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berman kiln info - stacking opinions?

updated wed 19 sep 01

 

Daniel Dermer on mon 17 sep 01


Greetings all,
I'm taking a class at San Jose State this fall.
Tonight, we load and begin firing our first glaze kiln
-- a Berman downdraft gas kiln, 12-16 cu ft, with one
burner on each side firing back to front along the
bottom of the kiln.

Question: the current shelves (bottom layer of two
12x24's) touch both the back wall and the front door,
when closed. If I continue to use the same sized
shelves to stack higher, wouldn't this lack of
circulation space cause problems in firing?

I have the option of using smaller shelves, in order
to have circulation on all sides. Am I being
over-cautious??

Thanks for any info from the gas kiln gurus!
-Dan

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Donald Goldsobel on tue 18 sep 01


Hi Daniel,

I have a Harry Berman 12 cu ft downdraft that fires with burner from
beneath. The necessary ventilation is a gap between the shelves at each
level to allow the flame to pass down through the setting. Harry told me
there was no need to have a space at the back and my setup creates a gap in
the front. The flame ports on each side provide a clear path upwards. I
would set it up to allow gaps (quater to three eights of an inch) in the
center of the setting and have flame paths up the sides, not front and
back.

Donald Goldsobel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Dermer"
To:
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 1:50 PM
Subject: Berman kiln info - stacking opinions?


> Greetings all,
> I'm taking a class at San Jose State this fall.
> Tonight, we load and begin firing our first glaze kiln
> -- a Berman downdraft gas kiln, 12-16 cu ft, with one
> burner on each side firing back to front along the
> bottom of the kiln.
>
> Question: the current shelves (bottom layer of two
> 12x24's) touch both the back wall and the front door,
> when closed. If I continue to use the same sized
> shelves to stack higher, wouldn't this lack of
> circulation space cause problems in firing?
>
> I have the option of using smaller shelves, in order
> to have circulation on all sides. Am I being
> over-cautious??
>
> Thanks for any info from the gas kiln gurus!
> -Dan
>
> __________________________________________________
> Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help?
> Donate cash, emergency relief information
> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/US/Emergency_Information/
>
>
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