Pat on sun 11 may 03
I live in a rural area of West Virginia and have recently been able to put
together a little studio so I can get back into pottery after approximately
a 15 year absence. My previous experience was during my college years as a
student then as lab assistant/student. The lab fired three large gas kilns
for all the ceramic classes as well as the sculpture class works. For three
+ years these kilns were my main responsibility. During this time two small
gas kilns were also used for raku or other individual projects. Why I
purchased an electric kiln two years ago is a mystery.........no offense to
the dear kiln who I will continue to try to get close to but the flame and
intensity of the fire is foremost in my heart. When the time comes to
invest in a gas kiln what would be the preferred way to go? I have read on
Clayart that some potters use propane. Some feedback on the pros & cons of
the two would be greatly appreciated.
Pat
--
When I was young, I admired clever people. As I grew old, I
came to admire kind people.
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
John Rodgers on sun 11 may 03
Pat, propane will give you more BTU's per pound burned as opposed to
natural gas. However, you need to compare the difference in cost per btu
between natural gas and propane, then calculate how many btu's/hour you
need to fire your kiln. That will give you a fairly concise cost
estimate for firing. Call the gas company. They prol'ly have all the
info already available, or you can calculate it yourself.
Also, if you are wind up using natural gas, you can record the meter
readings before and after firing, and determine exactly how much gas it
took to fire. Then knowing the cost per cu. ft. from the gas company,
you can calculate the exact cost of the firing. Really helps when
allocating costs to each piece produced.
Don't know what is available for reading the tank for propane. Surely
not as accurate as natural gas meters.
You could prol'ly easily set up a spread sheet to run the calculations
for comparison between the two gases.
John Rodgers
Birmingham, AL
Pat wrote:
>I live in a rural area of West Virginia and have recently been able to put
>together a little studio so I can get back into pottery after approximately
>a 15 year absence. My previous experience was during my college years as a
>student then as lab assistant/student. The lab fired three large gas kilns
>for all the ceramic classes as well as the sculpture class works. For three
>+ years these kilns were my main responsibility. During this time two small
>gas kilns were also used for raku or other individual projects. Why I
>purchased an electric kiln two years ago is a mystery.........no offense to
>the dear kiln who I will continue to try to get close to but the flame and
>intensity of the fire is foremost in my heart. When the time comes to
>invest in a gas kiln what would be the preferred way to go? I have read on
>Clayart that some potters use propane. Some feedback on the pros & cons of
>the two would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Pat
>
>--
>When I was young, I admired clever people. As I grew old, I
>came to admire kind people.
>
>- Abraham Joshua Heschel
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
>
Kenneth D. Westfall on mon 12 may 03
Pat is you live in a area that you can get natural gas then it would be a
cheaper way to go. Natural gas in WV is by far cheap than propane and you
pay after you burn it not before. Propane you have to pay when you fill
the tank. Not an issue if you have unlimited funds to spend but I have
found paying for the gas after making the delivery a nice asset. You also
don't have the problems of cold weather, freezing tanks, and delivery
trucks that can't get to you when you need it.
At 10:00 AM 05/11/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>I live in a rural area of West Virginia and have recently been able to put
>together a little studio so I can get back into pottery after approximately
>a 15 year absence. My previous experience was during my college years as a
>student then as lab assistant/student. The lab fired three large gas kilns
>for all the ceramic classes as well as the sculpture class works. For three
>+ years these kilns were my main responsibility. During this time two small
>gas kilns were also used for raku or other individual projects. Why I
>purchased an electric kiln two years ago is a mystery.........no offense to
>the dear kiln who I will continue to try to get close to but the flame and
>intensity of the fire is foremost in my heart. When the time comes to
>invest in a gas kiln what would be the preferred way to go? I have read on
>Clayart that some potters use propane. Some feedback on the pros & cons of
>the two would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Pat
>
>--
>When I was young, I admired clever people. As I grew old, I
>came to admire kind people.
>
>- Abraham Joshua Heschel
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Kenneth D. Westfall
Pine Hill Pottery
R.D. #2 Box 6AA
Harrisville, WV 26362
pinehill@ruralnet.org
http://www.pinehillpottery.com
| |
|
