Tuesday, July 3, 2012

First forced-air wood kiln firing

Earlier on this blog I wrote about a kiln I designed and built, here and here.



Yesterday I fired this kiln as a forced-air (with blower) for the first time, using my improvised firebox.



It worked incredibly well.  I have never fired an easier, faster more efficient wood kiln.  What normally takes 3 days was done in less than 8 hours.  It took less than a face cord of firewood to reach temperature (~1,800 F, bisque firing).  It normally takes around 5 - 10 times that much wood.


I used a Ward burner, hooked up to propane to candle the start-up.  After It had warmed up to around 350 degrees F, I lit the wood and turned off the propane.  The blower from the burner provided the forced air.



Here's a short video showing me stoking the kiln.  It is burning just wood (no propane).

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