Vince Pitelka on thu 14 apr 05
Dave -
We use softbrick for the arch and upper walls of our soda kilns, and spray
the inside with a thin coat of ITC-100. It is worth the money for this, and
I know of no other product that works as well. A thin coat that thoroughly
wets the surface of the softbrick will do the trick. But we do not use
softbrick in any of the high-stress areas. We use high-duty hardbrick for
the kiln floor, in the inner layer around the entire firebox, around the
flue, and up the walls for six courses or so above the firebox. The current
kiln is a crossdraft downdraft with about 18 cu. ft. of stacking space, and
it fires very easily on three GACO MR-100 venturi burners on propane. The
last kiln lasted us almost five years, and I would estimate that it had been
fired between 250 and 300 times. When we rebuild the kiln, we recycle as
many of the bricks as we can, often just turning around the slagged bricks,
so that the good surface is on the hotface. That cuts way down on the
expense.
Generally, we tend to soda-fire fairly lightly - no more than 1.5 to 2 lbs.
of soda per firing. That helps prolong the life of the kiln.
I will try and post some images of the kiln on my website within a few days.
You can still see pictures of the kiln it replaced at
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/Clayart.htm
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
| |
|
