The news is ablaze with predictions of fuel shortages, the price of oil expected to double again, then again, and the need for clean burning to minimize atmospheric pollution. This Handbook is a solid solution to Survival of the ceramics craft, either by energy conservation or by improved firing practices to reduce firing costs. All of the books in our Craft Series and Alternative Energy Series are directed to these same goals.
Want to repair your kiln, but you don’t know where to start? Brick repair; what constitutes kiln design; plumbing; burners; kiln evaluation; all of these are in the Handbook.
Your work is good enough, and it sells, but you can’t seem to make any profit. How to cut overhead. How to do the same job more economically. How to recover and reuse the heat you have already paid for. How to make the kiln work better. How to take advantage of discounts. This is all Handbook information.
You have just unloaded a firing and you stand before it, disappointed at the number of failed pieces. The information about firing properly (zero defects ) is in the Handbook.
You don’t need to have rejects. Maybe you need to rework the kiln or just a part of it. That’s Handbook stuff, too.
That glaze came out so well once, but I can’t seem to get it to come out that way again. The Handbook describes how to get the data for a log and what you need to give you the information for the log. It’s like driving without a speedometer.
Gosh, I’d love to build a kiln, but even the books don’t tell me enough, and there’s no one around here that really knows how. How about a step by step description of building a kiln that works, complete with drawings, photographs, even the information about proper firing. It’s in the Handbook
I could probably buy an elephant and know as much about it as I do about buying a new kiln. You have found a book that tells you how to evaluate a kiln, what to look for, and how to see around a salesman’s pitch? It can also tell you what’s wrong with the one you have. The Handbook has the answers.
Here is a Handbook that took nearly fifty years to write. There is nothing in here that the authors haven’t experienced first hand. 370 pages of solid information and over 60 illustrations, tables, graphs, and photographs. It is the 9th book in their Crafts Series.
ISBN: 0-939656-44-2, $64.95,
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This Table of Contents is over 10 pages. Here is an abbreviated version of chapter titles only. The complete Contents follows. There is an Alphabetical List of Topical Headings, too. The CD edition has an Auto Index (TM), one click and the subject is on the screen.
Part 1. Practices and Processes. Firing. Loading. Pre-heat and Candling. Safety. Heat Recovery.
Part 2. Hardware. Burners. Plumbing. Bricks and Insulation. To Design A Catenary Arch. Cutting Tapers.
Part 3. Design and Construction. Kiln Design Process. Kiln Design Factors. K3C Kiln Construction Manual. A Heat Recovery System That Works. Kiln Stacks- Insulation and Shape.
Part 4. Measurements. Pressure- Manometers and Gauges. Temperature- Pyrometers and Thermocouples. Cones. Atmosphere- Carbon Dioxide Detection and Measurement. Heat Radiation Measurements.
Part 5. Fuels. Gaseous Fuels. Combustion. Fuel Efficiency. Firing With Least Fuel.
Part 6. Related Technology. Electricity. Blowers. Economics of Art Ceramics- Cutting Studio Overhead.
Part 7. Kiln Maintenance and Repair. Bricks. Furniture. Metal Parts. Safety- Repair or Replace.
Part 8. Special Kilns. Enameling. Wax Bakeout. Raku. Built Up Kilns. Glass Annealing. Glass Working In A Kiln.
Appendix. Ceramics Glossary. Electrical Glossary. Temperature Conversion Tables. Standard Cone End Point Table. Small Cone end Point Table. Characteristics of Various Thermocouple. Calibration Table For Chromel-Alumel Thermocouples. Orifice Drill Hole sizes.
Bibliography.
