The Furnace Combustion System, Saflame

Gary Williams of Saflame  Ltd has provided a fantastic combustion system for glass furnaces. It is sensitive enough to run at a constant 100 degrees C (no excessive heat when lighting) and is powerful enough to take the furnace up to 1300 C like a rocket! it runs on natural gas or propane without the need for any maintenance of the burner. Best of all, it will automatically re-light if the furnace goes out. I have worked in the glass industry since 1981 and spent 7 years as technical instructor in hot glass at the Royal College of Art and have never come across a better combustion system. 

 
The burner has a high/low fire system and has a controller that gives complete and accurate control of ramp rates and set points up to 1250 C. When using natural gas it can be connected to the main using an industrial hose fitted with a 1/2 inch bayonet fitting exactly like the common domestic gas cooker fitting. When using natural gas or propane, the electric supply is connected using a standard single phase plug.
If the furnace is used in a public space or for education purposes, we have designed a simple safety cut off switch. This means that the furnace can be lit and turned off using a simple 'light switch' fitting
Help and advice using skype will be given on the building of a furnace providing that the glassmaker uses the burner and control system specified, and that you provide proof of purchase via Saflame.
If you want to build one of these furnaces and you have little or no experience of building furnaces, you must not use any other combustion system but the one designed for this purpose. This is purely to ensure your safety and avoid accidents. All combustion systems must be commissioned by a gas safe engineer who must give you a gas safety certificate before it is used.  
The cost of the first prototype furnace was £450 but you have to remember that most of the metalwork was scrap (don't buy new if you can get materials cheap or free)
The cost of the complete combustion system and control equipment will come to just over £2,000 (check with Gary for current prices) but I will be using this equipment for years on many different furnace designs, so it really is a great investment. I recon you could build yourself a furnace, gloryhole and lerh for about 3 grand. Check out how much it would cost you to buy 'off the shelf' equipment and you probably won't have much change out of £30,000.
Running this furnace is a fraction of the cost of running a large furnace and you can simply turn it off when not in use. This burner system, coupled with sustainable furnaces and processes, gives me a viable glassmaking business model for the first time in over 10 years.

Click here to go to the saflame site
www.saflame.co.uk 

Or contact Gary Williams

Main office, factory and stores 6 Peel Road, West Pimbo, Skelmersdale, Lancashire,WN8 9PT
Office hours 08:30 - 17:00 Mon - Fri.
Tel 01695 550 400.
Fax 01695 550 137
email sales@saflame.co.uk

1 comment:

  1. Regular maintenance of your furnace is always important to keep your home great.

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    ReplyDelete