[Stoves] Crispin´s kiln-was Re: Traditional Charcoal Making

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

>How about a flash glaze effect from a timed arc?

Dear Jeff

There is a serious problem getting heat to move quickly around a kiln that
is subdivided by shelving into 'stories'.  Any point source of heat is worse
than having a heated wall.

It looks like having perforated shelves is the best way to get a
thermosyphon going to get good mass flow.  It is my assumption that a gas
furnace will have a directable gas flow which can stir things considerably.

If I can increase the average power rating of the furnace by stirring the
contents, it should be possible to greatly reduce the time taken to increase
the temperate at each stage.

Suppose it were possible to cut the firing cycle half...that means it would
use no more energy total than the slow electric version.  Apart from saving
money, this would increase the throughput of any such kiln - a pretty
attractive option.

Perhaps that should be the target: use no more energy, reduce firing time by
55% and get the same resulting product.  Nice engineering project.

Because the stove body is thin, it heats quite readily - if you can get the
heat to that surface.  Heated from the periphery with little stirring means
adding heat, waiting for it to move around, adding more and so on.

Re the glaze - anything that reduces the temperature gap between those parts
that face the elements and those that don't is welcome!

Regards
Crispin