Results tagged “updraft” from NoMuse

As a part of my final studio class for the ever useful Bachelor of Fine Arts with emphasis in ceramics degree, the instructor set up some studio visits with local potters and ceramic artists. I had mixed feelings about these field trips, mostly negative. It was a pleasant surprise after the first two visits to find myself excited not only to produce ceramic work again, but to complete my home studio.

One of our visits took us to the home studio of Aaron Ashcraft, where Aaron was in process of opening up his Olsen 16 updraft kiln. The virtues of the downdraft kiln have been iterated to me so many times, they have become a part of my thought processes. I believed high fire reduction necessitated a downdraft kiln design. This pattern of thought combined with my experience firing both types of kilns at the University of Utah left me unprepared for the sight of Aaron's opened kiln. Not only were Aaron's pieces beautifully reduced, the kiln fired evenly top to bottom.

The updraft kilns I've fired on campus have differed up to two full cones top to bottom. I have heard rumors that it is possible to fire an updraft evenly. Until our class visit to Aaron's studio, I had never seen proof. I walked out of Aaron's studio knowing two things: 1) I could build a high fire, reduction kiln fairly inexpensively and 2) it was possible to make some money selling pots. I hold few illusions about being a potter or ceramic artist. I will most likely not ever make enough money to pay the mortgage and support a family with clay, but given Aaron's figures, there is a potential for a significant secondary income source.

I began to scheme, plan and research.

I was shocked to learn how expensive insulating fire brick and other refractory material is. Over one third of my total cost will be refractories. My estimate, given pricing from the local Harbison-Walker rep, is $2,400.00 and should cover two courses of brick on the floor and walls, the sprung arch and mortar.

The install fee for an upgraded natural gas meter was educational. Local lore tells stories of the gas company installing larger meters without charge save an increased meter fee. This is sadly not the case at present. The kiln I'm building will run seven burners at seven inches of water column pressure (the same pressure for natural gas in most US homes) and have a peak consumption of 350,000 BTUs/hour. The sales engineer calculated a larger capacity meter at the current pressure. My meter fee remains the same, but I get to pay about $500 for the privilege of buying more gas from the gas company.Though a painful immediate payment, paying for the meter up front is better over the long term than a quadrupling of the meter fee and the necessity of regulating each of our home's gas appliances. At least I keep telling myself this is so.

Friday, March 19th stopped me cold in my tracks. After trenching 55 feet from my gas meter to my kiln location, I popped into the local plumbing store and asked for a pair of risers and plastic gas pipe. At which point, I was informed of the necessity to be both licensed and certified in order to so much as gaze on either item. A couple dozen phone calls later, I got connected with Marv from Shamrock Plumbing. His bill will be in the neighborhood of $700 for parts and labor to install and test the line in my trench. With a bit of luck, he'll be done Wednesday, March 24th and I can back fill the trench before a storm changes my dirt to mud.

The gas line delayed a fun Saturday morning of mixing and pouring concrete as I was not willing to pour nearly two yards of cement with an open trench a few inches away. If all goes as currently scheduled, the new kiln pad will be curing this weekend.

I've uploaded some photos of the project in process as well as a couple of notebook page scans with preliminary elevations and measurements for those with nothing better to do.