Mark Mondloch on sat 26 jan 02
My question specifically is, has anyone fired with cedar
I have a similar size wood kiln. We get the slabs that they cut off to
square up logs for log homes. They're usually pine but sometimes they have
cedar. We don't take the cedar anymore. I found that it spits and pops
making sparks that make it all the way out the chimney and will reach the
ground on a breezy day. This may or may not be a problem for your situation,
but our wood shed and tall grass is close enough to be a concern for us.
Sylvia Mondloch
---
Mark & Sylvia Mondloch
Silver Creek Pottery & Forge
W6725 Hwy 144
Random Lake ,Wi 53075
HotArt@silvercreekpottery.com
http://www.silvercreekpottery.com
David Hendley on sat 26 jan 02
In spite of what others may say, in a fastfire-style kiln, it really
doesn't matter that much what kind of wood you burn, in
terms of "special effects" on the pots.
This is "Woodfiring Lite", unlike other kinds of kilns that
produce more ash accumulation.
Much more important than the type of wood is to make sure the
wood is well dried and split to less than 1" in thickness.
Yes, cedar is similar to pine. It burns fast, but the coals do
not break apart and fall through the grates as easily as
hardwood woods. If you are planning on using mostly cedar
and pine, the spaces between the grates should be greater,
so the coals will fall through.
Also, the coals are not as hot as hardwood coals. As you
would expect, cedar also does a lot of popping and sends out
sparks, so be careful about having wood stacked nearby.
With well-seasoned well-split wood, my guess is 8-9 hours
to cone 10 with good reduction, and a stack of wood 40
inches-by-40 inches-by-5 feet high.
Good luck with your firing,
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Valerie Johnson"
To:
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2002 10:51 AM
Subject: Cedar as fuel in woodburning kiln?
> I have finally finished my kiln that was started last May. It's based on
the
> Olsen downdraft fast fire design but is lined inside with 2 1/2 inches of
> hard brick insulated outside with 4 1/2 inches of IFB. The sprung arch is
4
> 1/2 inches of hard brick covered by 4 1/2 inches of IFB. The dimensions
> inside are 36" deep x 36" high (plus the arch) x 45" wide. The stack is
12
> feet of 12" stainless steel pipe on top of 3 feet of brick stack.
>
> We are stockpiling fuel from our property where we have mainly oak,
dogwood
> and cedar. We plan on supplementing this with pine 2x4's and probably
with
> oak pallets. My question specifically is, has anyone fired with cedar (we
> have quite a bit)? Does it burn fast or slow? Does it burn like pine?
Any
> special effects (good or bad) from the cedar on the pots that you know of?
>
> Finally, any guesses on how long it will take this kiln to get to cone 10
and
> how much fuel it will take?
>
> thanks for any input.
>
> Valerie Johnson
> Eads, Tennessee
Les Crimp on sat 26 jan 02
Valerie & Tim -
Like I said before, I use cedar exclusively in a kiln very similar to yours.
Maybe not quite as big. It works well. I guess it is a matter of choice ,
as in most things.
Les.
Valerie Johnson on sat 26 jan 02
I have finally finished my kiln that was started last May. It's based on the
Olsen downdraft fast fire design but is lined inside with 2 1/2 inches of
hard brick insulated outside with 4 1/2 inches of IFB. The sprung arch is 4
1/2 inches of hard brick covered by 4 1/2 inches of IFB. The dimensions
inside are 36" deep x 36" high (plus the arch) x 45" wide. The stack is 12
feet of 12" stainless steel pipe on top of 3 feet of brick stack.
We are stockpiling fuel from our property where we have mainly oak, dogwood
and cedar. We plan on supplementing this with pine 2x4's and probably with
oak pallets. My question specifically is, has anyone fired with cedar (we
have quite a bit)? Does it burn fast or slow? Does it burn like pine? Any
special effects (good or bad) from the cedar on the pots that you know of?
Finally, any guesses on how long it will take this kiln to get to cone 10 and
how much fuel it will take?
thanks for any input.
Valerie Johnson
Eads, Tennessee
Les Crimp on sat 26 jan 02
Valerie -
I have a wood-fired downdraft with a Bourry Box. the stacking dimensions ar
37"H x 24"D x 24"W.
Being in British Columbia in the Great Northwest Rainforest we have alot of
wood available - Douglas Fir, Red Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Pine, Hemlock, scrub
Maple,etc.
