The Reheating Chamber
Gas Powered “Glory Holes”
This piece of equipment is a chamber of heat that allows glass artists to maintain a viable working temperature of the glass during the shaping process. It is traditionally situated in front of the Bench and is involved in the final processes of glass art making. Reheating chambers are typically kept at high temperatures from anywhere between 1800 and 2400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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The burner system combines forced air and gas in a controlled manner to achieve and maintain high temperatures.
The Blower delivers forced air to the Burner which is controlled through adjustable valves.
It is necessary to keep a good air/gas mixture ratio for a good efficient flame in the furnace.
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In front of the chamber are typically two hinged doors made from a high heat refractory castable material.
The doors help keep the heat inside the reheating chamber and are important aspects of efficiency
Closing the doors when the chamber is not being immediately used can help preserve energy and maintain higher temperatures with the use of less energy.
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In Pre-Mix Systems, air and gas are fed into a mixer, and the resulting mixture is delivered to the burner head.
A Nozzle-Mix System a system where air and gas are delivered independently to a nozzle mix burner where they are mixed at the point of combustion, in the nozzle of the burner.
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Recuperation is the process of recovering waste heat from exhaust gases to preheat the combustion air in a burner system.
Recuperation, although a complicated process, can dramatically reduce your energy expenditure on equipment such as furnaces and reheating chambers.
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Insulation is the process of preserving or keeping heat inside of the reheating chamber (and other glass making equipment) and helps maintain the necessary high temperatures.
It requires less gas and energy to maintain heat with proper insulation thus making this a vital part of efficiency in hot glass making art stu
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Item description
The Anatomy of a Reheating Chamber
The way a reheating chamber is constructed is a direct result of years of innovation and equipment design. It consists of layers of insulation and refractory inside of a metal chamber with a hole cut on the top for the burner system. The front of the chamber is capped by two hinged doors made of a high-heat refractory intended to trap the heat inside the chamber to reheat the glass to a molten state for manipulating and shaping into art.
This diagram by Michael Mangiafico (1996) is from Issue No. 40 of The Independent Glassblower, an informational newsletter disseminated in the late 1990s.
Explore more articles from the Independent Glassblower in our Resources section HERE
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An important step in the glass art making process is the systematic cooling of the glass to avoid thermal shock and cracking. This process is called Annealing and takes place inside of a kiln.