F.Chapman Baudelot on mon 3 jun 02
--=======38A4131C=======
Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=avg-ok-765C6E7F; charset=iso-8859-1;
format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Mainly as a therapeutic exercise to keep myself sane, on Saturday I made a=
=20
tiny gas kiln. I took an old 15 kg paint can (roughly 30 cm high by 25cm=20
diameter) and made the usual hole for the burner near the base. I lined=20
the can with off-cuts of 1" cerachem fibre and made a lid out of wire=20
mesh, also lined. I followed the instructions for Steve Mills (Bath=20
Potters) DIY kilns and made a slot shaped vent rather than a round one.=20
attached the paint can handle to the lid so that it could be easily removed=
=20
while firing raku, if necessary. I borrowed a very small blow torch from a=
=20
friend complete with hose and a little blue camping gas bottle of butane=20
gas (not much propane used here except for industrial purposes. Once again=
=20
following Steve Mills' plans, I placed the burner at an angle and tested=20
different positions until I got the 'Coriolis' effect with the flame=20
swirling round the can. I assembled a square shelf by cementing two little=
=20
triangles of shelf which I had previously cut of a larger one, and placed=20
it on three 2" posts. I placed a bone-dry earthenware mug on the shelf and=
=20
lit the burner, bringing up the heat fairly slowly for the first 20=20
minutes. Then I gradually turned up the gas and fired the pot for a total=
=20
of 75 minutes, watching the colour of the chamber for temperature. When I=
=20
thought I had reached about 980 to 1000C=BA, I turned off the burner and
let=
=20
the kiln cool down. An hour later I removed my mug and found it was=20
perfectly fired, no cracks whatsoever, no underfired parts, etc. I had=20
always suspected that the grogless, smooth red earthenware body I have been=
=20
using was extremely forgiving and now realise that it really can be=20
fast-fired. Now I shall try single firing a glazed piece. Mini kiln, mini=
=20
burner and mini firing time! However, the mug was full size and there is=20
still a little gas left in the bottle.
Thanks, Steve.
The friend who lent me the blow torch asked me if anyone on the list would=
=20
happen to know an Israeli potter in Jerusalem (Ababi?) name Ricardo (Ricky)=
=20
Mandler, who spent time in this part of Spain and has email=20
facilities. Just a shot in the dark, but he might even be on Clayart.
Fran=E7oise in Spain
http://indalopottery.tripod.com/fenix.html
--=======38A4131C=======--
Richard Jeffery on mon 3 jun 02
well done....
as an alternative to Steve's kiln (which I use most of the time, although he
now prefers a lidded to a top hat style...), you could think about a "flat
pack" style of fibre kiln used by local sculptor Ian Gregory. He put his
plans into Ceramic Review a few years ago, but basically it involves using
flat panels of wire mesh (I find it helps if these are of thick enough wire
to stay fairly rigid) with the usual layer or two of ceramic fibre held in
place with buttons. I use market traders spring clips (really big, powerful
bulldog clips, really) to hold the edges together. advantage is that you
can make one front panel with a burner port, and one end panel with a flue
[rather than flue in top] - sides can then be made up to suit whatever you
want/have the capacity to fire. not sure how big you could go on butane,
though.
good luck
Richard
Richard Jeffery
Web Design and Photography
www.theeleventhweb.co.uk
Bournemouth UK
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of F.Chapman Baudelot
Sent: 03 June 2002 06:57
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: DIY minikiln
Mainly as a therapeutic exercise to keep myself sane, on Saturday I made a
tiny gas kiln. I took an old 15 kg paint can (roughly 30 cm high by 25cm
diameter) and made the usual hole for the burner near the base. I lined
the can with off-cuts of 1" cerachem fibre and made a lid out of wire
mesh, also lined. I followed the instructions for Steve Mills (Bath
Potters) DIY kilns and made a slot shaped vent rather than a round one.
attached the paint can handle to the lid so that it could be easily removed
while firing raku, if necessary. I borrowed a very small blow torch from a
friend complete with hose and a little blue camping gas bottle of butane
gas (not much propane used here except for industrial purposes. Once again
following Steve Mills' plans, I placed the burner at an angle and tested
different positions until I got the 'Coriolis' effect with the flame
swirling round the can. I assembled a square shelf by cementing two little
triangles of shelf which I had previously cut of a larger one, and placed
it on three 2" posts. I placed a bone-dry earthenware mug on the shelf and
lit the burner, bringing up the heat fairly slowly for the first 20
minutes. Then I gradually turned up the gas and fired the pot for a total
of 75 minutes, watching the colour of the chamber for temperature. When I
thought I had reached about 980 to 1000Cº, I turned off the burner and let
the kiln cool down. An hour later I removed my mug and found it was
perfectly fired, no cracks whatsoever, no underfired parts, etc. I had
always suspected that the grogless, smooth red earthenware body I have been
using was extremely forgiving and now realise that it really can be
fast-fired. Now I shall try single firing a glazed piece. Mini kiln, mini
burner and mini firing time! However, the mug was full size and there is
still a little gas left in the bottle.
