09 September 2009

kilnbuilder report and the work begins

so...if you read my last post, you may recall that i was a little on the nervous nellie side waiting for donovan (masterkilnbuilders.com) to take a peek at my kiln. i really was prepared to do some explaining (make excuses) regarding certain elements like the damper that doesn't quite close off the chimney and the strange look of my stack and exit flue but alas....no explanations necessary. there was no audible laughing or snickers and he was very complementary...blush.




that said....there is still work to be done. the first thing he noticed was that my ancient venturi burners did not possess 'flame retention tips'. i totally thought that i had them. (their function is to create turbulence at the burner tip, which mixes the air and gas and keeps the flame right on the tip, reducing the chances of flash-back into the burner tube.)*
essentially...they will make my flames much more efficient and cut down on firing time. i'll let you know when they get here. they were $300+ but should prove to cut my propane use considerably.

the tips will just screw on to my burners with a coupler but the challenge is that we have to extend the pipe on both sides. i'm a little hesitant to mess with the plumbing but it must be done.

the second task at hand is to rebuild my door and car bed and install the rails for it to ride on. i thought that because the car was soooo heavy that rails were unnecessary if it rolled smoothly on the concrete but donovan said that it jostles slightly every time it is pushed in and eventually really gets off kilter..i got the 1/4" angle iron yesterday and rolled the car onto it and then welded strap metal between to hold them parallel and today we will rotohammer holes into the concrete and drop bolts through the strap to secure the tracks. that way, we can lift up the tracks easily at any time by pulling out the pins.

next...i will use a level across the front of the kiln shell to make certain that all the face bricks are flush to facilitate a tight seal with the door. i've already completely unstacked the door to move the car around...(i forgot how many bricks it took to build the door....200+).

all the pots are done for the next firing so i just have to get this work done and glaze and should be good to go. the only part i'm dreading a bit is the pipe work....those things thread all different directions it seems.

1 comment:

  1. I am so impressed - building, welding, rotohammering(?)! What don't you do?

    I'm fascinated with the beauty of the brick...

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