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is blue flame possible with olympic kiln? we need help

updated sat 15 mar 08

 

Maxine Krasnow on sun 9 mar 08


We've just hooked up an older, used Olympic, 28", 6 burner kiln;
cleaned all the orifices & confirmed that the orifices are the prescribed
#40
drill bit size.

It's burning very orange, very dirty. We read that LP burns more
orange than natural gas, but blue flame should still be possible. Even with
our air plates wide open & the bell cups loose, we can't get enough
air into the mixture. Reduction won't be a problem but carbon core
might. What do you suggest? Perhaps smaller brass orifices?

Any advice on this specific problem or on high fire reduction with LP
in general would be greatly appreciated

Marcia Selsor on sun 9 mar 08


Can you get any more secondary air? Have you reached red heat yet?
Marcia
On Mar 9, 2008, at 11:34 AM, Maxine Krasnow wrote:

> We've just hooked up an older, used Olympic, 28", 6 burner kiln;
> cleaned all the orifices & confirmed that the orifices are the
> prescribed
> #40
> drill bit size.
>
> It's burning very orange, very dirty. We read that LP burns more
> orange than natural gas, but blue flame should still be possible.
> Even with
> our air plates wide open & the bell cups loose, we can't get enough
> air into the mixture. Reduction won't be a problem but carbon core
> might. What do you suggest? Perhaps smaller brass orifices?
>
> Any advice on this specific problem or on high fire reduction with LP
> in general would be greatly appreciated

Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com

John Post on mon 10 mar 08


I am just wondering if your bottom shelf is high enough up in the kiln
to let the flames from the burners in?
In gas kilns that are essentially converted electrics it is easy to
take a full shelf and create a dam that blocks the path of the flame
and heat into the kiln. Make sure the exit flues on the top are wide
open too as you try to get the blue flame. Some potters like to use
half shelves in a staggered pattern in these type of kilns to create a
good path for the flame and heat. Without seeing what is actually
happening it's hard to know what the problem is, so I'm just tossing
this out for consideration.

John Post
Sterling Heights, Michigan
http://www.johnpost.us :: cone 6 glaze website ::
http://www.wemakeart.org :: elementary art website ::

dbarnese on mon 10 mar 08


I fire an Olympic 2327G on propane. I find that in the early stage of
the firing (during the slow warm-up, through the valve being
half-open) I get a lot of soot, but once I really get the burners
going, the flame goes blue and the soot burns off. I'd suggest taking
the top sections of the kiln off the burners and testing it. Adjust
the air flow so you have almost all blue flame when the gas valve is
completely open - you're going to have to close them quite a bit,
probably to around 1/4". Don't worry so much about soot on lower
flame. It took me a long time to get the air flow adjusted just right
on my burners, but once I had them right I do not adjust them at all.

Dina Barnese
Zizziba Studio
Flagstaff, Arizona
http://www.zizziba.com
> Any advice on this specific problem or on high fire reduction with LP
> in general would be greatly appreciated
>
>
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shane mickey on mon 10 mar 08


i believe a bluer flame is possible with that kiln. also is this an =
updraft or downdraft?
most importantly what pressure are you running to the burners. i would =
check with olympic first,
and see what they have to say.
shane mickey
kiln building and design services

Maxine Krasnow on fri 14 mar 08


How large are your brass apertures? We were told by the folks at Olympic to
drill them out with a #40 drill bit. We're currently stuck at 2100 degrees
F and I'm ready to shut down. Help.

On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 12:43 PM, dbarnese wrote:

> I fire an Olympic 2327G on propane. I find that in the early stage of
> the firing (during the slow warm-up, through the valve being
> half-open) I get a lot of soot, but once I really get the burners
> going, the flame goes blue and the soot burns off. I'd suggest taking
> the top sections of the kiln off the burners and testing it. Adjust
> the air flow so you have almost all blue flame when the gas valve is
> completely open - you're going to have to close them quite a bit,
> probably to around 1/4". Don't worry so much about soot on lower
> flame. It took me a long time to get the air flow adjusted just right
> on my burners, but once I had them right I do not adjust them at all.
>
> Dina Barnese
> Zizziba Studio
> Flagstaff, Arizona
> http://www.zizziba.com
> > Any advice on this specific problem or on high fire reduction with LP
> > in general would be greatly appreciated
> >
> >
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> > Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@...
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> > subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here:
> http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@...
> >
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here:
> http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots2@visi.com
>

Maxine Krasnow on fri 14 mar 08


It's an updraft and we're stuck at 2100. The pressure is as recommended by
Olympic. ARGH.

On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 4:21 PM, shane mickey
wrote:

> i believe a bluer flame is possible with that kiln. also is this an
> updraft or downdraft?
> most importantly what pressure are you running to the burners. i would
> check with olympic first,
> and see what they have to say.
> shane mickey
> kiln building and design services
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here:
> http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots2@visi.com
>