Tracy Dotson on mon 31 jan 00
Dan...It looks like you have a relatively efficient kiln for a hard brick
construction. Replacing the flu bricks may help some as well as the extra
fiber blanket with the reflective material but I do not see that they will
help to significantly in the fuel consumption. You may try replacing the
hardback IFB in the door also.
Years ago I was firing in a hard brick catanary about the same size and
construction as yours and cut the fuel consumption by adding a layer of fiber
blanket to the inside. I used a standard commercial mortar Sairset, cutting
the blanket into 12 inch squares, applying the mortar liberally to the back
of blanket and the inside of the kiln. Be sure to overlap each piece on all
4 sides about 3/4 of an inch to allow for shrinkage. I applied this to the
walls only above the bag wall to make sure that I did not interrupt the heat
coming out of the firebox.
Now for the burners. The burner ports scheme to be OK but the size of the
orifice and your description of the flame indicate a smaller orifice may be
needed. Are the orifices removable? If so see if you can get some
replacement blank orifices and drill them to 1/8 of an inch and see how they
work.
If you really want to reduce the cost of your firings you may want to remove
all of the firebrick above the burners and replace them with Insulating soft
brick rated at 2300 or higher. 2600 IFB do not insulate as well but they are
much stronger and will hold up for many years. You should see about a third
to one half in the fuel savings. That is about 40 to 75 dollars savings on
each firing. Work out the cost of bricks for a replacement against savings
in fuel costs.
You will see a difference in the quality of the finished glazes with the IFB
replacement. IFB is great for fuel savings but it changes the firing and
cooling cycle somewhat. You will still have the floor and some of the side
bricks there for the mass to get a balance in the fuel savings and cooling
cycle. I would maybe keep the hard brick door to help with the mass for cooli
ng. Especially if you start having trouble with pin holes that may develop
with the faster fire.
Keep me informed on your changes and how they have effected the firing cycle
and quality of the glazes.
Stay warm and keep me informed on your changes and results Tracy Dotson
Penland NC
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