Paul Taylor on mon 9 dec 02
Dear All
If you have been following threads on burners you will know that I am
building the new 'super kiln' and I thought, through the internet and
friends, that I could gather all the information, and with a broad spectrum
of compared knowledge, I could do the most efficient and economic job.
'The best laid plans of mice and men - gang arie'.
Timorously I have asked questions of the broadest spectrum of potters.
I called into two friends on a delivery run to Cork. Both of them make
their living by pottery and build their own kilns. My freind Michael's kilns
were all nozzle mix high velocity propane burners, apart from a simple
venturi burner for his biscuit kiln. I was very impressed with the set up
and he was very convincing that the expense was not as great as rumored and
he gave me an address for to get help and the bits - etc.
In Cork I went to see Jim, whose kiln is a hat top fiber kiln run with
four venturi burners that make my primitive set up look 'high teck' by
comparison, but he gets the results and swore by its efficiency.
The two propane gas kilns could not have been further apart in concept and
design and both worked for them - on their pots.
When posting on clayart, searching the archives, and the internet I get
much of the same. Every potter doing it different and all swearing by there
own system.
So what's to be learned - What I think I have discovered is that the
kilns economy and efficiency is more related to the personality of the
potter than objective measurement . I have searched for comparative figures
but have not found any - just opinion. This personality encompasses, design
, ware and firing. All the answers I received were given to me with blind
confidence - a sort of arrogant certainty that there's was the best system -
people with electric kilns are an exception but only because of the mass
snobbery that comes with carbon fired kilns (quiet unjustified) .
'You pays you money and takes your choice', and follow up that choice with
a certainty that only Jesuit brain washing achieves.
My choice so far is an internal burner head supplied by a forced air
system, which I believe will give me maximum control economically.
Has any body got plans for this sort of set up I have plans for external
burner heads but not for internally placed ones. As I wrote to Craig the
placing of the safety system as part of the flame head (burner end) is the
bit I am stuck on.
So if any body has such a system please contact me. I understand that they
may not be able to give me the sort of in depth explanations that we would
expect from a glaze answer but modestly expressed assurances are acceptable
and appreciated:). And a 'jpeg' would equal a thousand words
--
Regards from Paul Taylor
Fifteen minutes of fame is all we ever need.
http://www.anu.ie/westportpottery
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