Complete Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword
Photographs, Tables, Drawings, Graphs
Part 1. Practices and Processes
Chapter
1. Firing. Minimum Requirements. 2. The Firing Process. 3. To Begin. 3. Check Before Loading. 3. Begin Firing. 4. Creating Faults. 5. Safety. 6. What Went Wrong? 7. Cooling. 8. Firing Details. 10. Fast Firing. 10. Slow Firing. 11. Firing Pitfalls. 12. Firing Details. 13. What Firing Accomplishes. 14. Meltdown. 14. Firing Rate Calculator. 15. Reduction Firing. 16. Organic Material Burnout. 17. Definition of Reduction. 18. Reduction Atmosphere. 19. How To Create A Reducing Atmosphere. 19. Conclusions. 21. Testing A Kiln Atmosphere. 21. Reduction Firing Procedure. 21. Testing A Reduction Atmosphere. 23. Typical Heating Curves. 24. Typical Cooling Curves. 24. Typical Heating Curve For A Downdraft Kiln. 25. Updraft Kiln Firing. 26. Downdraft Kilns. 27. Excessive Heating. 28. Kiln Pre-Heat/Candling. 29. Pre-Heating With Kiln Burners. 29. Pilot System In Burner Chamber. 29. Afterburner In The Bottom Of The Stack. 30. Adjusting The Downdraft Kiln For Even Temperature Distribution. 30. Adjusting The Downdraft Kiln. 31. Muffle Firing. Conclusion. 32.
2. Loading A Kiln. Bisque Loads. 33. Glazed Loads. 33. Single Firing. 33. Loading Procedure. 34. Spacing. 36. Kiln Fillers. 36. Extreme Loading Problem. 38. Supports. 39.
3. Candling- Drying Out. 41. Heat Stress. 42. Candling Time. 42. Clay Water Content. 43. Drying Shelves. 44. Sand. 44. Test For Dryness. 45. Humidity Meter. 46. Candling. 46. Cones And Drying. 47. Patience. 48. How Much Drying Time? 48.
4. Safety. 49. Eyes. 49. Glassblowers’ Safety Lenses 50. Burns. 50. Fires. 50. Kiln Room. 51. Fires Involving Gas Kilns. 52. Toxic Materials. 54. Poison Protection. 54. Ceramic Materials Poison Chart. 55. Toxic Gases. 55. Protecting People 56. Raku. 56. Fatigue. 57. Safety Devices. 58. Automatic Safety Control System. 59. Electric Shock 60.
Part 2. Hardware
5. Heat Recovery. 63. Where Does The Heat Applied To A Kiln Go? 63.
6. Burners. 65. Burners For Gases. 65. Gas Burner Functions. 66. Chart Of Burner Types. 66. Burner Types. 67. Safety Considerations For Gas Burners. 68. Watching The Kiln. 68. Summary 68. Gas Flow Through An Orifice. 69. Orifice Basics. 70. Discharge Coefficients For Various Orifice Types. 70. What To Do? 71. Specific Gravity Of A Gas. 71. The Shape Of A Burner Tube. 71. Gas Flow Through An Orifice Varies With The Shape And Depth Of The Hole. 72. Shape Of The Venturi Burner. 73. Background Of The Shape.74. Summary. 75. Burner Tips. 75. Burner Tips. 76. Forced Air Burners. 77. Advantages Of forced Draft. 77. Negatives Or Disadvantages To Forced Draft. 77. Inspecting A Burner. 78. What Else? 78. Backfire. 79. Evaluating A Burner. 79. Burner Calorimeters. 79. Evaluation Options. 80. A Burner Calorimeter Example. 80. Burner Calorimeter For Burner Comparison. 82. Burner Calorimeter Layout And Plumbing. 83. Using Propane Or LPG For Firing. 85. Evaluating Your System Efficiency 86. Using Manufactured Gas. 86. Using Wood To Fire A Kiln. 86. Using Wood To Make Methane. 87. Plumbing. 87. Troubles with Plumbing. 87. Forced Air Burners. 88. Gas Air Premixing. 89. Explosive Mixture? 89. Leaks In Blowers. 90. What Size Blower? 89. Blower Technology. 91. How Blower Changes Affect Various Factors. 92. Choosing A Blower For A Forced Air Burner. 92. Motor. 92 Electric Circuits. 93. Protection. 93. Wiring. 93. Protection. 94. Forced Air Troubles. 94. Summary. 95. Plumbing. 97. Fuel As A Gas. 97. Piping. 97. Joining Pipe. 99. Cutting Pipe threads. 99. Causes of Leaks. 100. Physical, Mechanical Requirements. 101. Uniform Building Code. 101. The Pipe supply System. 102. Problems. 103. Causes Of System Failure. 103. Breakage And Leaks. 103. Rust. 103. Leak Testing. 104. Testing for Leaks In Plumbing. 106. What To Do? 107. Piping. 107. Length Of Straight Pipe Equivalents To One Standard Threaded Elbow Or Tee 107. Gas Pipe Length In Feet From The Meter. 108. Valves. 109. Troubleshooting. 109.
