Ken Nowicki on mon 30 jan 06
Lauren wrote:
......................................
hey ken!
i wondered where you were! kept wanting to
write and ask about the kiln you had
specially made. l&l hybrid itc'd at
the factory (is that right?)... what's the scoop?
inquiring minds want to know...
Lauren Bellero, Mudslingers Pottery
......................................
Well Lauren, apparently you are right because I've had several folks on this=
=20
list ask me about my "hybrid kiln project" since my recent return to the=20
Clayart list... so I guess I ought to offer up some kind of an update for th=
ose=20
"inquiring minds" . Thank you for your interest by the way. :-)
For those of you reading this that are wondering what Lauren is talking=20
about, I've been involved with a rather unique kiln building experience into=
the=20
realm of "hybrid kiln" technology (cone 10-11 gas/electric reduction) recent=
ly.=20
In fact, as NCECA approaches quickly... I can't believe that this March it=20
will already be two years since this project's inception.
As many of you have been reading the various threads recently (and in the=20
past) on this list, about gas/electric reduction kiln technology, and the us=
e of=20
ITC... mostly... as far as I can tell... people getting involved with these=20
kiln conversions have been using older, used (and in some cases quite worn o=
ut)=20
electric kilns and converting them into gas/electric hybrids with ITC.
What made my project somewhat unique is that (call me crazy, but...) I came=20
up with the idea of taking a brand spanking new L&L JD230S-3 and tricking it=
=20
out with all the "bells and whistles" and making it into the best damn hybri=
d=20
cone 10 kiln I possibly could, put the "pedal to the metal" so-to-speak... a=
nd=20
see if I couldn't crank it up (as Emeril would say) "another notch!".
When I got to Indianapolis for the NCECA conference a few years ago, I=20
excitedly told Mel of my idea and plans. Needless to say, Mel was very suppo=
rtive of=20
my idea, and has been there for me throughout this entire project, answering=
=20
all of my questions and putting up with my pestering emails. He's been an=20
invaluable source of inspiration and it is only through the true pioneers of=
this=20
kind of hybrid technology, guys like Mel, Nils, Feriz, and others... that I'=
m=20
able to stand on their shoulders, and hopefully move this technology just a=20
little bit further along... I hope anyway... =20
Without going into all the details... as it turned out, I was invited by the=
=20
president of L&L Kilns, Steve Lewicki (yes... I know... Nowicki - Lewicki...=
=20
odd eh?) to come down to L&L's factory and build the kiln from the ground up=
,=20
according to MY specs, just the way I wanted it. An unbelievable opportunity=
=20
indeed.
I live about 2.5 hours drive away from their factory, so on several occasion=
s=20
I would drive down there for a few days at a time to work on this project=20
over the last year and a half. There has never been any rush, and giving tha=
t=20
both Steve and I have very busy schedules... we just fit it in where we coul=
d. We=20
wanted to take our time, and do this thing right.
I hope to be publishing an article about the project in the future, and all=20
the details of what we encountered, how we worked around things, solved issu=
es,=20
as well as plenty of photos showing the construction process will be=20
available to the readers. Clay Times has already expressed an interest in ru=
nning the=20
article and I hope in the coming months ahead that is where it may get=20
published. I do want to get some testing done and have some results before i=
t goes to=20
press... so it may be a little longer yet.
I don't want to "let all the goodies out of the bag" just yet... as they wil=
l=20
be in the article, but I will share some of the details of the kiln project=20
if anyone is interested. Here are a few...=20
(a) Each insulated firebrick (IFB) has been hand-dipped in ITC 100 HT on al=
l=20
five sides, except for the cold face of the brick which I didn't feel was=20
necessary. (Exception: The kiln lid, and bottom were sprayed on all sides wi=
th=20
ITC 100 HT since I opted to use L&L's pre-assembled components)
(b) All elements upgraded to heavy-duty, and pre-heated to burn off any oil=
s=20
from manufacturing, then... ITC 213 was applied to all. (I used Mel's "shake=
=20
& bake" method, worked great!)
(c) Powered bottom was added to kiln. The template for the element grooves=20
in the bottom had to be modified to allow for the burner port in the bottom=20
center of the kiln, and elements had to be rerouted so that they wouldn't be=
=20
compromised from the design. L&L's element holders aren't normally used in p=
owered=20
bottoms as gravity holds the elements in place and they aren't needed,=20
however, I dipped several element holders in ITC 100 HT and we used them to=20=
give=20
extra support and protection for the elements near the burner port.
(d) Upgraded to heavy duty Type-S thermocouples throughout.
