Brian Crocker on fri 25 oct 02
I must respond to the Weather affecting firing thread;
I fired 3 and sometimes 4 large trolley kilns every evening through the
reduction stage for many years. In a production Pottery.
The weather had much to do with the results.
Ambient temp, humidity, wind, rain, and you name it. My only sorrow is th=
at
I didn't keep accurate records.
But there were sometimes dramatic results.
I'm sure others have noticed the variations. Don't tell me it's rubbish .=
I
have done exactly the same thing every time but on occasion have observed
different results.
Kind regards,
CROC.
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D{:-)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Snail Scott"
To:
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 1:31 AM
Subject: Re: varied kiln firings
> At 11:53 PM 10/23/02 -0400, Penne wrote:
> >...found that the cones dropped earlier then
> >they had previously...
> >How much does weather and humidity etc. affect a kiln firing?
> >...this summer we had record
> >heat, humidity and no rain. It's fall now and we are having really
> >unseasonably cold weather. I would have thought that the kiln would fi=
re
> >faster in hot weather but this doesn't seem to be...
>
>
>
> I don't believe that ambient air temperature has
> much effect on firing speed. Even a 100=BAF difference
> in temperature outside the kiln isn't much compared
> with the 2000=BAF (or so) inside it. So that's why
> your kiln didn't fire faster in the summer. As for
> why your firings are faster now in the fall, here's
> my theory:
>
> You said you had a long, hot, muggy summer. I'll bet
> that in your region, folks used air conditioners
> quite a bit. Air conditioners consume more electric
> power than nearly any other household appliance, and
> unlike stoves and ovens they run almost continually,
> especially during the day and early evening. Providing
> enough electric power for peak demand during summer
> afternoons/evenings is the biggest challenge for most
> power companies, and if this was the hottest summer
> lately, your local power company may have been
> running very near its capacity. Not enough for a
> 'brownout', but very likely enough to reduce the
> power coming into your studio. You might never notice
> that slight drop ordinarily. Try firing overnight, or
> very early in the day, next summer. You may find that
> your firing goes faster during off-peak hours. (Some
> power companies give discount rates for off-peak
> usage, too.)
>
> If you had fired all winter at your present speed,
> and then seen it slow down in the summer, you'd have
> probably chalked it up to worn elements or some such.
> We tend to take some amount of slowing down for
> granted. It's only the reverse of that effect that
> stands out as odd!
>
> -Snail
>
>
_________________________________________________________________________=
___
__
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>
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melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
Snail Scott on sat 26 oct 02
At 05:43 PM 10/25/02 +0930, you wrote:
>The weather had much to do with the results...
>Don't tell me it's rubbish.
Absolutely not! I said no such thing. When I said
that air temperature wouldn't have much effect on
Penne's ELECTRIC kiln, that's ALL I meant. Fuel
kilns are more affected by air temperature than
electric kilns, since air actually moves through
them. They are also strongly affected by wind
direction and strength, atmospheric pressure, and
humidity, especially if located outdoors. Weather
can make the difference between a nice 8-hour ^10
firing, and 30 hours of total frustration,
especially with kilns which aren't built to
accomodate wide variations. Not 'rubbish' at all,
just not a significant factor for electric kilns.
-Snail
Lily Krakowski on sat 26 oct 02
Snail is right. The firings REALLY affected by weather conditions are the
fuel burners. There was discussion a few weeks ago that excessive heat in a
kiln room can damage/affect electric kilns/firings, no matter how the
excessive heat is achieved. It also is true that weather in an indirect way
can affect firings in electric kilns if whatever the weather condition is
affects the electric power, i.e. the voltage an electric kiln gets.
Snail Scott writes:
> At 05:43 PM 10/25/02 +0930, you wrote:
>>The weather had much to do with the results...
>>Don't tell me it's rubbish.
