June Perry on wed 19 may 99
Hi Everyone:
Just had a meeting with the field engineer from the gas company and it looks
like we'll have the larger meter and hopefully the plumbing done in another
couple of weeks.
I'm going to jump in and try my hand at soda firing and I need a 3 gallon
hand pump sprayer with metal spraying tip and wand. I want some versatility
with the type of spray as well as some flexibility of movement on the nozzle
so I can have flexibility in directing the spray.
I saw one on the Internet (RLFlomaster) that is a hand pump sprayer and also
has the option of using a hose attached to the sprayer like you do with some
of the Miracle grow garden sprayers. The idea being, that you put your
concentrate in, fill the sprayer with water and then it gets the pressure
from the hose. I don't think that's necessary for my purposes, but I thought
it might be useful to double as a garden tool. :-)
I would appreciate any feedbacks/warnings/recommendations, etc.
Also, I could use some recommendations on commercial clay bodies which take
soda well. I've already made a bunch of test tiles on some bodies I have on
hand like B.Mix, a Grolleg Porcelain, G-Mix, Soldate 60 and Long Beach White.
I know Amador salts well but I don't think I want anything that dark. I'm
looking for a nice light colored tan stoneware. A friend (thanks Craig), sent
me his porcelainous body recipe which I'm going to be making; but for that
first firing I'd like to make my draw rings out of a light stoneware body
that salts well and use that as the benchmark for the other tests.
I could also use any feedback on how many ports I should drill to introduce
the soda solution. I bought a good diamond round drill for 2 or 2 1/2" ports.
The kiln I'm using is my old 17cu.ft Geil fiber kiln. I've sprayed it with
ITC 100. Will this suffice or is there some addition spray material to use
over this?
Thanks for any help!
Warmest regards,
June
Vince Pitelka on thu 20 may 99
>I'm going to jump in and try my hand at soda firing and I need a 3 gallon
>hand pump sprayer with metal spraying tip and wand. I want some versatility
>with the type of spray as well as some flexibility of movement on the nozzle
>so I can have flexibility in directing the spray.
June -
We use ordinary Hudson garden sprayers from Lowe's (or Home Depot or any
garden shop). Get the one with the chrome plated brass wand. I don't think
you will have very much choice of spray patterns, because the stock tip will
clog up from the heat almost immediately upon use when spraying soda into
the kiln at high temps. When that happens, cut off the tip of the wand with
wire cutters, which will flatten the end, and then re-squeeze it in the
opposite direction to open it up just a slit. This actually works great for
spraying soda, and it will not clog up from the heat, like the original
spray nozzles will. We usually do not spray soda directly on to the pots.
We spray into the firebox and on to the side wall of the kiln, and the
fairly crude spray given by this cut-off nozzle works great for us. I have
had a few students use it to spray directly on the pots, and it seemed to
work fine for that as well. And you can also buy replacement brass wands
for the Hudson sprayers, so the sprayer itself should last a very long time.
Just be sure to wash it out well right after you use it, so that the soda
ash doesn't dry and crystalize inside the pump workings.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Gail Nichols on sat 22 may 99
Just a suggestion....
It's possible to soda glaze without a sprayer, while still using water
vapour to help distribute the soda vapour through the kiln. My method of
soda introduction is described on my website...it's a process I discovered
by accident many years ago and has served me very well ever since. All you
need are some plastic containers, rubber gloves, a dust mask and a piece of
steel angle. Also some light soda ash, soda bicarb and calcium carb.
.............................................................
Gail Nichols
Sydney, Australia
email: gail@matra.com.au OR sodaglaze@artoz.com
http://www.artoz.com/sodaglaze/
June Perry on sat 22 may 99
Dear Gail:
I read your method and it sounds great, but my down draft kiln has the 6
burners pointing upwards from the base of the kiln, thereby eliminating the
need for a tall chimney here in suburbia, and I was concerned about the hard
mixture clogging the burners if I tried to distribute the mixture evenly
around the kiln.
What type of burner set up do you have on your kiln, and do you know of
anyone using your method with my type of burner arrangement.
You have a great site and fabulous pots! :-) Thanks for you input.
Warmest regards,
June
Gail Nichols on mon 24 may 99
Hi June,
I wouldn't recommend my soda introduction method for a kiln with your burner
arrangement....they would certainly clog up with the soda mix! I have a
downdraft LPG kiln with four venturi burners, one at each of the 4 corners
of the kiln, entering through the front and back walls, with the flame
deflected up by a brick inside. My soda mix goes in through a port above
each burner, falling into the space between the burner port and deflector
brick, where it is exposed to the heat of the flame. Sounds as if the spray
method is probably more suited to your kiln design.
Thanks for the comments...
Gail
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Dear Gail:
>
>I read your method and it sounds great, but my down draft kiln has the 6
>burners pointing upwards from the base of the kiln, thereby eliminating the
>need for a tall chimney here in suburbia, and I was concerned about the hard
>mixture clogging the burners if I tried to distribute the mixture evenly
>around the kiln.
>What type of burner set up do you have on your kiln, and do you know of
>anyone using your method with my type of burner arrangement.
>You have a great site and fabulous pots! :-) Thanks for you input.
>
>Warmest regards,
>June
>
>
.............................................................
Gail Nichols
Sydney, Australia
email: gail@matra.com.au OR sodaglaze@artoz.com
http://www.artoz.com/sodaglaze/
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