Paulaclay@aol.com on tue 18 feb 97
I attempted to repair the kiln floor of my, trusty though broken up, Crusader
today with some old Amaco powdered kiln cement. I followed the directives of
Vince Pitelka about soaking the places to be joined in water, but nothing is
sticking. Does anyone have an idea why and what I can do to make it work?
Will fresh kiln cement work better? Is there another brand that is more
cooperative? Any advice is much appreciated, ASAP. Paula Sibrack, in the
woods of Sherman, CT
Vince Pitelka on wed 19 feb 97
At 01:15 PM 2/18/97 -0500, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I attempted to repair the kiln floor of my, trusty though broken up, Crusader
>today with some old Amaco powdered kiln cement. I followed the directives of
>Vince Pitelka about soaking the places to be joined in water, but nothing is
>sticking. Does anyone have an idea why and what I can do to make it work?
>Will fresh kiln cement work better? Is there another brand that is more
>cooperative? Any advice is much appreciated, ASAP. Paula Sibrack, in the
>woods of Sherman, CT
Paula -
God only knows what that old Amaco powdered cement is, or if it has been
affected by age. As I have said before on this list, my favorite product
for uses like this is AP Green Greenpatch 421. It can be purchased from
most boiler supply or refractory supply places, or from any AP Green dealer.
It is a 3000 degree product, and therefore good for any normal ceramic
firing temperatures, anywhere in the kiln. Don't expect any mortar to hold
the pieces in place while the mortar sets if gravity is working against the
joint. If you are re-doing the whole floor, place it on a flat sheet of
plywood with plastic wrap over it, and just join the sections one-by-one,
soaking them beforehand as you go. If this is a polygonal kiln, with a
clamp-band around the floor section, after you get all the pieces in place
place the band in place and tighten it. If it does not have a clamp band,
consider buying a inexpensive strap-clamp, and use that to apply pressure
while the refractory cement cures. Good luck.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
Appalachian Center for Crafts
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Robert Kittel on wed 19 feb 97
Paula,
cement morters, plasters, grouts are all hydroscopic, they absorbed moisture
once the container is opened or left open for a period of time. Once this
has taken place the endothermic properties of the morter are compromised.
Meaning they won't set properly and have lost their strength. For the cost
of a few dollars it always pays to discard old bags of morter and buy new
for a troubnle free job.
Bob
>>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>I attempted to repair the kiln floor of my, trusty though broken up, Crusader
>>today with some old Amaco powdered kiln cement. I followed the directives of
>>Vince Pitelka about soaking the places to be joined in water, but nothing is
>>sticking. Does anyone have an idea why and what I can do to make it work?
>>Will fresh kiln cement work better? Is there another brand that is more
>>cooperative? Any advice is much appreciated, ASAP. Paula Sibrack, in the
>>woods of Sherman, CT
>
>Paula -
>God only knows what that old Amaco powdered cement is, or if it has been
>affected by age. As I have said before on this list, my favorite product
>for uses like this is AP Green Greenpatch 421. It can be purchased from
>most boiler supply or refractory supply places, or from any AP Green dealer.
>It is a 3000 degree product, and therefore good for any normal ceramic
>firing temperatures, anywhere in the kiln. Don't expect any mortar to hold
>the pieces in place while the mortar sets if gravity is working against the
>joint. If you are re-doing the whole floor, place it on a flat sheet of
>plywood with plastic wrap over it, and just join the sections one-by-one,
>soaking them beforehand as you go. If this is a polygonal kiln, with a
>clamp-band around the floor section, after you get all the pieces in place
>place the band in place and tighten it. If it does not have a clamp band,
>consider buying a inexpensive strap-clamp, and use that to apply pressure
>while the refractory cement cures. Good luck.
>- Vince
>
>Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
>Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
>Appalachian Center for Crafts
>1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
>
WardBurner@aol.com on wed 19 feb 97
Paula,
Some kiln cements are designed to mortar bricks together and some are
designed as void fillers. Mortars come either wet or dry. My experience has
been that dry mortars are good for laying clean brick only (though in
practice I dry stack). Wet mortars are better for stickn' stuff together
especially if they contain a colodial silicate. But, some wet cements are
made to be applied in thin layers only. My mortar of choice for what you are
doing is AP Green's Greenpatch 421. It is wet, comes in 15 or 50 lb pails.
I've used it to repair my old electrics that are abused by being converted to
Raku kilns. You can really trowel the stuff on and plug up holes with it. It
will air dry or can be slightly forced dry. (do not dry hot enough to cause
initial steam explosions in the mortar).
Vince was correct in suggesting that you moisten the area to be cemented. It
will make the cement adhere better. One thing that cement will not do is to
repair the basic integrity of the brick. If the brick is all crumblely, the
only thing you are attaching mortar to is crumbled bits of brick. Mortar is
only as strong as the substate that it is attached to.
If you would like info on mortars, send me your name and address and I'll get
a catalog to you. Or feel free to give us a call.
Marc Ward
Ward Burner Systems
PO Box 333
Dandridge, TN 37725
USA
423.397.2914 voice
423.397.1253 fax
wardburner@aol.com
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