A never ending quest of the professional ceramist is to make his/her work better than the competition. Part of this edge is the creative talent of the artist. The other part is downright material: If we can produce our work at a lower cost or with fewer rejects than the competition, we can make another dollar for our work. That means we can put butter on the table, as well as the bread, or buy more materials, or a new kiln, etc., not to mention selling more than our competitors.
Of course, there may be purists among you readers who disdain consideration of material costs. To those, I say, conserve energy and reduce pollution. Those are noble goals.
Who among you, hasn’t waited with anxiety for the kiln temperature to continue its increase, sometimes making a snail seem speedier? Or who hasn’t looked at the utility bill with apprehension as it keeps creeping upward?
To the novice, wouldn’t it be great to peek into the Pro’s bag of tricks and learn how they do it? Here are some of those tricks. We kept them to ourselves as long as we were in the business. As big as Studios West was, we needed every edge we could get to secure a commission bid or bring the cost of a job into the reasonable range that we knew the client would go for.
Well, it’s experience trading time and you have a chance to benefit from over 50 years experience.
Contents :
Note: Graphs, Tables, and Illustrations are displayed in italics.
Part I The Kiln.
1. Combustion Efficiency. Improving Efficiency. Part I. Part II. Furnace vs Periodic Kiln. Determine Combustion Efficiency. Combustion Efficiency Curve For Natural Gas. Description of the Graphs. Combustion Efficiency Curve For Propane and LPG. What the graphs Tell Us. About The Upper and Lower Curve Extremes. Combustion Efficiency Curves For Number 2 and 3 Fuel Oil. Using The Graphs. Other Measurement Tools. Burrell Combustion Indicator.
2. What To Adjust. Stack Exhaust Damper. Burner Ports. Air Damper on the Burner. Forced Draft, Blower Operated Systems. Flame Color. Safety Note. What Should You Expect? Factors That Affect The Efficiency of A Firing. Kiln Efficiency vs Combustion Efficiency. Summary. Updraft and downdraft Kilns
3. Factors That Affect A Firing. Burners. Home Made Burners. Successful Burner Performance. A Burner Calorimeter. Tuning A Kiln with Forced Air Burners. A Caution. A Word About Centrifugal Blowers. Forced Air Systems. Blower choice. Blower Problems.
4. Effect of Fuel Type On Efficiency. Oil. Coal. Wood. In Summary, Do not Expect Efficient Burning If: Forced Air Systems. Afterburners. Excess Air.
5. The Act of Firing A Kiln. Overview. What We Have Said goes Like This: Conclusion. Check List For An Efficient Firing.
6. Thermocouples And Temperature Measurement. Pyrometer. Thermocouple. The Pyrometer. Care of thermocouples and Pyrometers. To Test A Pyrometer. To Check A Pyrometer Connected To A Kiln. Here Are Some Pointers For The Use of Pyrometers and Thermocouples. Notes on Making A Thermocouple. Repair. Testing Thermocouples. Thermocouple Connection and Placement
7. Pyrometric Cones. Heat Treatment. Cone sizes. Some Cone Relationships. Here Are Some Pointers For The Use and Handling of Pyrometric Cones. Summary.
8. Safety. Eyes. Simple Welding Glasses. Glassblower’s safety lenses .Burns. Fires. Kiln Room. Fires Involving Gas Kilns. Toxic Gases. Ceramic Materials Poison Chart. Poison Protection. Protecting People. Clothing. Raku. Fatigue. Safety Devices. Kiln Ventilation.
9. Kiln Characteristics. Factors Affecting A Firing. Discussion of The Graphs. Using The Graphs, An Example. Factors Affecting A Firing. Kiln surface Heat Loss By Wind. Heat Storage, 4.5" Thickness. Heat Loss, 4.5" Wall Thickness. Outside Storage.
Part II. Kiln Stacks.
10. Introduction To Stacks and Chimneys. Misconceptions. Stack Draft Concept. Physical Factors. Air Density and Volume Graphs. Stack Draft Manometer Building A Stack ?Draft Manometer.
11. Inside The Stack. The Stack's Physical Characteristics. Application of Stack Draft Data. Stack Technical Information. Stack Draft Effect. Stack Height. Stack Draft Effect.
12. Application Of Stack Draft Data. Stack Height Vs Available Draft. Typical Performance Plot. A Studios West Artkit Kiln example. Stack Draft Data. Positive Chamber Pressure. Design Draft Minimum. Measured Stack Draft. Combustion Efficiency curve.
13. Stack Heat Losses Stack Height. Stack Cross-sectional area.
14. Afterburners. Preheating. Draft Booster. Combustion Improvement. Anti- pollution. Installation. Operation. The Afterburner To Candle A Kiln. Torch For Afterburner Lighting. Afterburner Positioned.
15. Conclusion.
16. Glossary.
Bibliography.
ISBN : 0-939656-48-5 ,$31.95,
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Ceramics Series Page
December 13, 2008