Chess Denman on thu 17 dec 98
I thought I would post the outcome of my propane vs natural gas enquiries.
Posts on the list were mixed in opinion. So I decided to investigate cost.
First I telephoned a company who sell burners. Basically the man there was
quite unwilling to offer any help on the reasonable grounds that they make
sell and vouch for their own brand of kiln and they dont want to say things
to enquirers which might prove untrue. So next I spoke to the proprietor of
TRU FIRE kilns (I'll supply telephone no and address to any one who wants
it) I had stumbled on this firm a year and a half ago and ended up buying
all my firebrick burners etc from it chiefly because its proprietor -
originally an architect - specialises in making custom built kilns of all
kinds including, when I was there a "walk in" size raku kiln. When I had
visited then he gave me an hour of his time and lots and lots of free advice
with no hint of trade secret crap.
Anyway......
What he said was that I could convert to natural gas but I would need new
burners because I was going from high pressure propane to low presser
natural gass. The orifice in the burner nib would need to be larger but far
more important the internal bore of the burner would need to change from 1"
to 1.5". This would also mean enlarging the burner ports.
Overall his view was that as long as I adhered to basic safety rules I would
probably better off sticking with propane rather than changing to natural
gas. Since he was passing up a sale it was unbiassed advice.
Chess
Linda Blossom on fri 18 dec 98
I am certain that if this man was in business he knows his stuff. However,
when I changed from propane to natural, we ran the piping ourselves, I
checked the Olson book to figure out how large my orifices had to be, I
ordered new blank orifices and then bought the drill bit and drilled them.
I have been firing with natural with the same venturi burners for several
years now. Was there something different about your burners?
Linda Blossom
Ithaca, NY
>
>Anyway......
>What he said was that I could convert to natural gas but I would need new
>burners because I was going from high pressure propane to low presser
>natural gass. The orifice in the burner nib would need to be larger but far
>more important the internal bore of the burner would need to change from 1"
>to 1.5". This would also mean enlarging the burner ports.
>
>Overall his view was that as long as I adhered to basic safety rules I
would
>probably better off sticking with propane rather than changing to natural
>gas. Since he was passing up a sale it was unbiassed advice.
>
>Chess
>
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