Thanks, Steve.
The friend who lent me the blow torch asked me if anyone on the list would
happen to know an Israeli potter in Jerusalem (Ababi?) name Ricardo (Ricky)
Mandler, who spent time in this part of Spain and has email
facilities. Just a shot in the dark, but he might even be on Clayart.
Françoise in Spain
http://indalopottery.tripod.com/fenix.html
claybair on mon 3 jun 02
Françoise,
You are fabulous.... a testament to ingenuity and persistence.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
F.Chapman Baudelot
Mainly as a therapeutic exercise to keep myself sane, on Saturday I made a
tiny gas kiln. I took an old 15 kg paint can (roughly 30 cm high by 25cm
diameter) and made the usual hole for the burner near the base. I lined
the can with off-cuts of 1" cerachem fibre and made a lid out of wire
mesh, also lined. I followed the instructions for Steve Mills (Bath
Potters) DIY kilns and made a slot shaped vent rather than a round one.
attached the paint can handle to the lid so that it could be easily removed
while firing raku, if necessary. I borrowed a very small blow torch from a
friend complete with hose and a little blue camping gas bottle of butane
gas (not much propane used here except for industrial purposes. Once again
following Steve Mills' plans, I placed the burner at an angle and tested
different positions until I got the 'Coriolis' effect with the flame
swirling round the can. I assembled a square shelf by cementing two little
triangles of shelf which I had previously cut of a larger one, and placed
it on three 2" posts. I placed a bone-dry earthenware mug on the shelf and
lit the burner, bringing up the heat fairly slowly for the first 20
minutes. Then I gradually turned up the gas and fired the pot for a total
of 75 minutes, watching the colour of the chamber for temperature. When I
thought I had reached about 980 to 1000Cº, I turned off the burner and let
the kiln cool down. An hour later I removed my mug and found it was
perfectly fired, no cracks whatsoever, no underfired parts, etc. I had
always suspected that the grogless, smooth red earthenware body I have been
using was extremely forgiving and now realise that it really can be
fast-fired. Now I shall try single firing a glazed piece. Mini kiln, mini
burner and mini firing time! However, the mug was full size and there is
still a little gas left in the bottle.
Thanks, Steve.
http://indalopottery.tripod.com/fenix.html
Snail Scott on mon 3 jun 02
At 07:57 AM 6/3/02 +0200, Francoise wrote:
>...I followed the instructions for Steve Mills (Bath
>Potters) DIY kilns and made a slot shaped vent rather than a round one...
Why is that? -Snail
Russel Fouts on tue 4 jun 02
Francoise
Congratulations!!! My main kiln is not much bigger than that, 40 litres.
It's one module of a 3 module, stackable electric. I fire the whole 120
ltr very infrequently. I like the smaller kiln because I get results
back really fast (6 hrs at the most) and only risk a few pots at a time.
Hey, if you can do a gas kiln on that scale, why not full scale?
And, yes Ababi is on the list and will undoubtedly respond.
Russel
--
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75
Email: Russel.Fouts@Skynet.be
Http://www.mypots.com
http://www.Japan-Net.ne.jp/~iwcat
"There is a theory which states that
if ever anyone discovers exactly what
the universe is for and why it's here,
it will instantly disappear and be
replaced by something even more bizzarly
inexplicable."
"There is another theory which states
that this has already happened!"
Douglas Adams' The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Gavin Stairs on tue 4 jun 02
Dear Francoise,
Regarding your plea on your website for help with your oil fired kiln, I
think you have the answer from your own experiment: Buy a butane burner
and make some pots. Later, you can make a somewhat bigger version of the
same thing, if you need to.
With respect to the oil kiln, it sounds like a total disaster. I would say
that you would need to rebuild it from the ground up to get a usable
kiln. But perhaps it is time for half measures.
First, a couple of thoughts about the burner: It seems to be running way
too hot. Is there any way to turn down the oil supply? A needle valve or
something? The other observation is that the electronics may be failing
from being overheated. If this may be the case, try simply removing them
from the vicinity of the kiln, or installing heat shielding or ventilation.
You have indicated by various measures that the kiln is under-insulated and
over-rated. The burner, on the other hand seems to be under-rated, but
poorly installed. The controller seems to be scrap, unless the fixes above
work. Here's what you might do:
Consider that you have a fast-fire, semi-automatic or manual kiln. Your
body, by your last post, is forgiving of this. The only problem is the
hold time/slow down ramp for glaze development, and even here, the
excessive weight of the liner works in your favour.
