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kiln floor

updated sun 15 jan 12

 

Roy K. Yoder on mon 28 oct 96



My electric kiln has been used a long time and the floor is showing it. The
floor is made of the regular soft kiln bricks. The surface is begining to
become crumbly. I already turned it over and now it needs more attention.
Kiln wash doesn't take too well to this surface and it is a bit uneven. I
wonder if anyone has suggestions for renewing a kiln floor of this kind --
if you have some tricks up your sleeve that can extend the life of the kiln
floor without needing to totally replace it. I would apppreciate hearing
from you.

Thanks.

Roy K. Yoder
Bally, PA
email: rkyoder@enter.net

On the hill overlooking beautiful Butter Valley with the fall-colored
trees surrounding us!

gshaffer on mon 28 oct 96

Roy K. Yoder wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
> My electric kiln has been used a long time and the floor is showing it. The
> floor is made of the regular soft kiln bricks. The surface is begining to
> become crumbly. I already turned it over and now it needs more attention.
> Kiln wash doesn't take too well to this surface and it is a bit uneven. I
> wonder if anyone has suggestions for renewing a kiln floor of this kind --
> if you have some tricks up your sleeve that can extend the life of the kiln
> floor without needing to totally replace it. I would apppreciate hearing
> from you.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Roy K. Yoder
> Bally, PA
> email: rkyoder@enter.net
>
> On the hill overlooking beautiful Butter Valley with the fall-colored
> trees surrounding us!


Roy,
I know this sounds terribly simplistic but just put a kiln shelf on
the floor of the kiln supported by some sand or grog and go on, no need
to replace the floor. Of course you lose a little space but hey no need
to replace entire floor.

Gary

Bob Howell on mon 28 oct 96

Roy,

The simplest thing to do about your kiln floor is to put a set of shelves
down on the floor, so that you're placing your work on the shelves instead
of the uneven floor. It also helps stablize the rest of the load since
you're not putting posts on the uneven floor.

Bob Howell
Alexandria, LA
bobhowell@linknet.net

WardBurner@aol.com on tue 29 oct 96

Roy,

I've repaired electric kiln floors before by vacuuming, then wetting them,
troweling on a layer of Greenpatch 421, then a light layer a fine grog after
the Greenpatch is fired to take out any uneveness and give post a little bit
of "nesting". If you need a catalog (I carry the Greenpatch ), feel free to
call, write, or email....

Marc Ward
Ward Burner Systems
PO Box 333
Dandridge, TN 37725
USA
423.397.2914 voice
423.397.1253 fax
wardburner@aol.com

David Woodin clayart Digest on tue 29 oct 96

I would try ITC ceramic coating they recommend spraying it on but for small
area's you can brush it on . I have used it on four kilns including fibre
and the results are great. The phone number is 904-285-0200 and they will
sell small amounts.

Karen Gringhuis on tue 29 oct 96

Assuming you do not have elements in the floor of your kiln -- take the
rings off & lay a blanket of eramic fiber all the way out to the edge.
Use one or two inch stilts, cutting holes in the blanket so they stand
on the floor itself, to support a large single kiln shelf which is not the
Read "now the" new floor of your kiln. Put the rings back on.

sdt on tue 29 oct 96

Can you try seating a kiln shelf for the floor on small pieces of kiln
furniture?


Steve


At 11:59 AM 10/28/96 EST, Roy K. Yoder wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>
>My electric kiln has been used a long time and the floor is showing it. The
>floor is made of the regular soft kiln bricks. The surface is begining to
>become crumbly. I already turned it over and now it needs more attention.
>Kiln wash doesn't take too well to this surface and it is a bit uneven. I
>wonder if anyone has suggestions for renewing a kiln floor of this kind --
>if you have some tricks up your sleeve that can extend the life of the kiln
>floor without needing to totally replace it. I would apppreciate hearing
>from you.
>
>Thanks.
>
>Roy K. Yoder
>Bally, PA
>email: rkyoder@enter.net
>
> On the hill overlooking beautiful Butter Valley with the fall-colored
>trees surrounding us!
>
>

Michelle H. Lowe on tue 29 oct 96

gary43 wrote:
> I know this sounds terribly simplistic but just put a kiln shelf on
>the floor of the kiln supported by some sand or grog and go on, no need
>to replace the floor. Of course you lose a little space but hey no need
>to replace entire floor.

