Paul Gerhold on sun 16 dec 07
design
John,
What I ended up doing is joining a series of large clamps until they fit all
the way around the kiln and then tightening but not too tight for expansion.
You just have to be a little careful about the element connections and
peepholes.
I know somewhere out there they make very long hose clamps but I haven't had
much luck finding them.
My kiln lid goes to a chain and to a counter weight so that the lid cannot
drop with any significant force. helps a lot with loading and unloading.
I have also modified my control boxes so they stand about another inch from
the kiln surface-helps the heat a lot.
My wiring runs through an old electric meter bought from Gaim that allows me
to check my elements at all settings in about five minutes as well as
calculating energy usage as a business expense.
Before you ask my big kiln is an ancient skutt 1227 that must be about 20
years old. It is also wired with a fourth power
section and several blank rings for those really large pieces.
Paul
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WJ Seidl on sun 16 dec 07
design
Paul:
Google is your friend.
http://www.hosexpress.com/clampsandtools/wormgearclamps.htm
These people are showing a clamp for a 17inch diameter application for
$4.83 (US)
Best,
Wayne Seidl
Paul Gerhold wrote:
>
> I know somewhere out there they make very long hose clamps but I haven't had
> much luck finding them.
>
>
WJ Seidl on sun 16 dec 07
design
Paul:
Ignore my earlier post...sorry, I hit send too soon.
Look at the last box at the bottom of the page at this link:
http://www.hosexpress.com/clampsandtools/wormgearclamps.htm
They are showing a retail kit; 8 1/2 Ft. band, 3 adj. fasteners, 1 band
splice. $12.13
Now there is a deal.
Best,
Wayne Seidl
> I know somewhere out there they make very long hose clamps but I haven't had
> much luck finding them.
>
>
Vince Pitelka on sun 16 dec 07
design
Paul Gerhold wrote:
"What I ended up doing is joining a series of large clamps until they fit
all the way around the kiln and then tightening but not too tight for
expansion. You just have to be a little careful about the element
connections and peepholes. I know somewhere out there they make very lon=
g
hose clamps but I haven't had much luck finding them."
Paul -
You probably know all of this, but for anyone altering, extending, or
repairing the stainless jacket on a toploader electric, at a marine suppl=
y
store (or online) you can buy stainless steel pop-rivets, which will of
course resist the corrosion that would attack the standard aluminum pop
rivets available everywhere. Just take a large hose clamp, cut it in
half, drill several holes near the cut ends, drill corresponding holes in
the stainless steel jacket, and pop-rivet the two ends onto the the
stainless steel jacket. If necessary you can also extend the stainless
steel jacket by attaching thin stainless sheet with pop-rivets.
I'd use the 3/16"-diameter pop rivets. You'll need to get a good-quality
pop-rivet gun, because the stainless pop rivets require more "oomph" than
the standard aluminum ones. For anyone unfamiliar with pop-rivet guns,
even the best manually-operated unit will not cost more than $40, and
should be available at any home-improvement center or good traditional
auto supply like Napa.
One other item of note - on standard cheap hose clamps purchased from a
home-improvement center or auto-supply store, the band and the "cage"
surrounding the adjustment screw are always stainless steel, but the scre=
w
it self is often just plated ordinary steel, and it will eventually
corrode if used on a kiln. If you do have access to marine supply, the
hose clamps they sell should be all stainless steel.
- Vince
--=20
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
vpitelka@dtccom.net
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Potterybyjohn on sun 16 dec 07
design
Paul,
Thank you for our suggestion. Next time you're looking, a souce for extra
long hose clamps is McMaster-Carr http://www.mcmaster.com/. They have all
the components needed to build your own hose clamps in their online catalog
(look up hose clamps and look at page 239 of the current catalog) up to a
100 foot long band.
It sounds as though you have really tricked out your old Skutt. I have an
Olympic oval that could use your lid lifter modification. In the archives I
have also seen the suggestion of a cable and turnbuckle to replace the hose
clamps (specifically mentioned about the oval I have because the lids
crack.)
Regards,
John Lowes
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Gerhold"
To:
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2007 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: Computer controlled hardware..and hose clamps- solution to poor
design
> John,
> What I ended up doing is joining a series of large clamps until they fit
> all
> the way around the kiln and then tightening but not too tight for
> expansion.
> You just have to be a little careful about the element connections and
> peepholes.
>
> I know somewhere out there they make very long hose clamps but I haven't
> had
> much luck finding them.
>
> My kiln lid goes to a chain and to a counter weight so that the lid cannot
> drop with any significant force. helps a lot with loading and unloading.
>
> I have also modified my control boxes so they stand about another inch
> from
> the kiln surface-helps the heat a lot.
>
> My wiring runs through an old electric meter bought from Gaim that allows
> me
> to check my elements at all settings in about five minutes as well as
> calculating energy usage as a business expense.
>
> Before you ask my big kiln is an ancient skutt 1227 that must be about 20
> years old. It is also wired with a fourth power
> section and several blank rings for those really large pieces.
>
> Paul
>
>
>
> **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes
> (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
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>
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