Ben Morrison on mon 23 jul 12
=3D
That's amazing that you're able to fire with those tiny fuel lines.=3D0A=3D=
0A=3D
=3D0A=3D0A________________________________=3D0A From: John Post IDEOPE=3D
NWEST.COM>=3D0ATo: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG =3D0ASent: Monday, July 23, 201=
2 4:=3D
49 PM=3D0ASubject: Re: john post/farm kiln/kilns=3D0A =3D0A> how did you li=
ke fir=3D
ing that kiln john?=3D0A=3D0A=3D0AThe stoneware kiln at Hay Creek is sweet.=
=3DA0 I =3D
uploaded a two pictures=3D0Aof it here...=3D0A=3D0Ahttp://cl.ly/image/1B0D1=
C1N2S1=3D
N=3D0Ahttp://cl.ly/image/3r1r0D0u2Q1F=3D0A=3D0AThere's lots to like about i=
t.=3DA0 =3D
It fires perfectly even.=3DA0 At twelve=3D0Acubic feet it was small enough =
that=3D
it got fired every day, unloaded=3D0Aand reloaded the next morning.=3DA0 T=
he k=3D
iln is a nice size for quick=3D0Aturnarounds and since it sits on three lay=
er=3D
s of cinder block it's at=3D0Athe perfect height for loading.=3D0A=3D0A...a=
nd it =3D
is going to be my next kiln.=3DA0 My wife and I are getting pre-=3D0Aapprov=
ed f=3D
or a mortgage this summer and shopping for a home out west.=3D0AThat's wher=
e =3D
I plan on building it.=3D0A=3D0AJohn Post=3D0ASterling Heights, Michigan=3D=
0A=3D0Ahtt=3D
p://www.johnpost.us=3D0A=3D0AFollow me on Twitter=3D0Ahttps://twitter.com/U=
CSArtT=3D
eacher
mel jacobson on mon 23 jul 12
john has fired the small stoneware kiln
at our farm.
how did you like firing that kiln john?
is it everything that we have said?
you gonna build one in your backyard soon?
i had john as a guest at my place and
let him help fire the kiln a few times.
the torchbearer is a bit more of a challenge.
but, he is solving his own problems with
experimentation and observation.
a great teacher.
the small stoneware kiln that we feature
in our book is thee most simple gas kiln
you can find. a perfectly balanced kiln.
fires in under five hours. perfect every time.
i sent out hundreds of pdf files of the plans
for this kiln as a gift to potters. kurt, nils and
mel are all in one agreement. get good kilns
in the hands of good potters and their lives are better.
free plans are very inexpensive.
and, my dear friend reg wrote me a note the other day
after we had a long discussion about how he fired his
car kiln/nils design. he now fires the early stage at
full gas, and turns the kiln down as he fires. no pre/burn at all.
paraphrase....`mel, i have never had a better firing of this
kiln, and i took off almost and hour and half of firing time
with far less propane. thanks.` reg (reg pays for his own propane, a thou=
sand
gallons at a time. i helped increase his pay check to himself. he is a ful=
l time
potter, and has a swimming pool, in his house. he makes money, and works v=
ery hard.
he is a perfect example of a no bs guy. )
( i could show you all about twenty letters with the same conclusion.)
and i still get people saying...`mel fast fires, that is no good.) it is n=
ot
fast fire. it is controlled firing. no pre/heat, high gas at the start an=
d
then control the gas down as it fires. the cones drop like a stone with al=
most
no gas going into the kiln. i fired last week, and the kiln is almost off=
from 2100f
to cone 11 dropping. it still amazes me. (donovan palmquist suggested i
use butterfly valves for more control/he started using them
on his gas kiln installations...finer control of gas/air.) that is what jo=
hn observed at our farm.
high gas, slow it, slow it, slow it. it only stalls if you do not turn it =
down. one day
john and bob anderson ran down to get a couple of beers and soda and the ki=
ln was showing
cone 10 going over. i was sitting there and looked before they got back an=
d cone
11 was flat. i had to shut it off. that was under 15 minutes.
we also use 1/4 inch welding hose from the gas stand pipe to our burners. =
i know,
that hose won't work...wannna bet?
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
John Post on mon 23 jul 12
> how did you like firing that kiln john?
The stoneware kiln at Hay Creek is sweet. I uploaded a two pictures
of it here...
http://cl.ly/image/1B0D1C1N2S1N
http://cl.ly/image/3r1r0D0u2Q1F
There's lots to like about it. It fires perfectly even. At twelve
cubic feet it was small enough that it got fired every day, unloaded
and reloaded the next morning. The kiln is a nice size for quick
turnarounds and since it sits on three layers of cinder block it's at
the perfect height for loading.
...and it is going to be my next kiln. My wife and I are getting pre-
approved for a mortgage this summer and shopping for a home out west.