When my kiln floor got wasted I simply turned it over and *voila* fresh and
smooth! (then when that side got wasted I put a shelf in ;-)

Mishy, reknowned glaze tester




Michelle Lowe, potter in the Phoenix desert \|/ |
mishlowe@indirect.com -O- | |
mishlowe@aztec.asu.edu /|\ | | |
|_|_|
http://www.amug.org/~mishlowe ____ |
-\ /-----|-----
( )
<__>

Don Sanami on tue 29 oct 96

gshaffer, You answered your own question: Best to replace the entire
floor. Barring that,or included in that solution, we have had good
results by cutting Fibre-fax paper to fit the bottom. Two or three layers
of the thin stuff or one thick layer of 1/4". A.P. Green makes a
non-insulating hard morter: Green-coat. This will work if troweled on
smoothly and then covered with the Fibre-frax. Considering the apparent
condition of the floor and the cost,you probably should replace the
floor.It isn't all that difficult and,if you use the paper over the new
floor,you will be away ahead of the game. Don & IsaoOn Mon, 28 Oct 1996,
gshaffer wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Roy K. Yoder wrote:
> >
> > ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> >
> > My electric kiln has been used a long time and the floor is showing it. The
> > floor is made of the regular soft kiln bricks. The surface is begining to
> > become crumbly. I already turned it over and now it needs more attention.
> > Kiln wash doesn't take too well to this surface and it is a bit uneven. I
> > wonder if anyone has suggestions for renewing a kiln floor of this kind --
> > if you have some tricks up your sleeve that can extend the life of the kiln
> > floor without needing to totally replace it. I would apppreciate hearing
> > from you.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Roy K. Yoder
> > Bally, PA
> > email: rkyoder@enter.net
> >
> > On the hill overlooking beautiful Butter Valley with the fall-colored
> > trees surrounding us!
>
>
> Roy,
> I know this sounds terribly simplistic but just put a kiln shelf on
> the floor of the kiln supported by some sand or grog and go on, no need
> to replace the floor. Of course you lose a little space but hey no need
> to replace entire floor.
>
> Gary
>

lrh on wed 30 oct 96


Place two half-round kiln shelves on the bottom of the kiln. this
will do two things... 1. It spreads the weight load more evenly
across the floor, preventing pressure points that can increase
the cracking (sweep the particles off the floor first so the
shelves are in direct contact with the insulation bricks)
2. It provides a stable and flat platform upon which to bnuild
your stack of stilts and shelves

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: kiln floor
Author: Ceramic Arts Discussion List at ccmgate
Date: 10/28/96 1:27 PM


----------------------------Original message----------------------------


My electric kiln has been used a long time and the floor is showing it. The
floor is made of the regular soft kiln bricks. The surface is begining to
become crumbly. I already turned it over and now it needs more attention.
Kiln wash doesn't take too well to this surface and it is a bit uneven. I
wonder if anyone has suggestions for renewing a kiln floor of this kind --
if you have some tricks up your sleeve that can extend the life of the kiln
floor without needing to totally replace it. I would apppreciate hearing
from you.

Thanks.

Roy K. Yoder
Bally, PA
email: rkyoder@enter.net

On the hill overlooking beautiful Butter Valley with the fall-colored
trees surrounding us!

Lori Wilkinson on fri 1 nov 96

The floor of my old Skutt is pretty bad too. What I have done to preserve
it is lay several 6-8" broken stilts down on their sides in a circle more or
less. On top of that I place a kiln shelf on which I place my first layer
of pots rather than lay the shelf right on the kiln floor. This allows heat
under the shelf where by the bottoms of that first layer is more evenly fired.

