Glenn Allenspach on mon 12 may 03
Pat
J Rogers gives some good insight here. I fired with Natural gas in my student
days at the University of Minnesota, and I currently use propane in my own
kiln. The results will be very similar. Both natural gas and propane are
forms of "gas," but there are some practical differences:
Differences that I believe are worth knowing for starters:
Natural gas is typically sold by the cubic foot. That's what your meter will
read for you. Propane is sold by the pound. the only way to get a cost
analysis on propane is to weigh the tank before and after a firing. That's
because LP gas (propane) expands and contracts greatly with changes in
ambient temperature. Subtract the Tare Weight of the tank, which is written
right on the tank, and that's how much gas is inside.
Natural gas is delivered to you via pipeline (obviously) and propane comes in
some form of container (bottles or tanks). Advantage to Natural if you can
have pipeline run to your kiln site, you worry a lot less about running low
or out. If the site is remote, advantage to propane, as you can have a truck
drive up and deliver the product. Or, if you don't want to pay the price of
having a pipeline installed, propane could be the way to go. Finally, check
your insurance. Most policies won't tolerate a prpoerty with both natural gas
and LP gas going to the same building. Propane bottles can "bog down" in cold
weather and deliver less than optimal flow of vapor. this is less of a
problem in warmer climates, or with larger propane tanks.
Most, but not all propane burners burn the gas in the vapor state. If you
decide to go propane and need extemely high volumes of BTU's/hr, there are
some liquid propane burner systems. this would raise the complexity level of
your piping set-up (and cost).
Propane provides more BTU's per any given volume of vapor. when you build or
order your burners, you will need to get the orifices of a size apropriate to
the type of gas and the gas pressure you'll be burning.
Best of luck from Maplewood, wher the Sub meets the Urb,
Glenn Allenspach
1893 Birmingham Street
Maplewood, MN USA 55109
651-779-8470
GlennAllenspach@aol.com
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