mel jacobson on sun 10 sep 00
>
>Hi Rose,
>The word "proximity" has been on my mind since your post. Also the statement,
>"What things should be considered?".
>
>As far as the "trees affecting the draw"... Close proximity and height (of
>trees and chimney) may affect it. And, other things will affect the draw
>such as altitude, size of chimney and flue, weather--barometric pressure,
>rain, how the kiln is stacked (my method is "sort of
>tight-on-top-looser-on-the-bottom", and "never-too-tight-all-over") etc.
>
>How far from the trees? Get a good opinion. Heard horror stories of people
>building wood kilns in places they shouldn't without checking things out
>and then having to tear them down.
>
>I'm always aware of "proximity" when firing our wood kiln which is located 20
>some feet from the art building and across the street from a new apartment
>building. Before we built our first wood kiln on campus I had permission
>from the school Administration, Physical Plant and Safety people who dealt
>with city codes, and the Fire Department. I'm very concerned about keeping
>these people happy. Nice wood fired coffee mugs work great but it takes more.
>
>Now we have a larger kiln (with permission) and I am concerned with the
>amount
>of smoke and flame coming out of the chimney at various times during the
>firing. I've had passerby's call the fire dept. in the middle of the night
>to tell them "the dumpster behind the art building is on fire". I've had a
>neighbor complain about too much smoke in her yard when the wind was from
>the south-- that rarely happens here except when we fire of course. I'm
>concerned about keeping the community around here happy.
>
>There are as many ways to fire a wood kiln as there are people firing them.
>There are arguments on both sides about how much fuel is wasted by the
>amount of flame going out of the chimney or just open it up and get those
>pots hot. Some have valid points and has to do with the design of their
>kiln or the results they are trying to achieve and, I can't argue. But
>I've also seen too much wasted fuel, unnecessary flame leave the chimney
>just because it looks cool. Doesn't always have to be a fireworks display
>and in some areas it shouldn't be.
>
>I have talked with many woodfirers and am convinced that I can fire most of
>my
>2-3 day or longer firings with as little flame as possible shooting out of
>the chimney by using the mechanical and passive dampers, adjusting the
>amount of wood that is stoked, type of wood used at critical times (we have
>oak, pine, and misc. available in WI). We will be firing this new kiln for
>the 2nd time soon and I am determined to fire this way. Went well the first
>time. We are still learning. We can do it. This is how I feel comfortable
>firing on the edge of campus in the middle of a city.
>
>And, if you haven't already, think about a spark arrester. Amazing how far
>under the right conditions those little sparks can travel.
>
>Happy firings!
>
>Karen Terpstra, Assist. Prof.
>University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
>1725 State Street, La Crosse, WI 54601
>phone: 608-785-8842
>email: terpstra.kare@uwlax.edu
>
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: Rose Bauer
> >To:
> >Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2000 1:26 PM
> >Subject: wood fire kiln
>
> > ....many things to do before we are at that stage, the most immediate
> > being, locating the kiln on site. What things should be considered? Will
> > the proximity of the trees affect the draw in the chimney? If so, how far
> > should the kiln be from treeline?....
> >
> > For those who have "bravely gone before", do you have any "would do it
> > different/hard lessons" to share? I am awaiting the release of Fred Olsens
> > new kiln book which I'm sure will answer alot of my questions, however,
> > there is snow halfway down the mountain.....
> > from the tumblestacked mind of....
> > rose
> > in beautiful jasper national park
FROM MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA, USA
http://www.pclink.com/melpots (website)
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