[StefanAndersson]

I wished to show my recent work with a veggie oil fired kiln. This is a test kiln built with the arch bricks I had at hand. YouTube-clip

The video was made some time ago. My latest burner is bigger and has some added feautures (se picture). The design is able to fire with a clean and efficient flame from star to finish and reduction is controlled with a damper in the small chimney. Rate is controlled with a manometer at the air compressor.

I hope you find it interesting. For me (living in Sweden) it is a cheap and environmental way to reduction fire.

Attached File(s)

•  _DSC0035bearb.JPG (1.38MB)
  Number of downloads: 118

[Diana Ferreira]

Very intersting! thank you for sharing :-)

[Marcia Selsor]

very interesting. I wonder about running a compressor for the duration of a firing. Why wouldn't you incorporate a blower?
Please post more. I fired with diesel and had my redesigned home oil furnace burner in the second edition of Studio Potter. I am very interested in alternative firing processes. I like your design but I would really like to see more specifics. like a schematic of the burner, orafice, psi from the compressor, etc.
Great vide.
Thanks.
Marcia

[Mark C.]

Looks great but need more details on the burner/compressor??Looks like the kiln heat is melting the snow on roof good.
I was around an old scrap oil salt kiln back in the 70's-it was more basic than your model.Used a blower once the oil was going on a drip feed.

Mark

[StefanAndersson]

Marcia Selsor, on 11 April 2012 - 01:57 AM, said:

very interesting. I wonder about running a compressor for the duration of a firing. Why wouldn't you incorporate a blower?
Please post more. I fired with diesel and had my redesigned home oil furnace burner in the second edition of Studio Potter. I am very interested in alternative firing processes. I like your design but I would really like to see more specifics. like a schematic of the burner, orafice, psi from the compressor, etc.
Great vide.
Thanks.
Marcia

It could have incorporated a blower but for simplicity I calibrated the compressed air/oil into a efficient flame (its all air in the end). The design is fairly simple, it is a siphon nozzle made out of some 1/8" or in the new burner 1/4" bsp fittings and a mig welding tip. People working with back door metal casting seem to have used the burner type for a time, look it up on youtube. Sorry no schematic made but I will help with any questions, some of the youtube clips are very good. You could buy a siphon nozzle made by Delavan.

The burner is at a good efficiency at 2 Bar (35psi???).

[StefanAndersson]

Mark C., on 11 April 2012 - 02:51 AM, said:

Looks great but need more details on the burner/compressor??Looks like the kiln heat is melting the snow on roof good.
I was around an old scrap oil salt kiln back in the 70's-it was more basic than your model.Used a blower once the oil was going on a drip feed.

Mark

The compressor is a 1,5 horsepower with a 6litre small tank (the smallest I could find). If I where making a permenent system I would by a bigger to reduce sound).

Luckely the melting snow is due to the sun and not a hot kiln exterior. The design you are talking of does th job and is simple but it is not very efficient. Veggie oil has a higher flash point then mineral oil and needs a good mix to fire efficiently, especially on the lower temperatures.

[Seasoned Warrior]

Marcia Selsor, on 10 April 2012 - 05:57 PM, said:

very interesting. I wonder about running a compressor for the duration of a firing. Why wouldn't you incorporate a blower?
Please post more. I fired with diesel and had my redesigned home oil furnace burner in the second edition of Studio Potter. I am very interested in alternative firing processes. I like your design but I would really like to see more specifics. like a schematic of the burner, orafice, psi from the compressor, etc.
Great vide.
Thanks.
Marcia

You might enjoy this anecdote on alternative firing. Years ago when I was a young nuclear engineering graduate I worked on a nuclear propelled space rocket and was involved in test firing the engine at Jackass Flat at the Nevada test site. You probably know that glass left for decades in the hot desert sun takes on a bluish cast that deepens with exposure. Antique dealers use the color to date and value old glass brought in from desert sites. The test firings would last a few seconds and were just used to determine thrust. A large number of the personnel involved in the test firings would bring in clear glass items to set in the test chamber around the engine. After the test firing the clear glass would have a beautiful blue color to it. A misconception about radioactivity is that items actually become radioactive but it is actually particles and can be washed off so the glass itself did not become radioactive.