So, install a baffle in front of the flame port. Disconnect the
controller, and in its place install an on/off switch, or buy a simple duty
cycle controller (on for time A, off for time B). If the solenoid still
gives problems, scrap all the electronics and fire manually. Install heat
shields around the burner port to protect the burner plastic. Heat shields
of sheet metal and or fibre or brick, shelf cutoff, etc. If it still
overheats, blow cool air at the vulnerable parts with a fan. If the burner
is still overheating, try moving it back from the burner port a bit. If
the burner casing is overheating, try adding cooling fins in the shape of
circles of copper or aluminum tied tightly to the casing, to convect the
heat away. Then blow air if necessary. Anything to keep them cool.
If the burner is competently made, which may be in doubt, it is probably
not installed correctly. The most likely faults are that the nose of the
burner is too far into the kiln port, and that the orifice or fuel metering
system is supplying too much fuel.
As for looking in the peeps, turn the burner off when you want to
look. The oil flame seems to be burning carbon in the kiln cavity. This
is fine, provided there is enough air to burn it more or less
completely. You will need to work out the air supply/damper questions
yourself. There should be some sort of damper system on the blower. This
may be the cause of your excessive fuel use. Diesel is not an excessively
costly fuel, so it should be at least as cheap as butane, for example, for
a similar firing profile and load. If you can fast fire on the way up, by
all means do so, as this will reduce fuel use as well as keep the casing
and burner cooler. The pros and cons of fast fire have been heavily
debated on the list, so I won't go into that here. Use cones, and by all
means move the pyrometer if it is in the flame path.
Best of luck with all this. Gavin
At 01:57 AM 03/06/2002, Fracoise Baudelot wrote:
>Mainly as a therapeutic exercise to keep myself sane, on Saturday I made a
>tiny gas kiln. ...
Steve Mills on tue 4 jun 02
Congratulations and welcome to the International Association of Self-
propelled Pyromantics.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , F.Chapman Baudelot writes
>--=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D38A4131C=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>Content-Type: text/plain; x-avg-checked=3Davg-ok-765C6E7F; charset=3Diso-=
>8859-1; format=3Dflowed
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
>Mainly as a therapeutic exercise to keep myself sane, on Saturday I made =
>a=3D
>=3D20
>tiny gas kiln. I took an old 15 kg paint can (roughly 30 cm high by 25cm=
>=3D20
>diameter) and made the usual hole for the burner near the base. I
lined=3D=
>20
>the can with off-cuts of 1" cerachem fibre and made a lid out of wire=3D=
>20
>mesh, also lined. I followed the instructions for Steve Mills (Bath=3D2=
>0
>Potters) DIY kilns and made a slot shaped vent rather than a round
one.=3D=
>20
>attached the paint can handle to the lid so that it could be easily remov=
>ed=3D
>=3D20
>while firing raku, if necessary. I borrowed a very small blow torch from =
>a=3D
>=3D20
>friend complete with hose and a little blue camping gas bottle of
butane=3D=
>20
>gas (not much propane used here except for industrial purposes. Once aga=
>in=3D
>=3D20
>following Steve Mills' plans, I placed the burner at an angle and
tested=3D=
>20
>different positions until I got the 'Coriolis' effect with the flame=3D20
>swirling round the can. I assembled a square shelf by cementing two litt=
>le=3D
>=3D20
>triangles of shelf which I had previously cut of a larger one, and placed=
>=3D20
>it on three 2" posts. I placed a bone-dry earthenware mug on the shelf a=
>nd=3D
>=3D20
>lit the burner, bringing up the heat fairly slowly for the first 20=3D20
>minutes. Then I gradually turned up the gas and fired the pot for a tota=
>l=3D
>=3D20
>of 75 minutes, watching the colour of the chamber for temperature. When=
> I=3D
>=3D20
>thought I had reached about 980 to 1000C=3DBA, I turned off the burner an=
>d let=3D
>=3D20
>the kiln cool down. An hour later I removed my mug and found it was=3D2=
>0
>perfectly fired, no cracks whatsoever, no underfired parts, etc. I had=3D=
>20
>always suspected that the grogless, smooth red earthenware body I have be=
>en=3D
>=3D20
>using was extremely forgiving and now realise that it really can be=3D20
>fast-fired. Now I shall try single firing a glazed piece. Mini kiln, min=
>i=3D
>=3D20
>burner and mini firing time! However, the mug was full size and there is=
>=3D20
>still a little gas left in the bottle.
>
>Thanks, Steve.
