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Showing results for tags 'gas kiln'.
Found 24 results
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Hi! I plan to build a small gas kiln to start my first experiments in ceramics. I researched a bit, flipped through some books, and it seemed accessible to me to build a little double crossdraft kiln. This model of kiln, known in Japanese as itte-koi-gama (いってこい窯) , is popular as a wood kiln (the Phoenix kiln or Philosopher’s Kiln) but little used on gas. It looks like a plan for a small gas kiln was published on Building Your Own Kiln, Three Japanese Potters Give Advice And Instructions , but I didn't have access to this book. So looking at some kilns over the internet (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) I made a plan for a kiln to firing in cone 10 for two 12X12 inch kiln shelves, the chamber is 3,1 ft³. I wonder if anyone has ever had contact with such a gas kiln. My main question is about the size of the chimney. The models I saw didn't have a big chimney, which leaves me wondering about Fred Olsen's rule. What do you think? I was thinking of building a five-foot chimney. The input size corresponds to the output size and the size of the chimney tunnel. Is it better or safer to have a wider chimney or not? Any comments that might help me in this kiln are welcome, thanks!
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I'm always very curious to know more about this flue exit which is along the kiln as a channel in the ground. I do not know how to name it and also never found information about it. Would anyone know how to name it? It seems to be very common among Japanese industrial downdraft kilns. And looks very interesting to the draft. Sorry for poor English.
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Gas Kiln problem I have a West Coast Gas Kiln that I can't get burner to ignite. Pilot lights, thermocouple appears to open and close Baso switch, and the solenoid appears to open and close when I apply 120v to it isolated from the rest of the system. But it doesn't respond when it's connected to the rest of the system. Particulars: Baso L62GB-3, ASCO K3A462T Solenoid. Controller I can't figure out it's manufacture. Here's what I know. I can get the pilot light to stay lit by pressing the Baso switch, lighting pilot, and keeping depressed 15 sec. Checking continuity between the two terminals on the basso switch chose that the switch is closed until the thermocouple cools and then it is open.After cutting the gas to the pilot I hear a click from the Baso switch when the thermocouple cools. But the solenoid that opens the main burner gas doesn't open. But hooking the wires to the solenoid to 110v does appear to make solenoid open, with a loud click. That seems to indicate that the Baso switch isn't functioning properly. However, it's confusing when I measure voltage at the Baso switch. When kiln control is plugged in, 110v appears on the terminal of the Baso switch that connects to the solenoid and ground, but only about 17v on the side coming directly from the kiln control, which I assume should be 110v. But when the pilot is on, both sides read 110v btw terminal and ground, but not between terminals and the the neutral wire. Odd. At the kiln controller I get 110v between hot and neutral. Measuring btw neutral at Baso and hot coming from kiln control is 48v, ditto the volts from neutral within controller. But from kiln frame which is ground to controller neutral reads 110v. Between frame and controller hot (BLK) reads 0. Anyone have an idea how to diagnose?
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Hi folks, I am new to this forum and apologise if my questions have been and gone before, I’m sure they have! I have bought an old gas fired port-o-kiln and have had in installed into the granite lean to which has a tin roof, at the end of the stables (no horses in there anymore) it seems like a good space. Its small but there is air flow. The kiln is small, it has two burners in v good condition and I have a19kg bottle of propane for it. The kiln didn’t come with a flu or hood so I have got someone to fashion a basic hood and chimney to take the heat and fumes out. There is about an 8” gap between the bottom of the hood and the kiln to use a damper. I have done a couple of firings with a local potter who has a pretty unconventional approach to firing, and I have learnt alot but I woukd like to give it a gallop and see if I can put into practise what I’ve learnt. I have found it quite hard finding solid info on gas firing. I will be firing a range of stoneware and porcelain from 1260 -1300 in reduction. The potter who helped me before used gloves and a hire fire brick as a damper, but I am a little worried about forcing the heat in for some reason - I havnt seen many kikns in my time is this ok practise to control the atmosphere? Where and how did you learn to fire with gas/wood etc? Can you give me any tips or benchmarks? Any good books you can recommend please? So interested to learn more about firing and different kilns. Many thanks for reading! -
Hi, I am new to this forum and I am looking for some advice. My wife and I are looking to install a kiln in our home. She primarily throws on the potters wheel, small bowls & dishes. We have an electric kiln & potters wheel, however due to our breaker box situation, there is no way for us to run a 220V line to the electric kiln without spending a pretty penny to expand and draw more power. We found a good sized, used gas kiln for sale, about $250. Great shape. Few questions on my mind: 1. Can you run a traditional natural gas line (like you would for outdoor grill, fireplace, stove, etc.) for a gas kiln? I see that some of them actually run on propane tanks. 2. If you are running an average sized gas kiln, what are you paying per firing? 3. If you run the kiln with the proper ventilation in the garage and supervision, would this setup work? 4. If you have a gas kiln in Indiana for sale, please contact me. Any other advise for our situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Edit as of 10/4/18: We decided to go with an electric kiln. Thank you for all the advice.