Regards,
Charles

[Marcia Selsor]

Seasoned Warrior, on 14 April 2012 - 10:44 PM, said:

Marcia Selsor, on 10 April 2012 - 05:57 PM, said:

very interesting. I wonder about running a compressor for the duration of a firing. Why wouldn't you incorporate a blower?
Please post more. I fired with diesel and had my redesigned home oil furnace burner in the second edition of Studio Potter. I am very interested in alternative firing processes. I like your design but I would really like to see more specifics. like a schematic of the burner, orafice, psi from the compressor, etc.
Great vide.
Thanks.
Marcia

You might enjoy this anecdote on alternative firing. Years ago when I was a young nuclear engineering graduate I worked on a nuclear propelled space rocket and was involved in test firing the engine at Jackass Flat at the Nevada test site. You probably know that glass left for decades in the hot desert sun takes on a bluish cast that deepens with exposure. Antique dealers use the color to date and value old glass brought in from desert sites. The test firings would last a few seconds and were just used to determine thrust. A large number of the personnel involved in the test firings would bring in clear glass items to set in the test chamber around the engine. After the test firing the clear glass would have a beautiful blue color to it. A misconception about radioactivity is that items actually become radioactive but it is actually particles and can be washed off so the glass itself did not become radioactive.

Regards,
Charles

I hope you have some of that blue glass!
Marcia

[TJR]

Here's anther link. This is salt/soda fire Jon Faulkner in Bermuda. I don't know if he is still in operation, as this was a couple of years ago, and I have not heard anything about him
youtube wvo burner.MOV
You can also try wwwjonfaulkner.com
Hope the link works.
TJR.

[StefanAndersson]

TJR, on 15 April 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

Here's anther link. This is salt/soda fire Jon Faulkner in Bermuda. I don't know if he is still in operation, as this was a couple of years ago, and I have not heard anything about him
youtube wvo burner.MOV
You can also try wwwjonfaulkner.com
Hope the link works.
TJR.

I belive he used the nozzle from Delavan I mentioned earlier. It works the same way as my homemade one except he has the oil under pressure as well; it is a good way to get a constant oil/ air ratio but also requires more permanent set up.

I am currently in the process of adapting a water heater to keep the oil warm in our cold winters up here in scandinavia. I will also rebuild the kiln shortly to test another design with the chimney outside as I would like the ability to reduce more without making the ceiling black. My chimney is currently only half a brick large and produces very little but enough draft. I stumbled over a old kiln book by rhodes the other day and in his design the chimneys where enormous at times (for gas kilns). Do any of you have thoughts on this?

[TJR]

StefanAndersson, on 16 April 2012 - 07:33 AM, said:

TJR, on 15 April 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

Here's anther link. This is salt/soda fire Jon Faulkner in Bermuda. I don't know if he is still in operation, as this was a couple of years ago, and I have not heard anything about him
youtube wvo burner.MOV
You can also try wwwjonfaulkner.com
Hope the link works.
TJR.

I belive he used the nozzle from Delavan I mentioned earlier. It works the same way as my homemade one except he has the oil under pressure as well; it is a good way to get a constant oil/ air ratio but also requires more permanent set up.

I am currently in the process of adapting a water heater to keep the oil warm in our cold winters up here in scandinavia. I will also rebuild the kiln shortly to test another design with the chimney outside as I would like the ability to reduce more without making the ceiling black. My chimney is currently only half a brick large and produces very little but enough draft. I stumbled over a old kiln book by rhodes the other day and in his design the chimneys where enormous at times (for gas kilns). Do any of you have thoughts on this?

[TJR]

Stefan;
I don't know if you have engine block heaters in Sweden, but this is what we use to keep our cars starting in the winter in Canada. I believe there is an article in an old Studio Potter magazine about firing with used oil. They have an engine block heater inside a 45 gallon drum filled with oil. I'd be interested to hear how you solve this problem, as I live in a cold climate as well.
How cold does it get in Sweden in the winter?
TJR.

[StefanAndersson]

TJR, on 16 April 2012 - 08:02 PM, said:

Stefan;
I don't know if you have engine block heaters in Sweden, but this is what we use to keep our cars starting in the winter in Canada. I believe there is an article in an old Studio Potter magazine about firing with used oil. They have an engine block heater inside a 45 gallon drum filled with oil. I'd be interested to hear how you solve this problem, as I live in a cold climate as well.
How cold does it get in Sweden in the winter?
TJR.

