David Hendley on fri 22 jul 11
After a string of twenty 100-degree-plus days and a weather
forecast that things could be even hotter next week, I decided
to quit waiting and go ahead and fire my kiln today.
To make things even more challenging, my firing helper for the
last 3 or 4 years moved away last winter, and my relief stoker
(my wife) is half-way through a 2-week vacation out of town.
To take advantage of the cool(?) 80 degree mornings, I radically
adjusted my typical schedule.
At 10:45 last night, I started a fire in a firebox and, once it was
going good, I laid in 7 dense heavy 2 X 4 oak planks. I came
back to the house, made 2 quarts of tea, pre-made my
breakfast and lunch, and was in bed at 11:00, with the alarm
set for 2:45.
The 4-hour pre-heating was perfect - the firebox and kiln
were very warm and there was a good bed of coals. I think
I may use this "night-before" technique even when the weather
returns to normal.
At 6:00 a.m., I shut down the kiln, closing off both fireboxes
and covering the top of the chimney, and went to the house
and ate breakfast for a leisurely 35 minutes. I did lose a
little heat, but I think it also helped equalize the temperature
(the area where the flame enter the kiln is always hotter
in the beginning stages, which can cause me to miss the very
early reduction required for copper reds and shinos).
It was still dreadfully hot once the kiln got above red heat.
I set up my most powerful fan near-by and set the garden
hose on "mist" behind the fan. Most of my time between
stoking was spent there. A customer surprised me just as
I was lifting up my shirt to catch the breeze, which was
embarrassing, but I really didn't care at that point.
At 11:00, I loaded the fireboxes with oak 2 X 4s again and
headed back to the house to retrieve lunch. At this point, even
a 2 X 4 only lasts about five minutes, so I came back to
the shop, added more 2 X 4s, and started eating. Halfway
through, I stoked again with big timbers, and finished eating.
The kiln was firing right on schedule. I aim for 10-hour
firings and am actually trying to slow it down most of the time.
By 12:15 cone 10 was starting to tip and it was flat by 1:00.
Total firing time: 10 hours and 15 minutes.
Total fluid intake: 2 Big Gulp cups of water, 2 of iced tea,
and 2 of Dr Pepper (decaffeinated).
Total towels soaked with sweat: 3.
Temperature at 1:00 p.m.: 94 degrees.
Woodfiring: priceless.
David Hendley
david@farmpots.com
http://www.farmpots.com
http://www.thewahooligans.com
Steve Mills on sat 23 jul 11
Well done. A tour de force!!
Steve. M
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Sent from my Ipod touch
On 22 Jul 2011, at 22:37, David Hendley wrote:
> After a string of twenty 100-degree-plus days and a weather
> forecast that things could be even hotter next week, I decided
> to quit waiting and go ahead and fire my kiln today.
> To make things even more challenging, my firing helper for the
> last 3 or 4 years moved away last winter, and my relief stoker
> (my wife) is half-way through a 2-week vacation out of town.
>
> To take advantage of the cool(?) 80 degree mornings, I radically
> adjusted my typical schedule.
> At 10:45 last night, I started a fire in a firebox and, once it was
> going good, I laid in 7 dense heavy 2 X 4 oak planks. I came
> back to the house, made 2 quarts of tea, pre-made my
> breakfast and lunch, and was in bed at 11:00, with the alarm
> set for 2:45.
>
> The 4-hour pre-heating was perfect - the firebox and kiln
> were very warm and there was a good bed of coals. I think
> I may use this "night-before" technique even when the weather
> returns to normal.
> At 6:00 a.m., I shut down the kiln, closing off both fireboxes
> and covering the top of the chimney, and went to the house
> and ate breakfast for a leisurely 35 minutes. I did lose a
> little heat, but I think it also helped equalize the temperature
> (the area where the flame enter the kiln is always hotter
> in the beginning stages, which can cause me to miss the very
> early reduction required for copper reds and shinos).
>
> It was still dreadfully hot once the kiln got above red heat.
> I set up my most powerful fan near-by and set the garden
> hose on "mist" behind the fan. Most of my time between
> stoking was spent there. A customer surprised me just as
> I was lifting up my shirt to catch the breeze, which was
> embarrassing, but I really didn't care at that point.
>
> At 11:00, I loaded the fireboxes with oak 2 X 4s again and
> headed back to the house to retrieve lunch. At this point, even
> a 2 X 4 only lasts about five minutes, so I came back to
> the shop, added more 2 X 4s, and started eating. Halfway
> through, I stoked again with big timbers, and finished eating.
>
> The kiln was firing right on schedule. I aim for 10-hour
> firings and am actually trying to slow it down most of the time.
> By 12:15 cone 10 was starting to tip and it was flat by 1:00.
> Total firing time: 10 hours and 15 minutes.
> Total fluid intake: 2 Big Gulp cups of water, 2 of iced tea,
> and 2 of Dr Pepper (decaffeinated).
> Total towels soaked with sweat: 3.
> Temperature at 1:00 p.m.: 94 degrees.
> Woodfiring: priceless.
>
> David Hendley
> david@farmpots.com
> http://www.farmpots.com
> http://www.thewahooligans.com
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