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Is anyone here familiar with the electric-to-gas conversion kits manufactured by Summit? The one I'm considering is the GV-18. A while back someone was clearing out their storage shed and I got an old worn-out kiln, a Lockerbie kick wheel and a venturi burner (they had been planning to make a raku kiln out of it. I'm not interested in raku, and I fear one burner will be inadequate for efficient Cone 8 firing. The GV-18 kit has two burners and a steel stand. By the time I bought another burner and fabricated a stand, I'd probably be close to the cost of the conversion kit, which is a little over 200 bucks. Any experience or opinions? (I'm aware of the drawbacks of updraft kilns.)
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Hey guys! Up till now, I have been using an electric kiln for my pottery. It was a powerful, custom build, three-phase 400V kiln. Unfortunately, a building that I was renting a studio from is sold, and I have to move out to the new place. I found very affordable and beautiful place, but that building provides only single-phase 220V electricity. That's not enough for me, so I am thinking to move onto a gas kiln. And then I am facing another issue - loudness. I know gas burners can get pretty loud, and I am not allowed to disturb artists working on the other side of the walls. Does anyone know any sufficient way to deal with burner loudness? Any tips and comments are welcome!
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Hi, After my graduation I bought a new gas kiln, Rohde TG80 top loading gas kiln downdraft. I have done one test firing but got a bit insecure so I wish to double check. My kiln is fired with Propane. My firing schedule was 200 C/h till 900, then went into reduction till around 1212 C/h after which I failed to keep it in reduction because i started to play to much. Top temperature wa around 1280C. Everything I fire is porcelain unglazed. The top part of the kiln seems ok reduced (not as strong as I wished), but the bottom part not and also lower in temperature. I have read quite some online information and also fired different gas kilns manually before, but not the same as this one. I read different stories about the flames from a reduction firing. Some say orange licking flame is great. But I learned before that a blueish rocket like flame with a bit of orange from the peephole was good as well. I'm a bit confused now. I would like to ask if anyone would like to share some tips and tricks? It would be very helpful. Thank you very much
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Hello there, my partner and I are considering the challenging undertaking of a ceramics workshop at the next Burning Seed festival (Australia's Burning Man) in September, so quite a bit of research and development time. However, if this is an absolutely impossible task in your esteemed and learned opinions, it would be better to pull the plug early on. It will be held outdoors (under shelter), there will be no electricity available and the festival lasts 6 days. Budget isn't huge and conventional small gas kilns aren't easily available in Australia, so I've been considering the ceramic fibre flat pack gas kiln designs. At this point, I believe my biggest challenge is the timeframe - I feel like delivering a glazed piece on day 6 is likely unlikely, particularly considering the lack of drying time and the unpredictability of being exposed to the elements. Though if there is any way I could incorporate a candling feature into the flat pack design, perhaps this issue could be mitigated. Here are my thoughts on a timeframe: Day 1 & 2: Handbuilding workshop - earthenware clay, cups Day 3: Drying Day 4: Candling and bisque Day 5: Glazing and glaze firing Day 6: Finished! So my questions are: -Impossible? Yay or nay? -Is candling possible in the flat pack gas kilns? Perhaps with a smaller, less powerful torch attached? -Are there any better ways you think this could be achieved? -Do you have any other general advice? Thanks wonderful people, this forum is an absolute wealth of information and you're all great. If all else fails I'll just take some airdry clay and be done with it :-P -
From the album: Gas Kiln
I put these shelves in with some extra space so the flames can flow through a bit easier. -
From the album: Gas Kiln
So I am curious if I need to place something over the inlet flues to redirect the flow of the flame so it doesn't just shoot straight up. Anyone know? -
From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
A small propane fired sprung catenary arch crossdraft kiln.© John baymore -all rights reserved
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Natural Gas Fired Downdraft Soda Kiln Constructed at Workshop at Harvard University Ceramics Program
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From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
A natural gas fired downdraft soda kiln constructed at a workshop I gave at the Harvard University Ceramics Program.© john baymore -all rights reserved
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Propane Fired Downdraft Gas Kiln with Hinged Door Silvermine Art School, CT
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From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
A propane fired gas kiln with a hinged door constructed at the Silvermine Art School in CT.© John Baymore -all rights reserved
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From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
A crossdraft propane fired gas kiln.© John Baymore -all rights reserved
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From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
And example of one page of gas kiln plans.© john baymore -all rights reserved
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Propane Fired Downdraft Gas Car Kiln - Kiln Workshop in VA
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From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