In these parts of sweden you can expect -10 during winter days and colder at shorter periods. My compressor stops working well at -5 so I will have to move it in doors for winter firings. The engine block heater is a good option but I figure that a water heater working on electricity is much the same but also insulated. A added feature is also that I can apply preassure to the tank so I can store it farther away. I am at the moment looking at different options but have the summer to think about it. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

[StefanAndersson]

The kiln is under reconstruction. This time it will have two burners and the chimney outside the roof. The previous one worked just fine but I am interested in some heavier reduction. For this reason I even added some stoke holes for the odd wood stick.

Attached File(s)

•  _DSC0253bearb.JPG (1.5MB)
  Number of downloads: 12

[StefanAndersson]

StefanAndersson, on 17 May 2012 - 04:23 PM, said:

The kiln is under reconstruction. This time it will have two burners and the chimney outside the roof. The previous one worked just fine but I am interested in some heavier reduction. For this reason I even added some stoke holes for the odd wood stick.

A picture of a vase from the previous kiln.
This summer I am holding courses in Sweden about the kiln so by the end of summer there will be 20 more veggie-oil-burner-potters here in Sweden

[Seasoned Warrior]

Marcia Selsor, on 10 April 2012 - 05:57 PM, said:

very interesting. I wonder about running a compressor for the duration of a firing. Why wouldn't you incorporate a blower?
Please post more. I fired with diesel and had my redesigned home oil furnace burner in the second edition of Studio Potter. I am very interested in alternative firing processes. I like your design but I would really like to see more specifics. like a schematic of the burner, orafice, psi from the compressor, etc.
Great vide.
Thanks.
Marcia

How did you modify your home oil furnace burner. Did you re-drill the orifice? I have a couple I've picked up along the way and I thought they might work well for a kiln.

Regards,
Charles

[Seasoned Warrior]

Marcia Selsor, on 15 April 2012 - 07:17 AM, said:

Seasoned Warrior, on 14 April 2012 - 10:44 PM, said:

Marcia Selsor, on 10 April 2012 - 05:57 PM, said:

very interesting. I wonder about running a compressor for the duration of a firing. Why wouldn't you incorporate a blower?
Please post more. I fired with diesel and had my redesigned home oil furnace burner in the second edition of Studio Potter. I am very interested in alternative firing processes. I like your design but I would really like to see more specifics. like a schematic of the burner, orafice, psi from the compressor, etc.
Great vide.
Thanks.
Marcia

You might enjoy this anecdote on alternative firing. Years ago when I was a young nuclear engineering graduate I worked on a nuclear propelled space rocket and was involved in test firing the engine at Jackass Flat at the Nevada test site. You probably know that glass left for decades in the hot desert sun takes on a bluish cast that deepens with exposure. Antique dealers use the color to date and value old glass brought in from desert sites. The test firings would last a few seconds and were just used to determine thrust. A large number of the personnel involved in the test firings would bring in clear glass items to set in the test chamber around the engine. After the test firing the clear glass would have a beautiful blue color to it. A misconception about radioactivity is that items actually become radioactive but it is actually particles and can be washed off so the glass itself did not become radioactive.

Regards,
Charles

I hope you have some of that blue glass!
Marcia

Unfortunately I never had any of my own to put in the engine test cell. I was an outside contractor at the time and I would drive out to McCarren field and board a DC3 that had all the windows blacked out for the short flight to Jackass Flat. The military was very picky and they checked everything we brought in or out: I was a veteran and I didn't want to cause any difficulties with the base personnel. The others actually lived on the base.

Regards,
Charles

[StefanAndersson]

The new kiln is up and running. with some tweaking the kiln is preforming really well. Watch this youtube-clip from my latest firing.

I use a homemade pyrometer where 10.7 indicates cone 10 and 10.2 is about cone 6. The kiln roof is pulled up for loading via a hoist . Also pay note to the easy way I have strapped the metal bars to the kiln, usually this involves some welding.

The kiln gives me free stoneware temp firings (not counting 1100 watt air compressor and a 100 watt heating element for the oil.)

[Sofie medlårenehelene]

Hellow Stefan Anderson it is interisting i an living ind Copenhagen Mary not far from you i am going to sveden this hollyday so i Wood love to se the killn for Real
[

[StefanAndersson]

Sofie medlårenehelene, on 24 June 2012 - 06:10 AM, said:

Hellow Stefan Anderson it is interisting i an living ind Copenhagen Mary not far from you i am going to sveden this hollyday so i Wood love to se the killn for Real
[

Contact me via mail...you can find it on my homepage: www.ceramics.se