mel jacobson on wed 18 aug 10
one thing that no one wants to do is spray a hot kiln.
it will blow up in your face...esp water spray.
the fire ex is for anything around the kiln.
it is a prime reason you do not leave a big gas kiln alone.
if there is a fire, and that kiln gets sprayed by mistake...
people will die.
i had orders to all janitors that if there was any problem
with kilns, no matter the time...4 a.m. i don't care.
CALL ME AT HOME, AND I WILL BE THERE IN TEN MINUTES.
my home phone number was written on the wall by the
janitors phone...with a sharpie. in case of fire smell on second floor,
call mel.
the most often call came when a kid stuffed a bottle with
paper as an armature...and that was ok...but that smell during
warm up, phew...fire, fire.
and on occasion we might overnight fire a kiln with sculptures. (one
element on low.)
had to warm folks about the smell.
every now and then i would give a small talk to the local fire department
about kilns, their temperature and how to work with them during
a fire. (not a formal presentation.)
they always appreciated that...of course about half of them
were former students.
TRAINING, KEEPING EQUIPMENT SAFE, TRAIN the working staff AND THINGS
WORK OUT VERY WELL.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
John Post on thu 19 aug 10
What is most likely to catch on fire in the kiln rooms I see in my
school district is all the crap that the other art teachers keep next
to their kilns. There are boxes of scrap paper, yarn, egg cartons,
poster board and piles of kid projects all within a few feet of the
kiln.
My kiln room has two ware carts, the kilns, posts and shelves in it.
That's it. There isn't anything that will catch on fire there. Most
of the kilns that I have seen over-fire are pretty melted down inside,
but at some point, the elements burned out and the kiln shut itself
off without starting the room itself on fire.
The cinder block room my kiln is in isn't likely to catch on fire.
It's designed that way for a purpose. The door to the kiln room is a
big heavy fire door too. You would think it would be easy to convince
these other art teachers to be aware of the fire hazards they are
creating, but I think the pack rat gene is attached to the creative
gene in some people. Every drawer and cabinet in their art rooms are
bursting full of so much stuff that they never use.
In my studio at home, before I turn on the computer controller and the
kiln vent, I look around and underneath the kiln to make sure there is
nothing that will catch on fire there. My kilns are inside of a
garage building that has a roll up door, and sometimes in the fall,
leaves blow in there. It's all part of my pre-flight, take-off,
checklist that I mentally go through when firing my electric kilns.
John Post
Sterling Heights, Michigan
http://www.johnpost.us
| |
|
