search  current discussion  categories  kilns & firing - gas 

the ma gas board / engineer

updated mon 10 jul 00

 

John Baymore on sun 9 jul 00


Nancy,


The person on the Board that I've been talking to says that my plans, whi=
ch
now have all the requisite safety systems
included, must be stamped by a professional gas engineer before I present=

them to the Gas Board. .........................
Does anyone know of a sympathetic professional gas engineer who knows
kilns?



Sorry to hear about your dilemma. First of all........ please see my tw=
o
other recent posts for some more thoughts on the whole subject. As I
mentioned in the other posts..... the regulations in Mass. are
"interesting".


Some possible resources for you...........

Ask the person you are talking to at the MA Fuel Gas Board to recommend a=

couple of possible choices for you........although they may not be able t=
o
because of possible "conflict of interest" issues....being a regulatory
agency.

Look in the yellow pages for the local Salem area under engineering firms=

and start calling around. Best to stay local if you can because you will=

have to develop a bit of a relationship with this person so that they wil=
l
feel comfortable with stamping someone else's plans.

Contact Jack Brennan at Hunter Refractories in Holliston, MA. He is at
508-429-3673. I've known Jack since my Cutter affiliation days. He was
the development person that formed the Cutter Ceramics Division of Cutter=

Firebrick way back in the early 70's. Jack is still in the refractories
business.... but deals with more industrial clients now. He might have a=
n
engineering resource or two for you. Tell him I said "hi".

You might try Stetson Winkfield of Winkfield Engineering in Medway, MA. =
He
is at 617-533-7443, I think. If you do hook up with him.... tell him I
said "hi".... I haven't seen him in years. He does industrial kilns and
dryers.

Or maybe try David Gordon, of David Gordon Associates.... in the Boston
area phonebook. I think his number is still 617-964-1330...... and I thi=
nk
he is in Newton Upper Falls..........but it might not be anymore. He is
mainly ventilation/pollution controls but probably can refer you to someo=
ne
who is likely more appropriate to your specific needs. He has done a lot=

of potter-type kiln ventilation work in the Boston area for individuals a=
nd
institutions. He knows the crazy things us non-industrial potters do =
. =

In fact, I probably will be talking to him myself shortly about vent issu=
es
for a kiln building project / workshop I have just taken on in Cambridge,=

MA........ it'll probably involve some new adjustments to the existing
ventilation system (which he put in in).

Contact Cutter Firebrick in Waltham, MA and see who they might recommend
that works on their industrial jobs.

Cameron Harmon (who is a frequent participant here on CLAYART) might be a=

good resource for you too...... although I am not sure if he is licenced
for Mass. or not. He can be contacted at kilnman.com online (I think th=
at
is his website address ). This kind of thing is his specialty, althou=
gh
mainly in the industrial world.

Hope one of these helps you out.


Best,

.......................john

John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA

603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)

JBaymore@compuserve.com
John.Baymore@GSD-CO.com

"Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop August 18-27,
2000"