I got interested in gas safety equipment the morning I almost blew my studio up because my propane regulator froze, the furnace went cold, the sun came up and thawed the regulator, and the gas came on. Lucky for me the furnace did not lose too much heat so it lit itself. The room did not fill with gas—but it could have and BOOM!
So I had to find a simple safety system with a pilot that would work. When I mentioned what I was looking for to a few of my potter friends one said he knew of someone who had used Baso Valves with a little success. The problem was that the thermocouples would burn out sometimes right in the middle of a firing. What a drag to have your kiln die on you in the middle of the firing! That person did not use a pilot, but simply stuck the thermocouple in the burner port. Well, it occurs to me that most any metallic thing will burn out at temperatures near 3000 F. With this in mind I designed a great little pilot that does not burn out thermocouples.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR NTBO PILOT BURNER
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