Lori in Roswell New Mexico where alas fall in upon us :-(

Vince Pitelka on sat 2 nov 96

I have not followed this thread closely, so please forgive me if I am
suggesting something which has already been discussed. In all toploader
electrics, the most common circumstance which leads to breakdown of the kiln
floor is the placement of posts so that they do not allign with the steel
support frame under the floor. Since the floor is composed of softbrick
mortared together, it has very little ability to support much weight unless
that support is carried BENEATH the softbrick. It is an easy matter to
place the four posts so that they stand squarely over the steel frame. If
this is done routinely, you will never have problems with kiln-floor
breakdown within the reasonable life of such a kiln, unless it is due to
some other form of abuse. It should not be necessary to waste good kiln
shelves by using them directly on the kiln floor, unless of course you are
trying to make the best of a kiln floor which is already badly damaged.
Keep in mind though that you can always dismantle your kiln and remove the
steel band from around the floor slab, and with some good high-duty kiln
cement re-mortar all the loose bricks. Dip the bricks in water before
re-mortaring them, or they will draw the moisture out of the mortar before
it has a chance to set.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@Dekalb.Net
Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville TN 37166

LINDA BLOSSOM on mon 4 nov 96

You could cover the bottom with half bricks. These are firebricks that are
the same dimensions except they are half as thick. I used them in my gas
kiln and will probably put them in the electric. I also use them for
laying on flat pieces that I want to dry and am concerned about warping.
Like mosaics, table tops, tiles.



Linda Blossom
2366 Slaterville Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
blossom@lightlink.com
http://www.artscape.com
607-539-7912

Bill Buckner on wed 6 nov 96

For what it is worth, this is what I have done to my electric bisque kiln.
My reasoning is that it protects the brick of the floor slab while
improving circulation. This particular kiln is the 28" W x 27" D variety.
But, this would work with any size electric kiln.

1. I drilled two 3/8" holes in the floor slab as well as in the lid.

2. Two half-shelves are used at the bottom, but they sit on 1" posts.

The shelves at the bottom protect the floor slab. The 1" posts under the
shelves provide better heat circulation at the bottom. The holes in the
floor slab and lid provide a small natural updraft of fresh air to help
oxidize all organic matter in the clay. At he end of the firing, I simply
close up the holes in the lid with pieces of soft firebrick.

After several years of use, the bottom slab is in "like new" condition -
no cracks, no missing chunks.

-Bill

Bill Buckner e-mail: bbuckner@gsu.edu
Georgia State University http://www.gsu.edu/~couwbb

Wade Blocker on fri 17 nov 00


Anne,
I always have a kiln washed kiln shelf on the kiln floor.(The
alliteration is accidental) It is easier to replace a kiln shelf in case of
glaze accidents, rather than trying to replace the bottom of a kiln. To
prevent the kiln shelf from cracking, as has happened to me, put some
placing sand between the kiln floor and the kiln shelf. Mia in ABQ

mel jacobson on mon 1 jul 02


concete blocks support the floor.
they do not have to touch...just create support.
the expanded metal is more than enough air gap.

and three layers is to create enough insulation.
i like hard on the bottom, one layer for insulation...soft.
and one hard for the floor.
if you have unlimited brick, add another layer of soft in the middle.

it is up to you..how much to spend, how much you have to spend.
each kiln builder has to make those determinations.

a safe stack cannot be considered for cost.
do the best you can.
mel

From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots

Ralph Loewenthal on sat 14 jan 12


Hi as an addition to what Mel advises, I would put a kiln shelf on to[ of
the bricks to catch any glaze spills. It is easier to grind the glaze the
shelf than the brickwork.

--
Kind regards from
Fay, and Ralph Loewenthal
972 (Fay) (0) 546989294
972 (Ralph) (0) 547320546
972 (home) (0) 747024530
It is not when you get old, you stop playing. It is when you stop playing
you get old.

Steve Mills on sat 14 jan 12


On 14 Jan 2012, at 17:23, Ralph Loewenthal wrote:

> Hi as an addition to what Mel advises, I would put a kiln shelf on to[ of
> the bricks to catch any glaze spills. It is easier to grind the glaze the
> shelf than the brickwork.
>
> --
> Kind regards from
> Fay, and Ralph Loewenthal
> 972 (Fay) (0) 546989294
> 972 (Ralph) (0) 547320546
> 972 (home) (0) 747024530
> It is not when you get old, you stop playing. It is when you stop playing
> you get old.

I second that, that's what I do.
Saves a lot of work!

Steve M

Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Sent from my iPod