Frank Colson on sat 5 mar 05
I see a lot of attention directed to the use of pyrometers for firing
systems, both electric and fuel fired kilns. I guess that when something
like
a pyrometer is very available and reasonably priced, often a potter can't
seem to function without one. I'm not suggesting that a pyrometer shouldn't
be used, but there is an alternative way to measure heat which is very
simple and unfailing, by visually reading color!
I have done this for such a duration of time that it is second nature to me.
Recently I was visiting a local art center that was actively firing
raku in a ground level kiln. Instinctively, I walked up to one of the kilns
to look at the color of the fire chamber, when someone yelled: "Watch Out!".
I almost stepped on the cord of a "pyrometer" which was inserted into the
kiln. Wow, I thought, it had never occurred to me that a "pyrometer" was
stuck into a raku kiln, of all things.
Of course I have used a pyrometer in my career on numerous occasions in high
fire kilns as well as metal melting furnaces. However, I was brought up,
since toilet training, on identifying temperatures simply by the color of
the heat. When using cones for firing levels, I usually know when the cone
is about to drop before it starts.
My "bible" has been a "COLOR FIRING CHART". This chart, pasted to a
clipboard, has always been with me when I start a firing (of fuel kilns, in
particular). By associating the color of the kiln chamber, with the
indicators on the chart, I learned to memorize and know were the progression
of my firings were at any given moment with just a glance.
I am not saying that this is the ultimate, but I am saying that it works,
and has always worked, long before the pyrometer emerged
as a dependent need for any kind of firing.
Now! Just what does the COLORING FIRING CHART look like? If you go to the
link, below, I am providing this chart, complementary.
Click on the website, scroll to the bottom of the front page, and right
click to download and print this chart for your own. Enjoy!
www.R2D2u.com
Frank Colson/COLSON STUDIO
| |
|
