[Clayart] cleaning orifices gas

[mel jacobson]

Each spring I take a small tool made from coat hanger
wire. I sharpen the end of a ten inch piece of wire.
take a pliers and bend the end at a 90.(about a half inch)

Using a flash light I snake the sharp end into the
orifice of my burners and move the metal to clean out
the orifice.

A thing to think about.  Natural gas burners have an orifice
size of about a quarter of an inch. Propane is about an eighth of an inch.
The BTU output of the burner is matched to the orifice size. It is not one
size fits all. And then you have gas pressure to make it all work to perfection.
If you can get at them, take some alcohol with a small brush and work that into
the hole.

With care, you can take most burners apart. I use heavy high pressure hose
made for car radiators, it is 3/4 inch. I change that hose every five years.
(here at the farm we use red welding hose. It is tough, flexible and can be
purchased at most welding stores to your perfect length, and the tech will
match on fittings you have. By the way, any air hose for your compressor
will work for gas. I use a thirty foot air hose to reach the raku kiln from
my main 500 gallon propane tank. We do use "quick connects" as we always put
our hoses and burners away when not in use.  I put duct tape over all the quick
connects. (Modern hose for air is made from quality materials and has a very
high psi rating. Years back there was worry about bad hose and gas.)

If you leave your burners on your kiln over the winter, you can slide a plastic
bag over the burners and tie down with duct tape.

When I change hose, I clean and re-paint my burners with high heat paint,
at the same time I drill out the orifice to clean it totally.
(drill sizes come in numbered sequence, like size 18, or 23.) One can get
a drill size conversion chart on the internet.)

So, like changing oil in your car and checking all fluids, you will save a great
deal of trouble over time. Same for your kiln. Have a bottle of liquid soap and
water and a big floppy brush. Check for leaks. It is easy.
mel






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