(e) Thicker 3" IFB bricks were used, and ceramic fiber paper was also=20
sandwiched in-between cold face of bricks and stainless steel jacket on all=20=
sections=20
of the kiln for extra insulation.
(f) Ransom B1 gas burner built by Marc Ward is going to be used in lieu of=20
the more commonly used Bunsen burner propane assembly. I didn't want to use=20
propane for safety reasons, and I already had natural gas nearby the kiln si=
te.=20
The B1 is the smallest burner that Ransom makes, and I probably won't even u=
se=20
a tenth of what it's capable of... it doesn't take much fuel to create a=20
reduction atmosphere.
(g) Kiln will be equipped with L&L's freestanding panel stand like the one'=
s=20
you see on their DaVinci models, just to insure that there is no chance of=20
any reduction gasses getting to the important stuff. The stand will house L&=
L's=20
computerized Bartlett controller, power station, and a few other goodies.
(h) Oxyprobe and controller.
(i) A Vent-A-Kiln will be used over the top of the kiln for kiln=20
ventilation, it's gasses being removed by fan/motor directly outside through=
the wall.=20
The kiln's ventilation system was/is a real source of angst for me. I have=20
changed the design several times, originally wanting to use L&L's VentSure,=20=
but in=20
the end opting for Vent-A-Kiln's design instead. Too much to explain here fo=
r=20
now, but lots of considerations had to be studied here. Of course, I could'v=
e=20
even opted to make a custom design, but I don't have the time or tools at=20
hand, and in the end probably wouldn't have saved all that much money anyway=
,=20
besides, as far as homeowner's insurance goes... this was less of a headache=
in=20
the end.
(j) A room ventilation/heat exchanger will be in place, designed/installed=20
by a qualified electrictian/hvac professional. (The heat exchanger is to=20
prevent any possibility of freezing the copper pipes in our basement when ou=
tside=20
temperatures in winter drop below 40=B0 F, it will automatically preheat the=
=20
incoming make-up air) =20
and much more... too much to go into in this email...
So... now that ya'll got a picture of what I've been doing with L&L... you'r=
e=20
probably wondering where the kiln is at... right? Well... in mid-October, it=
=20
finally came home from L&L's factory in carefully packed in sections in my=20
SUV... and it now comfortably rests awaiting assembly in my "boiler room" of=
my=20
basement. Several things still need to be completed before it can be assembl=
ed=20
and given it's official "maiden firing", however, it was fired on several=20
occasions (electric only) at L&L's factory with flying colors.
Several safety issues still need to be addressed and the work is in progress=
.=20
Room ventilation unit needs to be installed and tested. Final wiring from=20
kiln to electrical panel by my electrician needs completion. I'm putting a p=
iece=20
of galvanized sheet wrapped HardyBacker board suspended about 1.5" inches aw=
ay=20
from ceiling joists directly above the kiln lid in the boiler room where the=
=20
kiln is being installed as an extra measure of safety, and that needs to be=20
completed. Vent-A-Kiln needs to be installed and tested. Fire Extinguishers=20=
and=20
Carbon Monoxide detectors will be installed in several locations as well.
One huge difference in my project and others that have done these hybrids is=
=20
that mine will be fired in an enclosed basement space (in a sectioned off=20
'boiler room') whereas I'm sure a great majority of these kilns that have be=
en=20
built are in outdoor/covered or protected areas, not in enclosed spaces near=
or=20
in the home. For this reason, I am taking my time, and making sure that no=20
safety issues are being overlooked. I have my family, and my home at stake h=
ere...=20
and although I do believe it can be safely done... I am not taking any=20
chances or cutting any corners here.
There were several unexpected delays during last summer, much of it out of m=
y=20
hands... so that is one reason that this project has taken so long. Also,=20
coordinating schedules to allow me to leave my duties here at home and take=20=
off=20
for a few days to Philadelphia to work on the kiln had been an issue... eith=
er=20
Steve was unable to be at the factory... or I wasn't able to get away for=20
family reasons, etc. ...either way ...it wasn't easy.
I'm now working on getting the last details in place... hoping that I might=20
get at least one or two firings in before NCECA is upon us. Crossing my fing=
ers=20
here. Wish me luck.
Best regards,
- Ken
Ken Nowicki
RakuArtist@aol.com
"Looking forward to another wonderful NCECA/Clayart experience, and just=20
booked the pre-conference workshop "The Ceramic Surface-4 Approaches" at Lan=
e=20
Community College in Eugene today... (any other Clayarters going?) Should be=
a=20
great week!"
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