A propane gas fired car kiln built in a workshop held in Virginia.© John Baymore -all rights reserved
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Propane Fired Downdraft Gas Car Kiln - Kiln Workshop in VA
Guest posted a gallery image in Browse Member Galleries
From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
A propane gas fired car kiln built in a workshop held in Virginia.© John Baymore -all rights reserved
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Natural Gas Fired Downdraft Stoneware Kiln -2008
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From the album: Kilns designed/constructed by John Baymore
A rear-fired natural gas downdraft kiln.© John Baymore - all rights reserved
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I just joined today so please go easy on me . . . I'm a fairly experienced student and I love cone 10 reduction. My only kiln firing education experience was very limited and over five years ago, at a well-equipped big city community college with huge kilns burning natural gas. I was a newbie just following precise instructions from the instructor, so I'm just about completely ignorant in practice. I am now 500 miles away on a small farm with the new-to-me 12 cubic ft updraft kiln all hooked up to my 250 gal propane tank. The kiln is 7 ft in height including the ~ 2' iron stand. There is also a pyramidal sheet metal hood on top, which adds another foot for a total of 8' in height. Between droughts we get RAIN here in the winter and often it's falling "horizontally" and in summer quite a strong breeze in the late afternoon. In short, my kiln needs to be in an enclosure to keep it dry and the wind away from the burners. I want to build a permanent shed around it. I have a few questions related to that: How high above the kiln vents should the metal ceiling of the shed be? What's the ideal size for an opening in the shed ceiling above the vent for a kiln this size being fired to cone 10? This opening will be covered with a rain cap so I can fire in winter, too. Will heat pretty much go straight up and out of the vent? I'm thinking the rain cap is going to get extremely hot, is that correct? How far above the kiln vents should it be? i.e. does it need to be on top of a wire "stovepipe" or something like that? Any suggestions for "room size" for the shed? I know I'll be needing to control air to fuel ratio using the vents at the top and will need some space for moving around to do that safely. Fortunately on ag zoned land few regulations seem to apply to what we do out here and we are avid about keeping brush cleared, etc. for fire safety. Also I've met a retired ceramics teacher and she is going to fire her own pieces and help out/oversee/advise once I start to actually use the kiln. Plus one of the propane company guys is interested enought to want to see it in action, so once we're firing things should be safe and sane, despite my being totally in over my head. All my best, Roberta
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I posted this question in another spot but maybe its own topic is better. I have an old fashioned 28 cu ft caternary arch gas fired brick kiln. I have had to rebuild parts and now I have uneven firing. I am going to cone 6 and the centre fires to that before the top or bottom does. The top and bottom ports show the cones down at 4 only while in the middle 4, 5 & 6 are completely down. I though I had enough spaces in the bag walls and the floor but perhaps not? I am pretty sure I haven't blocked anything with the shelves. The heat goes up behind the bag walls & then down - downdraft thru the floor and out to the chimney. Help!!!!
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Temps are cooling here in MN and this Fall and maybe winter, I'd like to continue to fire my gas kiln. I have an Olympic Torchbearer firing on LP and to Cone 10. I can control a slow heating up when the kiln is cold in the AM but am wondering how, after reaching temp, I go about slowing the cooling (and for how long) in a proper way so that glazes do not bubble from rapid cooling and pieces do not crack from shock. My kiln is in an enclosed shed but the only heat there is from the kiln. I don't want to damage my kiln or pottery just for a firing or 2 in the winter. On a usual warm weather firing, I can unload the kiln about 36 hours after firing is completed. I appreciate your sharing of knowledge.
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Manchester, Nh | Sept. 25-28, 2014 | Kiln Building Intensive Workshop
Guest posted a topic in Ceramic Events of Interest
Kiln Building Intensive For students who want a hands-on experience to learn more about kiln design and building, this is the class for you. Master kiln builder John Baymore will lead this intensive course beginning with two evening lectures about kiln theory, design, and construction. The class then switches gears, as the students then spend two full days building a gas fired kiln in the NHIA Manchester kiln room. Bring work gloves and a respirator and prepare to get your hands dirty! Prerequisite: Basic clay skills. Limit: 10 Manchester Campus Professor John Baymore MCER077 Thu & Fri, Sep. 25 & 26 / 6 – 9 pm; Sat & Sun, Sep. 27 28 / 9 am – 6 pm 4 Days / Thu. + Fri. Amherst/Williams 204; Sat. + Sun. Amherst/Williams 001 Tuition: $176 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR QUESTIONS: Chris Archer (603) 836.2561 carcher@nhia.edu TO REGISTER FOR A CLASS: Rhiannon Mimms (603) 836.2564 CERegistration@nhia.edu LOCATIONS: Manchester Campus New Hampshire Institute of Art 148 Concord Street, Manchester, NH 03104-4858 www.nhia. -
This is my first gas kiln and I have had a successful test firing and bisque firing. The man who I brought it off gave me his old successful kiln log sheets so I have been working of that. I went to start a glaze firing at 7am in the morning, by 9pm at night I cone 3, 4, 5 had not melted so I called it a night and shut it off. Any suggestions?? (attached is some pics of my kiln for reference) (Internal firing space 650x650x650)
