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burner drawings

updated thu 29 mar 07

 

mel jacobson on tue 20 mar 07


remember, these are concept drawings.
they can be made any size, bent, straight, and of course
they can be customized to fit any kiln situation.

it takes the a bit of imagination to make them work
for you.

one of my favorite small burners can be made from
supplies from any hardware store.

and a couple of drill bits. self tapping screws and
the light fixture holder that attaches fixtures to a ceiling.
then just pick the size pipe fittings from the hardware
section.
mel

from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/

Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html

Marcia Selsor on tue 20 mar 07


Mel,
I built some burners in 1971 with pipe, and squirrel cage blowers
from Grainger (bless 'em) that mixed air with gas before a bell
reducer. If I can find the drawings, I will post them.
I used them with propane to ^10. They worked great.
But right now I am working on my NCECA presentation to submit real
soon to the Journal and be done with it. whew! Stephani just reminded
me I'll see her at the PC workshop in Cleveland in a month!
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com


On Mar 20, 2007, at 11:15 AM, mel jacobson wrote:

> remember, these are concept drawings.
> they can be made any size, bent, straight, and of course
> they can be customized to fit any kiln situation.
>
> it takes the a bit of imagination to make them work
> for you.
>
> one of my favorite small burners can be made from
> supplies from any hardware store.
>
> and a couple of drill bits. self tapping screws and
> the light fixture holder that attaches fixtures to a ceiling.
> then just pick the size pipe fittings from the hardware
> section.
> mel
>
> from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
>
> Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html

Robert Klander on wed 21 mar 07


Well, my second NCECA, and new horizons everywhere. So much
information to process!

It was pretty exciting to commit to building my first fuel kiln,
purchase a pile of bricks and start asking all of the questions that
one has to ask along the way. Dove into the Kiln Book, and had
several conversations about MFT's and flue design with Mel and Kurt
in the Clayart room, and then further talks with my local mentor
since returning home.

As Mel mentioned, he sent along the group of burner drawings and
photos to me, and it looks like we're going to build a set or two and
test them out. Monday, we'll put together our shopping list, and
hopefully a couple of days later, we'll build them and try them
out. Luckily, my friend already has kilns built that we can use for that!

I'll be posting the outcome of all of this once the deed is
done. Hopefully with photos that show the process along the way.

I doubt I would have a glimmer of a clue about this without
Clayart. I've been reading and lurking here for a number of years,
and just can't stop singing the praises. What a group! Thanks to
everyone for their contributions on everything.

Robert Klander
www.turtlerockpots.com

Robert Klander on tue 27 mar 07


Thanks again to Mel for making those notes, drawings, and photos available.

Well, we did the assembly and first test last night on the new
burners. All-in-all a pretty painless project.

Decided to use 2 inch pipe for the burners, and 3/8 inch pipe for the
feed. From the ball valve the burner lines up like this:
1. Ball valve 3/8 Bronze approved for Gas
2. 3/8 nipple to 2 x 3/8 in. reducer
I chose to tap the other end of the reducer in order to thread
another 3/8 nipple
into it to mount the orifice. The reducer was steel, so it was a
bit tough to get
the threads started, but they ended up very clean.
3. 2 in. T -- Drilled a hole in the edge of the middle port to
accept a self tapping screw
that will hold the primary air "flap" adjuster.
4. Mixing tube 2" x 12"
5. 2" Elbow
6. 2" x 6" tube
7. 2" coupling

We had a bit of a scramble looking around for the right connection to
get the fuel hooked up to
the 3/8 valve, but we finally found it and hooked it up. Then the
moment of truth.

Nice flame, once the air mix was fine-tuned. I believe I'll change
the flapper a bit, use something lighter weight
than the junction box cover..perhaps a canning lid? and also will
attach that with a longer screw, coupled with a
spring to help hold the flap in place.

There was periodic blow back or back burn, I'm not sure I have the
term stated correctly. I'm told that some of that
will be cleared up once the burner is directed into a kiln, and not
just burning in the open air...Also, I think I will try
mounting the orifice to a longer nipple inside the T, to move it more
downline, further into the port leading to the mixing tube.
Also, I intend to try a smaller size orifice, just to see if there is
much change in the operation.

We spoke about "retention nozzle" device that could tend to lessen
the back burn as well...a donut, perhaps 1/4 inch wide
that would have a series of small holes drilled all the way
around. This would be installed perhaps a 1/4 inch back inside the
2 inch coupling that is serving as the burner tip.

It is my intention, once the kiln is built, to add pilot burners and
baso valves to each burner.

Suggestions or comments are encouraged!

Robert Klander