Electric Kiln Conversion

September 29, 2015September 28, 2015 ~ Sebastian ~ Leave a comment

It occurred to me that I didnt do a proper post about the kiln conversion. Been a bit behind lately I guess.

So here it is.

I found this information on the Ward Burner site which is a fantastic resource. You cant even buy a burner without talking to someone and going through the entire process and calculations so that what they sell you is specifically designed to do what you want to do. They are fantastic to work with. The MR100 burner with the regulator that pushes 11WC” of pressure. Its the standard off of any tank. I got this burner because it pushes more BTU and it is bad to the BONE!

The important information:

Burner port is 1″ wider than the burner dimentions

Exhaust port is 2″ wider than the burner dimentions

First put on your mask. DO THIS! You dont want to breathe this stuff. It might not kill you right away but it would be a shame to end your ceramics career and life before your have to.

It starts off like this.

Get it cleaned out. Vaccum it out with a shop vac and get the inevitable junk out of it.

Then get in there and remove the dangly bits and the wires and controller if it has one.

Then carefully remove the elements. Those were the most troublesome part as they kept trying to break off the lip of the fragile soft brick.

For the exhaust I cut the soft brick of the lid using a small saw. I drew the template using a straight edge ruler and a permanent marker but just about anything will do. This shows the width as 2″ larger than the burner port.

I intentionally cut my exhaust width wise to the correct dimensions but cut it longer than necessary so that I could put a kiln shelf or two on top and regulate how much air gets in or out as well as move the port to the font or the back of the kiln during firing.

Cutting the burner port itself was a challenge due to the sheet metal housing. I ended up drilling a hundred small holes and then doing my best to clip off the sharp edges using some wire cutters.

Make sure you have a tank of LP Propane, depending on how fast and how hot you are firing you might need a larger tank. I opted for the 100lb tank and I have another 2 firings out of it before I have to refill it. You can see the vapor line of condensation indicating the level of fuel left in the tank. A 20lb BBQ tank would most likely freeze up before I got to temperature.

Spark it up and make sure it works.

Then go to town!

Being Busy

July 14, 2015 ~ Sebastian ~ Leave a comment

I have the opportunity to convert an old electric kiln to LP and found that leasing a tank is supposedly very inexpensive. This way I can get to cone 10 temperatures without shortening the life of my electric kiln, experiment with reduction and test glazes in an environment closer to a wood kiln.

I’ve been working nights to get some more work done. It’s much cooler. The Georgia summers are just brutal with the heat and humidity.

Night time in the stidio looks like something out of a dream. Living the dream 🙂

I’ve been using porcelain exclusively for a month and it’s a beautiful thing. I’m trying to push it to its limits, which means that my scrap bucket does not go hungry 🙂

I am experimenting with some irregular shapes and found the issue of trimming the bottoms was a pretty simple solution. I used a large enough lump of clay as a chuck. I should turn a few sizes on the wheel and then bisque. I can use a small lump of clay (carpet under-matting or similar) as an adhesive. This will solve the secondary problem of not being able to bear down on the clay to get a good cut.

I’ve been finding things to do indoors as well. So I have hijacked my own island in the kitchen for my small ceramics projects that don’t need the wheel. I have a beautiful backdrop thanks to my wife 😀

Been carving with the Mudtools brand tools. The Do-All Trim Tool is a Ferari of a tool and just gets better the more I use it. The Drag Tool, I still need some practice with but there are a lot of possibilities there too. I’ve been making small guinomi chalices as they are small, quick jobs and keep my pinching skills up.

Kiln Site

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 ~ Sebastian ~ Leave a comment

So yesterday we met up and figured out the math for the Anagama kiln. We need around 1840 bricks, 1000 of which may already be secured.

We took a trip to the kiln site and I neglected to get any photos as I was too busy picking my jaw up off the ground the whole time. One of the main features is that there is a black marble quarry on the 60+ acres. There is also electricity, a barn, a 100 yard firing range, and it is gated. Here is my sole momento, a weather polished piece of black marble.

And if that wasn’t enough, there is a large deposit of yellow clay onsite which is pretty much completely workable right out of the ground and fires to a terracotta color at cone 6. A fine looking yunomi was made to test. We will see eventually if it can be taken to cone 10.