Ellen Currans on tue 21 dec 10
I rent a 500 gallon propane tank for $30 a year from my gas
distributor and have done so for 35 years. They come out and
fill it when we call, usually within a couple days, and we try to
fit into their schedule. Nice people. When we rebuilt the kiln
in a new kiln shed and needed to move the tank further away
from the studio, they came out and did the moving, did the new
hookup, and installed two very large concrete blocks in front of
the tank so no one could accidentally drive into the tank. It
is fitted with some kind of connector so that it could be used
with the liquid propane burners Nils suggests for very cold
weather on the MFT kiln, and also so my husband can refill
smaller tanks from the large one. (We used the "weedburners"
Nils suggested for really cold weather for 25 firings but ceased
when the neighbors 500 yards away could tell when we were firing.
In a colder climate I would go back to them.
The rent is a small price to pay for having someone else in charge
of the tank and checking on it periodically.
I would not start a firing with less than 20% in the tank, even
tho my kiln uses only about 7% for a firing. I understand that
in really cold weather it is important to have the tank full.
Marc Ward has a very good article on the most efficient
LP gas tank size for your kiln size, the outdoor temperature
where you fire and the frequency with which you fire in the
May/June issue, 2006, of Clay Times.
Ellen Currans
Dundee, Oregon
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