Kenneth D. Westfall on tue 15 mar 05
Any one that can do plumbing and take care of it. You need to find the low
spot cut the pipe and put in a tee and a valve so that it can be opened an
drained.
At 03:00 PM 3/15/05 -0800, you wrote:
>I am unable to fire my kiln because I have water in the gas supply pipe.The
>gas company representative assures me there is water in the line and which
>part of the run holds the water..
>
>How do you get the water out of the line? Is this a plumber only kind of
>thing or can an able bodied potter repair it?
>
>Any imput will be greatly appreciated. I am running out of room-need to fire
>!
>
>I guess it isn't as bad as water on the brain.
>
>Donald
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>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
kenneth@pinehillpottery.com
http://www.pinehillpottery.com
Donald G. Goldsobel on tue 15 mar 05
I am unable to fire my kiln because I have water in the gas supply pipe.The
gas company representative assures me there is water in the line and which
part of the run holds the water..
How do you get the water out of the line? Is this a plumber only kind of
thing or can an able bodied potter repair it?
Any imput will be greatly appreciated. I am running out of room-need to fire
!
I guess it isn't as bad as water on the brain.
Donald
Millard Balfrey on wed 16 mar 05
As an ameteur potter and master plumber, let me give you this advice= IF you
are not completely confident with your plumbing skills DO NOT attempt to
learn with on the job training unless your health, property/liability/fire
insurance are paid up. If installed correctly there should be a line sized drip leg
at the meter or gas source, and one on the fixture side of each gas cock or
ball valve. Installing a valve on the drip leg is not necessary if piped with a
drip leg downstream of the fixture gas cock so the fixture can be isolated and
the drip leg emptied. Some valves are rated only for water pressure= a proper
valve should be permentely marked in the brass body WOG and also the rated
working pressure. W ater, O il, or G as. At a recent Liquid Propane Gas
certification class I learned that using a soap solution to check for leaks is no
longer permissable, use Leak Detecting liquid available at Plumbing or HVAC
suppliers- said that soap residues inhibit undue corrosion due to making dirt
stick to freshly cut iron threads. All changes of pipe size should be done with
reducing couplings- not buchings. Even though average working pressure for
nonindustrial use is between 7 to 11 inches water column ( 27 inches water
column in one pound of gas pressure) about 1/3 psi , improperly installed/
maintained gas fixtures can be catastrophic. ALWAYS open the door before lighting a
kiln. Last year after transporting and repairing an old 12 cu ft LPG fired
catanery arch downdraft kiln ( about 3500lbs) I suffered a umbrellical hernia while
piping in the service from the tank to the kiln and left the job unfinished
until recently. The kiln wouldn't hardly fire to raku temperatures. I purged
the system with nitrogen- got a small amount of water and a gecko! It fires
better now but the primary regulator is slightly undersized. I am infected with
the raku bug real bad- gonna burn this weekend.
I Hope this
Helps- Burn Real Carefull, Mill .
The price of a service call/ repair by a licenced, insured
plumber is cheap compared with what a surgeon/ hospital charges or what a general
contractor will charge to repair a burned down house.
Michael Wendt on wed 16 mar 05
Donald,
If the gas appliance or kiln was installed by a professional gas fitter, he
installed a drip leg in the line, usually just before the baso valve.
As Kenneth suggested, you could install a 2 1/2-3" drip leg if there isn't
one in the line. Put a ball valve in front of the leg so you can shut off
the gas supply while you drain the line. The drip legs I have seen have a
pipe cap that is unscrewed to drain them. Imagine the danger if a valve was
placed on the drip leg bottom and got left open!
Be sure to use black (not galvanized) pipe and tighten well with pipe
compound. Also make a rich soap solution to check all your connections for
leaks.
If in doubt, hire a plumber.
Regards,
Michael Wendt
Wendt Pottery
2729 Clearwater Ave
Lewiston, Idaho 83501
USA
wendtpot@lewiston.com
www.wendtpottery.com
At 03:00 PM 3/15/05 -0800, you wrote:
>I am unable to fire my kiln because I have water in the gas supply
pipe.The
>gas company representative assures me there is water in the line and which
>part of the run holds the water..
>
>How do you get the water out of the line? Is this a plumber only kind of
>thing or can an able bodied potter repair it?
>
>Any input will be greatly appreciated. I am running out of room-need to
fire
>!
>
>I guess it isn't as bad as water on the brain.
>
>Donald
Mike Gordon on wed 16 mar 05
Donald,
If the gas rep knows where the water has accumulated there must be a
dip in the line, which should be straightened. I don't know where in
the world you are but the PG&E co. here in the San Francisco Bay area
who supplies me with gas had me but a collection pipe in the line just
before the kiln to handle the water problem. I had to do it before I
could get the permit to put in the meter. So I'm guessing that you
might need a plumber. But if you can get away with doing it yourself it
is a simple "T" in the line with a 3" section and a cap on the end of
it.The 3" section pointing down. I'm surprised the gas rep didn't
recommend a plumber to you since it is always a danger to open a gas
line if you don't know what you are doing. Be safe about it. Mike
Gordon
On Mar 15, 2005, at 3:00 PM, Donald G. Goldsobel wrote:
> I am unable to fire my kiln because I have water in the gas supply
> pipe.The
> gas company representative assures me there is water in the line and
> which
> part of the run holds the water..
>
> How do you get the water out of the line? Is this a plumber only kind
> of
> thing or can an able bodied potter repair it?
>
> Any imput will be greatly appreciated. I am running out of room-need
> to fire
> !
>
> I guess it isn't as bad as water on the brain.
>
> Donald
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
> _______
> 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.
>
Bruce Girrell on wed 16 mar 05
>How do you get the water out of the line? Is this a plumber only kind of
>thing or can an able bodied potter repair it?
In the oilfield they have a thing called a siphon trap to capture water in
lines. For a siphon trap to work the water must be in liquid form, not vapor
or mist. Vapor probably isn't a problem for you unless a pressure drop at
your burners causes condensation at that point. And misting is usually only
found at relatively high flow rates, so I'm guessing that misting should not
apply to your situation either.
A siphon trap is very simple and can be built by anyone who can screw pipes
together. Disclaimer: If you have any doubts about your plumbing abilities,
particularly your ability to ensure that there are no leaks at threaded
joints or if you have regulations in your area that require it, hire a
licensed plumber to do the job.
To build a siphon trap, insert a T into your gas line in a level horizontal
run of the line. Two legs of the T serve simply to couple the horizontal
run. The third leg of the T points downward. On the downward pointing leg of
the T install a length of pipe to act as a reservoir to contain the trapped
water. At the bottom of the reservoir install a valve. If you want a bigger
reservoir, use adapters to increase the pipe diameter from that of the T.
Large valves are expensive so you will probably want to reduce back down
again before the valve. If you want to get really fancy you can install a
sight glass (left as an exercise for the reader).
When you want to drain the reservoir simply put a container below the valve
and open it slowly. The water will fall into the container. As soon as gas
starts coming out close the valve.
You can make siphon traps fancier so that they work better, but it's
probably not worth your time. If you have a place in your line where the
diameter increases, such as a manifold, install the trap after the diameter
increase if possible. You may want to insert a chemical drier after the trap
if you want really dry gas.
Bruce "did that all make sense?" Girrell
Let's give ASCII art a try:
T
________________________________________
________________ ______________________
| |
| |
/ / | |
| | Reservoir
| |
| |
\ /
\ /
| |
| | |
|-|---| Valve
| | |
| |
| |
| |
|
