F.Chapman Baudelot on thu 6 jun 02
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I finally have some good news! It was still pretty windy this morning so=
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I put up some protective bits and pieces (I'm always raiding the garbage=20
containers on nearby building sites and find lots of goodies there such as=
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bricks and doors) and put the new Primus burner to work with the modified=20
Green Monster kiln. Well, it worked, just like any other updraft, perhaps=
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more like a natural gas burner than propane; not as noisy as the latter=20
which is an advantage. I found I could control the flame perfectly and did=
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a fairly fast firing (4 hrs) to 1010 according to the electronic controller=
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box which now just measures the temp. since it is no longer connected to=20
the diesel burner. I could see what was going on through the vent, the=20
peephole I made and the burner port itself, and noticed that the colour was=
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the same throughout. I never had to turn up the gas more than a quarter=20
of its power, the butane bottle didn't freeze, and there is certainly=20
enough left in it for another firing or two. At 1010 the outside of the=20
kiln was still very cool, no more than lukewarm in the hottest spots around=
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the burner port. By poorly insulated, I meant that the insulation had been=
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poorly secured on the lid and rim. The kiln cooled down very slowly, not=20
that sudden drop down to 900C=BA that you get in many fibre kilns. I got=
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fed up with the wait and opened it up when it was still pretty hot and=20
dunked the glazed pieces in cold water just to see if they would resist it,=
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which they did. There was nothing special in the kiln anyway, just some=20
test bowls and some unglazed pieces. Anyway, everything was just fine. So=
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now I'm back at the wheel trying to make 200 mugs and bowls for my niece's=
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store at least. I still have to make lowfire single fire glazes for=20
earthenware, but will do tests in the mini kiln.
Now, I have no idea what I'll do with the Flaxmer diesel burner when I get=
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it back. Even if it decides to work with the controller, I still prefer=20
the control I have with the butane. Isn't the most interesting part of=20
firing pots the fact that one can fiddle around and see what is happening?
Special thanks to all the Clayarters who have helped me through a difficult=
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time and for technical advice so freely given. I am trying to respond=20
individually to each and all, and hope I don't leave anyone out.
Fran=E7oise in Spain
http://indalopottery.tripod.com/fenix.html
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