A fellow blogger which I discovered searching over the internet on kilns a while back replyed to my open request for suggestions on my kiln. Peter shares a strong interest in wood kiln building and has inspired me to test the limits of my abilities. Thank you for sharing!
from Peter:
Hi Richard,
Attached should be your drawing of your kiln with modifications to the firebox. I probably haven't given enough detail in my modifications to show you all that clearly what could be done, but thought thisshould give you an overview of the sort of thing that you might attempt to sort out the problem. Not sure if the modification I suggest here would be possible with the current structure of your kiln, but do let me know what you think thus far.
There are other ways to go with this too. Turning it into an updraft could be easier to do. If you can put a hole through the top of the arch without causing it to become unstable, a length of pipe put above that for a chimney could result in a useful little kiln. Another way would be to rebuild the chimney alongside the chamber and feed into it from near the top of the chamber arch. This would also make a form of updraft kiln, but you would also have the benefit of being able to have an effective chimney damper built into the chimney above chamber height which would give more control than usual in an updraft kiln.
There are other ways to go with this too. Turning it into an updraft could be easier to do. If you can put a hole through the top of the arch without causing it to become unstable, a length of pipe put above that for a chimney could result in a useful little kiln. Another way would be to rebuild the chimney alongside the chamber and feed into it from near the top of the chamber arch. This would also make a form of updraft kiln, but you would also have the benefit of being able to have an effective chimney damper built into the chimney above chamber height which would give more control than usual in an updraft kiln.
My bottle shaped updraft kiln will reach in excess of 2192 Fahrenheitin the lower hotter part of the kiln in about 5.5 hours. I recently read of a small round updraft kiln that would get to cone10 (about 2336 F) in 3.5 hours with wood stoking and natural draft (noblower).
Anyway, do keep in touch Best Wishes,
Peter
I cant wait to get to work on the modifications. Thank you very much!
Here are my possible modifications to the kiln firebox.
I am limited with my useable floorspace in front of my kiln so I am restricted to the footprint the kiln now sits on. I also have a low roofline above the kiln. I see how the firebox can be moved so as to give a cross-draft effect. I will have to see if it can be done. Thanks again for the input!
I keep telling Peter he needs to write a book about kiln design, good luck with yours.
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