

Mike on fri 12 mar 10


This is great advice. 50/50 ash and a few different clays, separately. I
did this with about 5 clays a year or so ago and it put me on the path
to a couple of great glazes. And a few were really nice at the outset
without any tweaking. One of them melted the cup I put it on, so you may
want to test on wadding and cookies.

One thing to try that sometimes adds interest is after you've pounded
and sifted your clay and have mixed up the 50/50 mixture, take some of
the clay left overs that you sifted out (about 60 mesh) and add little
back in to the mix. Not too much, just enough. With the higher iron
clays you'll get some nice spotting in some cases.


Mike

Mike
in Taku, Japan

http://karatsupots.com
http://karatsupots.blogspot.com

Kiln Building Workshop, Oct. 15 - 22

http://karatsupots.com/workshop2010/workshop2010.html
http://karatsupots-workshop.blogspot.com/


(2010/03/12 6:51), Eric Hansen wrote:
> Be bold and test - test tiles - shot glasses - tea bowls make better test=
s
>
> 50/50 (by weight) slip clay and wood ash. I fired this to cone 8 and it w=
as
> too runny. Try cone 6 or lower. The slip clay is called "Ohio Slip"
>
> 50/50 (by weight) red art and wood ash. Cone 6-10
>
> 50/50 wood ash and yellow ochre. This is supposed to be "raw" ochre. But =
it
> use what I buy. I can't get it to flux out at cone 9 try cone 10 or
> higher/longer firing
>
> 50/50 wood ash and your local red clay. You have to dig the clay then dry
> and crush it, then weigh and melt it in lots of water. Get blunger (best)
> attachment for electric drill or paint mixer (okay) attachment.
>
> It's always a good idea to ball mill these kinds of glazes but screening
> will help anyway.
>
> A small 1/2 gallon pail with a lid is big enough for dipping tea bowls, b=
ut
> a larger plastic bucket is needed for the mixing detail
>
> - h a n s e n
>
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 9:21 AM, Nancy Spinella wrot=
e:
>
>
>> I was watching a video on Ceramic Arts Daily about a pottery that has a
>> pellet stove and uses the ash from it in ash glazes.
>>
>> I have a pellet stove, but I've never used an ash glaze. Anyone else ou=
t
>> there have success with ash glazes made with pellet stove ash? How
>> difficult
>> are they to make/use?
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Nancy
>>
>>
>