8. Bricks And Insulation. 111. Bricks. 111.
Weight Of Various Bricks. 111. Brick Structures. 112. A Catenary Arch. 112. To Construct A Catenary Arch. 112. Constructing A Catenary Arch. 113. Determining The Space Under An Arch. 115. Cutting Tapers From Soft Brick. 116. Making Tapered Brick. 116. Refractory Insulation. 116. Still air. 116. Insulating Firebrick. 117. Ceramic fibers. 117. Castable Refractories. 117.
Part 3. Design and Construction
9. Design Part 1. To Design A Kiln. 119. To Design A Kiln. Preliminary Planning And Feasibility. 120. To Design A Kiln. Procedural Flow Diagram. 121. Understanding Burners. 122. Performance Plot for K3 Kiln. 123. Hypothetical Construction Of A Kiln. 127.
10. Design Part 2. Kiln Design Factors. 129. Kiln Design Factors. 129. Basic Heat Loss Equation. 129. Heat Loss Properties of Kiln Refractories 2 ½" Thick. 130. Cost Of A Firing. 131. Heat Loss Properties Of Ceramic Fiber Blankets. 132. Ceramic Fiber Blankets. 132. Heat Storage Of 2 ½" Refractories. 133. Heat Storage of Bricks, 4 ½" Wall thickness 134. Heat Storage. 134. Insulating Firebrick. 135. Hard firebrick Or Castable Refractory. 135. Finding The Balance. 135. What About All These Graphs? 135. Cold side Temperature Of Various Thicknesses Of Refractories. 136. Gas consumption. 137. Mechanical Construction. 137. Kiln Lid Problems. 139. Kiln Doors. 139. Weight Of A Kiln. 140. Casters. 140. UL Approval. 141. Kiln Life. 142. Burners. 142. Kiln Atmosphere. 142. Electrical Connections. 143. Kiln Structural Frame. 143. Surface Heat Loss. 143. Kiln Evaluation. 144. Building A Kiln 145.
11. How To Build A Kiln. 147. Instruction Manual K3C Gas Fired Kiln. 149. K3C construction Photographs. 193. Building A Kiln Door . Brick It Up. 211. Car Kiln. 211. Hinged Door. 211. Hinged Door On An Arch Kiln. 212.
12. Heat Recovery System. 215. Kiln Heat Recovery. 215. Heat Recovery System Atop A Kiln. 216. Kiln Heat Exchanger. Main Components. 217. System Design. 219. Heat Recovery System Plumbing Including Hot Water Storage. 219. Electrical Diagram Of HR System. 220. Stack Reinforcement. 221. Access Planks. 221. Steel Box. 222. Pipes And Control Rod. 222. Temperature-Pressure Valve. 223. Control Plate. 224. Pump Problems. 224. Water Resupply. 224. Water Expansion. 225. What Else? 225. System Monitoring. 225. System Safety Features. 226. Stack Diverter Control. 226. Temperature- Pressure Relief Valve. 226. Water Storage System. 227. Hot Water Storage Tanks. 228. Biggest Problem. 229. Summary. 229.
13. Kiln Stacks. 231. Introduction. 231. Misconceptions 221. Stack Draft Concept. 232. Physical Factors. 233. Air Density Vs Temperature. 234. Air Volume Vs Temperature. 234. Stack Heat Losses. 235. Stack Height VS Available Draft. 236.
Stack Height. 237. Stack Cross-sectional Area. 237. Comparison of Kiln Stack Cross Sections Using Whole Brick. 238. Building Codes And Insurance. 240.
Part 4. Measurements
14. Measurements- Gas Pressure. 243. Pressure Gauges. 243. Gas Pressure Measurements. 244. Gas Pressure. 245. To Make A Manometer. 245. Construction. 246. Manometer Troubles. 248. Gas Meters. 248.