>
>
> Absolutely not! I said no such thing. When I said
> that air temperature wouldn't have much effect on
> Penne's ELECTRIC kiln, that's ALL I meant. Fuel
> kilns are more affected by air temperature than
> electric kilns, since air actually moves through
> them. They are also strongly affected by wind
> direction and strength, atmospheric pressure, and
> humidity, especially if located outdoors. Weather
> can make the difference between a nice 8-hour ^10
> firing, and 30 hours of total frustration,
> especially with kilns which aren't built to
> accomodate wide variations. Not 'rubbish' at all,
> just not a significant factor for electric kilns.
>
> -Snail
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Lili Krakowski
P.O. Box #1
Constableville, N.Y.
(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389
Be of good courage....
Lisa-Marie Serafin on mon 28 oct 02
I too have had varying results due to weather systems. I fired a gas kiln
at a teaching studio for 3 years and yes, absolutely (!) the weather
definitely affected the way the kiln fired. One thing I found with low
pressure systems was that it was more difficult to get an even temperature
throughout the kiln. The system seemed to keep the kiln hotter at the
bottom than at the top. The rain, humidity, outdoor temps, wind...all
affected the firing.
Lisa-Marie Serafin
Maker of Fine Functional Pottery
Lac la Blanche, PQ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Crocker" <4708777bc@ESC.NET.AU>
To:
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 3:13 AM
Subject: Re: varied kiln firings
I must respond to the Weather affecting firing thread;
I fired 3 and sometimes 4 large trolley kilns every evening through the
reduction stage for many years. In a production Pottery.
The weather had much to do with the results.
Ambient temp, humidity, wind, rain, and you name it. My only sorrow is that
I didn't keep accurate records.
But there were sometimes dramatic results.
I'm sure others have noticed the variations. Don't tell me it's rubbish . I
have done exactly the same thing every time but on occasion have observed
different results.
Kind regards,
CROC.
====================={:-)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Snail Scott"
To:
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 1:31 AM
Subject: Re: varied kiln firings
> At 11:53 PM 10/23/02 -0400, Penne wrote:
> >...found that the cones dropped earlier then
> >they had previously...
> >How much does weather and humidity etc. affect a kiln firing?
> >...this summer we had record
> >heat, humidity and no rain. It's fall now and we are having really
> >unseasonably cold weather. I would have thought that the kiln would fire
> >faster in hot weather but this doesn't seem to be...
>
>
>
> I don't believe that ambient air temperature has
> much effect on firing speed. Even a 100ºF difference
> in temperature outside the kiln isn't much compared
> with the 2000ºF (or so) inside it. So that's why
> your kiln didn't fire faster in the summer. As for
> why your firings are faster now in the fall, here's
> my theory:
>
> You said you had a long, hot, muggy summer. I'll bet
> that in your region, folks used air conditioners
> quite a bit. Air conditioners consume more electric
> power than nearly any other household appliance, and
> unlike stoves and ovens they run almost continually,
> especially during the day and early evening. Providing
> enough electric power for peak demand during summer
> afternoons/evenings is the biggest challenge for most
> power companies, and if this was the hottest summer
> lately, your local power company may have been
> running very near its capacity. Not enough for a
> 'brownout', but very likely enough to reduce the
> power coming into your studio. You might never notice
> that slight drop ordinarily. Try firing overnight, or
> very early in the day, next summer. You may find that
> your firing goes faster during off-peak hours. (Some
> power companies give discount rates for off-peak
> usage, too.)
>
> If you had fired all winter at your present speed,
> and then seen it slow down in the summer, you'd have
> probably chalked it up to worn elements or some such.
> We tend to take some amount of slowing down for
> granted. It's only the reverse of that effect that
> stands out as odd!
>
> -Snail
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Corinne en Ben on tue 29 oct 02
. The rain, humidity, outdoor temps, wind...all
affected the firing.
Well,what I've heard is that in Vietnam they can produce
particularly good celadons because of the humid climate.
Corinne Manintveld
Clayartist (Borneo)
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