>
>The friend who lent me the blow torch asked me if anyone on the list woul=
>d=3D
>=3D20
>happen to know an Israeli potter in Jerusalem (Ababi?) name Ricardo (Rick=
>y)=3D
>=3D20
>Mandler, who spent time in this part of Spain and has email=3D20
>facilities. Just a shot in the dark, but he might even be on Clayart.
>
>Fran=3DE7oise in Spain
>
>
>
>http://indalopottery.tripod.com/fenix.html
>
>
>--=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D38A4131C=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D--
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Steve Mills on tue 4 jun 02
There are also drawings etc. for the Flatpack Kiln on the Bath Potters
site.
http://www.bathpotters.demon.co.uk
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Richard Jeffery
writes
>well done....
>
>as an alternative to Steve's kiln (which I use most of the time, although=
> he
>now prefers a lidded to a top hat style...), you could think about a "fla=
>t
>pack" style of fibre kiln used by local sculptor Ian Gregory. He put his
>plans into Ceramic Review a few years ago, but basically it involves usin=
>g
>flat panels of wire mesh (I find it helps if these are of thick enough wi=
>re
>to stay fairly rigid) with the usual layer or two of ceramic fibre held i=
>n
>place with buttons. I use market traders spring clips (really big, power=
>ful
>bulldog clips, really) to hold the edges together. advantage is that you
>can make one front panel with a burner port, and one end panel with a flu=
>e
>[rather than flue in top] - sides can then be made up to suit whatever yo=
>u
>want/have the capacity to fire. not sure how big you could go on butane,
>though.
>
>good luck
>
>Richard
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Richard Jeffery
>
>Web Design and Photography
>www.theeleventhweb.co.uk
>Bournemouth UK
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
>Behalf Of F.Chapman Baudelot
>Sent: 03 June 2002 06:57
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: DIY minikiln
>
>
>Mainly as a therapeutic exercise to keep myself sane, on Saturday I made =
>a
>tiny gas kiln. I took an old 15 kg paint can (roughly 30 cm high by 25cm
>diameter) and made the usual hole for the burner near the base. I lined
>the can with off-cuts of 1" cerachem fibre and made a lid out of wire
>mesh, also lined. I followed the instructions for Steve Mills (Bath
>Potters) DIY kilns and made a slot shaped vent rather than a round one.
>attached the paint can handle to the lid so that it could be easily remov=
>ed
>while firing raku, if necessary. I borrowed a very small blow torch from =
>a
>friend complete with hose and a little blue camping gas bottle of butane
>gas (not much propane used here except for industrial purposes. Once aga=
>in
>following Steve Mills' plans, I placed the burner at an angle and tested
>different positions until I got the 'Coriolis' effect with the flame
>swirling round the can. I assembled a square shelf by cementing two litt=
>le
>triangles of shelf which I had previously cut of a larger one, and placed
>it on three 2" posts. I placed a bone-dry earthenware mug on the shelf a=
>nd
>lit the burner, bringing up the heat fairly slowly for the first 20
>minutes. Then I gradually turned up the gas and fired the pot for a tota=
>l
>of 75 minutes, watching the colour of the chamber for temperature. When=
> I
>thought I had reached about 980 to 1000C=BA, I turned off the burner and =
>let
>the kiln cool down. An hour later I removed my mug and found it was
>perfectly fired, no cracks whatsoever, no underfired parts, etc. I had
>always suspected that the grogless, smooth red earthenware body I have be=
>en
>using was extremely forgiving and now realise that it really can be
>fast-fired. Now I shall try single firing a glazed piece. Mini kiln, min=
>i
>burner and mini firing time! However, the mug was full size and there is
>still a little gas left in the bottle.
>
>Thanks, Steve.
>
>The friend who lent me the blow torch asked me if anyone on the list woul=
>d
>happen to know an Israeli potter in Jerusalem (Ababi?) name Ricardo (Rick=
>y)
>Mandler, who spent time in this part of Spain and has email
>facilities. Just a shot in the dark, but he might even be on Clayart.
>
>Fran=E7oise in Spain
>
>
>
>http://indalopottery.tripod.com/fenix.html
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Steve Mills on tue 4 jun 02
We found that a slot rather than a round hole was more effective.
With the latter, circulating fire tends to *cone* on its way out of the
kiln, drawing heat out of the top, the slot shape forces the fire to
change direction, thereby acting as a non restrictive baffle and
retaining heat at the top of the chamber.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Snail Scott writes
>At 07:57 AM 6/3/02 +0200, Francoise wrote:
>>...I followed the instructions for Steve Mills (Bath
>>Potters) DIY kilns and made a slot shaped vent rather than a round one.=
>..
>
>
>Why is that? -Snail
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
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