15. Measurements- Temperature. 249. Pyrometers and Thermocouples. 249. Pyrometers. 249. Pyrometer Location. 250. Pyrometer Accuracy. 250. Thermocouple Resistance Compensation. 251. Checking The Pyrometer-Thermocouple Set. 251. Troubleshooting. 251. Care Of Thermocouples And Pyrometers 252. To Test A Pyrometer. 252. To Check A Pyrometer Connected To A Kiln. 253. Here Are Some Pointers For The Use Of Pyrometers And Thermocouples. 254. Which Thermocouple? 257. Notes On Making A Thermocouple. 257. Repair. 260. Other Thermocouple Applications. 260. Calibrating A Thermocouple. 261 First Procedure. 261. Second, Optional Procedure. 261. Third Optional Procedure. 261. Optical Temperature Measurements. 263. Color Temperature. 263. Heat Radiation. 263.
16. Measurements- Heat Treatment. Pyrometric Cones. 266. Cones Measure Heat Treatment. 265. Cone Sizes. 266. Some Cone Relationships. 267. Cone Set. 267. Here Are Some Pointers For the Use and Handling Of Pyrometric Cones. 269. Summary. 271. Other Heat Treatment Indicators. 271.
17. Measurements- Atmosphere. 273. Carbon Dioxide. 273. Indicators Of Reduction Atmosphere. 273. Burrell Calculator. 274.
Part 5 Fuels.
18. Gaseous Fuels. 275. Gas Combustion. 275. Typical Combustion Environment. 276. By-Products Of Gas Combustion, Pacific Natural Gas. 276. Fuel Gas Characteristics. 277. Combustion By-Products. 278. Combustion By-Products In Gas Kiln Firing. 279. Combustion Efficiency Graph For Natural Gas. 281. Graph Description. 282.
Combustion Efficiency Graph for LPG. 283.
Part 6. Related Technology
19. Electricity. 285. Justification. 285. Basics Of Electricity. 286. Comparison Of Terms And Units. 288. Technical Details And Terms. 289. Notes On The Proper Use Of electrical Devices. 289. Guide To Wire sizes, Current Capacities. 290. Summary. 291. Some Electrical Concepts. Electricity 292. Electrical Hazards. 293. Electrical Fires. 294. Electrical Troubleshooting. 294. The Troubleshooting Process. 296.
20. Forced Air Burner Design. 297. Blowers. 297.
21. Economics Of Art Ceramics. 301. Business. 301. Overhead In Ceramics. 302. Firing Log. 302. Improved Firing Practices. Reclaiming Clay And Glazes. 303. Studio Safety Practices. 303. Community Public Relations. 303. Utilizing Rejects. 304. Quantity Purchases. 304. Purchasing To Reduce Shipping Costs. 304. Using Labor Saving Devices. 304. Solar Applications. 304. Energy Recovery. 305.
22. Kiln Repair And Modification. 307. Brick Cutting And Shaping. 307. Machine Cutting. 307. Repair Mortar. 308. Sodium Silicate. 309. Preventive Maintenance. 309. Kiln Cleaning. 309. Indications Of Repair Needed. 310. Detrimental Processes. 310. Indicators. 310. Kiln Wash. 311. Replacing A Brick. 311. Kiln Shelves And Furniture. 313. Safety. 314. Kiln Modification. 314.
23. Kilns For Special Applications. 315. Temperature Stability. 315. Enameling Kiln. 315. Raku Kiln 316. Quick Immersion. 316. Preheating. 316. Bisque Firing. 316. Wax Bakeout for Lost Wax Casting. 317. Glass Annealing. 318. Working Glass. 318. Slumping Glass. 318. Molds For Glass. 319. Glass Temperature. 319. Relative Expansion And annealing Temperatures Of Some Common Glass Types. 320. Flame annealing. 320. Coloring Glass Surfaces. 321. Glass Blowing 322. Firing Extremely Large Pieces. 322.
Appendix
Glossary of Ceramics Terms. 325.
Electrical Glossary. 333.
Temperature Conversion Tables. 355.
Standard Cone Temperatures. 361.
Small Cone End Point Temperatures. 362.
Characteristics of Various Thermocouple Types. 363.
Chromel-Alumel Thermocouple Calibration Table. 364.
Orifice Sizes. 365.
Bibliography. 367
Ceramic Series Page
December 13, 2008