That's where I plan on building it.
John Post
Sterling Heights, Michigan
http://www.johnpost.us
Follow me on Twitter
https://twitter.com/UCSArtTeacher
Lee on tue 24 jul 12
On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 11:24 PM, Ben Morrison wrote:
>
> That's amazing that you're able to fire with those tiny fuel lines.
>
> When you have high pressure you can have smaller hoses.
When we upped my house pressure from .25psi to 2psi, we could go from 1.5"
(which would barely produce enough pressure in a 60' line) to a half inch
pipe, including a step down regulator to 14wc" at the kiln.
I have the same experience as John Post. My Torchbearer is a rocket!
It fires so fast, I keep over firing the bisque. (I've always bisqued at
cone 012) But my pyrometer is pretty accurate and I just have to fire to
a lower temp and forget the cone. I have found I can judge reduction by
the sound of the burners reacting to back pressure. I just have to damper
to about 1/3rd open.
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he land
of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent within
itself." -- John O'Donohue
rob addonizio on wed 25 jul 12
Lee and others,
Lots of great advice here about kilns, and I take a lot of notice when th=
=3D
e=3D20
torchbearer comes up.
My question to Lee et al, is how about EVEN redux in the Torchbearer? I g=
=3D
et=3D20
great copper reds by reducing early enough and good placement/stacking, b=
=3D
ut=3D20
my reduction is still limited to the top two shelves.
I DO NOT change the primary air, only the top damper, and I DO use my dua=
=3D
l=3D20
digital fluke and oxyprobe, and they both work wonders, but reduction is =
=3D
not=3D20
even...
More particulars: I fire on 11 w.c. of propane, and I use the baffle shel=
=3D
f as=3D20
recommended 1.5 to 2 inches below the top flue port. Oh, and the bottom o=
=3D
f=3D20
the kiln is open with the first shelf stacked 4 inches from the floor.
SO....I am beginning to think that this is just the nature of the beast. =
=3D
I am still=3D20
about 3 or so years out from building my own MFT....got Mel's book and re=
=3D
ally=3D20
looking forward to starting from scratch, but in the meantime, the quanda=
=3D
ry of=3D20
even reduction remains.
Any advice is most appreciated,
Rob A.
Jeff Lawrence on thu 26 jul 12
rob addonizio wrote:
how about EVEN redux in the Torchbearer? I get great copper reds by
reducing early enough and good placement/stacking, butmy reduction is still
limited to the top two shelves.
I DO NOT change the primary air, only the top damper, and I DO use my dual
digital fluke and oxyprobe, and they both work wonders, but reduction is
not even...
Hi Rob,
I think I've fixed a similar problem by tinkering with the air shutters on
the burners. First, with the door open, I found the minimum gas that
produced a "busy" blue flame and adjusted the air shutters to Then, each
time I added gas, I opened the air shutters to lean the mix back down.
I use 7" of natural gas controlled by a needle valve (from Ward) that's
wide open at just short of three full turns and have a mix of MR750's and
GACO 50K burners. First tuning for me was 1/4 turn of gas with about 3
turns of the air shutters on both types. Opening air shutters 1-1.5 turns
for each additional 1/4 turn of gas. A copper red Currie grid tile on the
bottom shelf showed deep red in every square. Also, I'm at 7300 feet above
sea level; lower down, you won't need to open them as much.
I recommend a 2' poking rod to adjust the air shutters - it gets a little
toasty under there. Also, gotta thank Hank Murrow et al for guidance on
this front.
Jeff
Steve Hoffman on thu 26 jul 12
Has anyone sucessfully modifyed a small flat top with a side fire box to =
=3D
switch=3D20
between burning wood and gas ?
I'm new to the forum and this is my first post.
Steve
Lee on thu 26 jul 12
On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 1:34 PM, Steve Hoffman wrote=
=3D
:
> Has anyone sucessfully modifyed a small flat top with a side fire box to =
=3D
switch
> between burning wood and gas ?
> I'm new to the forum and this is my first post.
> Steve
I believe the book has a kiln with outboard fireboxes. Doesn't make
sense to me. Better to have them under the ware chamber like an
Olsen or a Euan Craig kiln.
--=3D20
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
James Freeman on thu 26 jul 12
On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 2:34 PM, Steve Hoffman wrote=
:
Has anyone sucessfully modifyed a small flat top with a side fire box to
switch
between burning wood and gas ?
Steve...
There is a flat top with added wood fireboxes in Nils' book. The article
starts on page 54.
The kiln I am planning won't be a flat top, but I do intend to have both
burner ports and a firebox, bricking off whichever I am not using at the
time.
Welcome to the list.
...James
James Freeman
"Talk sense to a fool, and he calls you foolish."
-Euripides
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
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