mel jacobson on tue 15 feb 11
we are not talking about art centers, big/huge drafty kilns.
almost always run by a tech, that knows the kilns.
(or, should know what they are doing...and safety first.)
my safety concerns are about home kilns, geils, home built kilns
and small kilns that folks have. there are thousands of them.
(or, folks that try and re/light a kiln that has lost pressure at
the burners. you have to clear the kiln first.)
you should have a firing list, 1,2,3, 4. and then a safety list.
what to do in case of failure. follow the list, every time. no short
cuts.
many pre heat their kilns. gases build up inside. if you just
start them up without clearing them...they can go boom.
a few minutes with a torch clears the kiln.
same for starting a ice cold kiln with full blast gas.
it gets confused.
a minute of clearing can save you thousands of dollars
and a burned face.
the newest technology for firing has potters turning kilns
to high...at the start of the firing. no longer doing the
one burner low for three hours, medium for three hours and then to high
gas pressure. it wastes fuel like mad. it also kicks the K
factor in the butt. (k-26 means how long the brick
will support 2600F before losing its insulation factor) (it is more
complex than
that, bit it will do for now.)
the walls are now leaching heat. you want
to fire your kiln with full K factor in place. hot bricks leak heat.
a fact. get your firing done before the face of the bricks are hot
to the touch. then it matters not that the bricks are hot, as the
heat is coming from the kiln during the cooling phase. that is when
i turn on the box fan low, and make that heat move around the kiln room.
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
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