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This is a "Big Bertha"
500,000 BTU propane burner. It is in my
opinion the best gas burner in the world. It
requires no electricity and there are no air
adjustments, all reduction is done with the
damper. Refer to "Theoretical Reduction
Firing" elsewhere on this site. Don Reitz
used them years ago on his huge salt kilns
and I used them for salt and glaze kilns for
at least 35 years. They are manufactured by
the L.B.White Company, PO Box 188,
Onalaska, Wisconsin 54650.
608-783-5691. or go to
www.lbwhite.com Pictured is the
burner (torch casting #01014) with an orifice
inside (mixer #01016). They are manufactured
for propane gas and come with an approximate
orifice size of 5/64ths and I drill them to
7/64ths and use 1 1/2 to 3 pounds pressure
maximum. While in
Ohio, I converted them to natural gas
by drilling the orifice to 9/64ths and
reducing the pressure to 2 pounds maximum.
That is POUNDS pressure. I fired the
Ohio 45 foot car kiln to cone 9 1/2
in 9 hours for $35.00 worth of fuel. When I
first converted from propane to natural gas
it went from $35.00 of propane to $13.00 of
natural gas. Your cost naturally will depend
upon your current rates. There are some
really stupid rumors that you can't get
copper reds with Big Berthas, I've only done
that for 35 years. Pictured is how I plumb
them-I recommend a high pressure ball
valve (not pictured), a low increment gauge,
0-15 pounds at the most, 0 to 5 pounds the
best, so that you get a lot of needle
movement and can see easier, and then the
burner. I put a gauge on each burner. Two
burners will fire up to 60 cubic feet
easily. I only buy the torch casting and
the mixer and then do my own plumbing. You
may have to go through your propane dealer
to get them, try LB White first. When I
first started using them they were $13.00
each, now maybe three times that.
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