mel jacobson on mon 15 nov 04
it is a wonderful, very expensive tool.
very expensive. you have to have a reason
to buy one, and use it. it is not just an
expensive pyrometer.
a full time, production potter, making things the
same, year after year will find the probe a godsend.
(one bad firing of sets of dishes just paid for the probe.)
i have used my probe over and over
as a kiln analyzer. it gives me great information
as to how a kiln is working. i learned more about
kilns the first year i had my probe than all the years
put together. you can experiment and watch the probe
change right before your eyes...instantly. learn and change,
a good concept.
once you understand your kiln, know its crazy
in and outs, the probe is not needed as much.
i sure have learned a great deal about reduction, how
a kiln works, when it works and when it does not work
from information gleaned from the oxyprobe. i no longer
argue with people. it just do my thing. it works. just like
itc, it works for me, i don't care who else uses it.
i can show anyone that moving the damper a quarter of
an inch can cause the kiln to have `no reduction`..and
yet it will be smoking like mad on the outside.
it is what is inside that counts...not the outside.
in fact a smoking kiln is just wasting fuel. i have had
to on several occasions use my probe on other kilns.
it is amazing how stubborn folks can be. `well, bob over
at the junior college taught me to fire this way, and i
am going to fire this way forever`. smoke, no reduction, waste of
fuel, fourteen inch back pressure flame..bob sure knows his stuff.
i have found that just firing a kiln for a friend, using the
oxyprobe, changing things all around, low gas pressure, mild
back pressure (three inches of flame), about .05 on the probe, gentle long
firing.
half as much fuel, and of course, a perfect firing. even,
nice reduction, no mess or hassle. fire the kiln from a nice
pink lawn chair. read a book. and i love it when they say.
`my god, you had the kiln on 4 lbs of pressure for the entire firing.
you only used 18 gallons of propane, i use 50, god, the firing
is really nice....but, i think i will go back to bob's method...i love
all the smoke and drama.` (this is a true story) and they wash
cans out with a gallon water to save the metal, ecologist in their
minds. not.
the oxyprobe has been the most important tool in firing
the chinese/tenmoku glaze tests. knowing exactly what
the kiln was doing at all times, from start to finish is very important
with these glazes, one mistake and the pots turn basic tenmoku.
clay body, glaze, kiln atmosphere, and the proper cone, to the
half cone makes it all happen. as i have said a dozen times..it
is not a recipe, it is a system.
a very interesting story...kurt has been firing huge pots for
several years now. he wants the kiln perfect, even. ron roy
suggested he slow the firing down, cut his gas, slow everything
down to get it even. he did, went from like 12 inches of water column
to 8. (propane) the kiln fired in one and half more hours. perfect firing.
and he saved a great deal of fuel. simple. slow down, use less
fuel, let the kiln do its thing, and get better pots.
amazing. save money, save fuel, get better pots, everyone wins.
old dog, new trick and he only has one eye. amazing.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
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