I use cedar exclusively in my kiln. reasons: availability and it burns
well. Cedar will not give you the BTU's that you will get with oak or other
hardwoods but it has other redeeming factors. Cedar burns with a very long,
sinuous flame which licks through the pottery in the kiln and leaves lots of
nice kisses where ever it goes. There is not a heavy ash deposit as you get
in an anagama or a noborigama but it is the type of ash deposit that I look
for as I don't particularly like the big chunks on some pottery. This is
probably because I make mostly functional table ware, etc.
My kiln reaches ^10 down and ^11 getting soft in approx. 10 - 12 hours.
I hope this helps.
Les Crimp.
lcrimp@shaw.ca
www.arrowsmithpottersguild.bc.ca
Paul Herman on sat 26 jan 02
Hi Valerie,
That depends what you mean by "cedar". I suspect you mean Eastern Red
Cedar (Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus). These are very closely related to
our Sierra Juniper, (Juniperus occidentalis Hooker), which I have
burned. Great hot-burning stuff, but I find the ash to be a little
refractory, producing yellow colors. Pine ash melts a lot more at a
given temp.
I use juniper to heat the house and shop and it smells wonderful, like
the finest incense you can imagine.
Good luck,
Paul in Doyle
----------
>From: Valerie Johnson
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Cedar as fuel in woodburning kiln?
>Date: Sat, Jan 26, 2002, 8:51 AM
>
> we have mainly oak, dogwood
> and cedar.
Tim Lynch on sat 26 jan 02
Valerie: I have the same kiln only not as well insulated as yours. I
stockpiled cedar mill ends as they were cheap and plentiful. After two
firings and never hitting cone 6, I turned to this list and was advised that
cedar has low BTU value. It didn't take much to convince me of that. I saw
it for myself. It might be ok if mixed with the other wood but I wouldn't
use it exclusively.
After a couple of firings, I added ceramic fiber blanket to the kiln and
fired with apple wood. It gives a nice, hot, and consistent heat. Since I
live in the "Apple Capitol of the World," and the price of apples has
declined, there is plenty of apple wood around. I have been cutting down
orchards and stockpiling the wood for use in a couple of years.
Make sure your wood is well seasoned, at least a couple of years from green.
This makes a big difference. Good luck.
Tim
--
Tim Lynch
The Clay Man
1117 Tedford St SE
East Wenatchee, WA 98802
hifired@earthlink.net
On 1/26/02 8:51 AM, "Valerie Johnson" wrote:
> I have finally finished my kiln that was started last May. It's based on the
> Olsen downdraft fast fire design but is lined inside with 2 1/2 inches of
> hard brick insulated outside with 4 1/2 inches of IFB. The sprung arch is 4
> 1/2 inches of hard brick covered by 4 1/2 inches of IFB. The dimensions
> inside are 36" deep x 36" high (plus the arch) x 45" wide. The stack is 12
> feet of 12" stainless steel pipe on top of 3 feet of brick stack.
>
> We are stockpiling fuel from our property where we have mainly oak, dogwood
> and cedar. We plan on supplementing this with pine 2x4's and probably with
> oak pallets. My question specifically is, has anyone fired with cedar (we
> have quite a bit)? Does it burn fast or slow? Does it burn like pine? Any
> special effects (good or bad) from the cedar on the pots that you know of?
>
> Finally, any guesses on how long it will take this kiln to get to cone 10 and
> how much fuel it will take?
>
> thanks for any input.
>
> Valerie Johnson
> Eads, Tennessee
>
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RJones7582@AOL.COM on sat 2 feb 02
Dear Valerie,
My partner and I have a woodfired kiln of approximately the same size that is
a cross-draft design. Also we have approximately the same kinds of wood to
burn with the addition of elm, ash, and occasional ironwood. We have never
done a firing using exclusively cedar, but have always included some with
each firing with the idea that it is the only local evergreen and it does
contain some oils but no real resins such as the conifers.
It seems to us that cedar is a light wood when it is really dry and therefore
probably has relatively low BTUs. We don't know whether it produces any
particular flashing or desirable color effects. Since we decided to try to
introduce some water into the kiln in the later stages of the firing we have
done this by introducing approximately 1 piece of green wood for every 4 or 5
pieces of dry wood, we have definitely had better colors and probably better
reduction. Eastern Red Cedar which is our kind of cedar has a high
percentage of water and is particularly good to get water into the kiln. I
might also say that we glaze most of our pots with shinos , etc., because in
fast firing the way we do it, we weren't able to get as nice ash and color
effects as we see in longer firings such as our friend with an anagama kiln.
Every firing is an experiment and always results in surprises and
disappointments. It is great for building character -- I hope.
Good luck.
Robert Jones
Good luck
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