Bob Hanlin on sat 27 dec 97
Hello:
I've been planing to make some bats for reclaiming. I would like to put some
heat strips in the clay so that even in cold or damp weather the clay would
dry. All the heat strips that I've found have a thermostat that doesn't allow
the heating elements to come on until the temperature is below 32 degrees F.
Anyone know where I can get heat strips without thermostats?
Bob Hanlin
bhanlin@ionet.net
Oklahoma City, OK
Linda Blossom on mon 29 dec 97
How about heat cable that is used for starting seeds?
Linda Blossom
2366 Slaterville Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
6075397912
www.artscape.com
blossom=40lightlink.com
Fred Paget on mon 29 dec 97
Look in horticultural supply catalogs or greenhouse supply places. There
are a variety of heat strips and heat pads used to heat seed to promote
germination. They sometimes have thermostats set around 80 degrees or a
separate thermostat. I have a 3 foot by 5 foot rubber heat blanket in my
greenhouse that has a separate thermostat . It cost well over 100 dollars.
I also have a small one that is about 18 x 24 inches . It was originally
made as a foot warmer pad for workers standing or sitting in cold places.
Somebody adapted it to seed germination . I got it from Johnny's Seeds in
Albion ,ME. There are tapes sold for burying in the bottom of a cold frame.
I have seen them in the Burpee's and the Stokes catalogs in past years.
This year's Stokes has some listed.Their thermostats are set for 71 deg. F
and come in three lengths - 16 feet to 33 feet for 25 dollars to 30 dollars
(e-mail Stokes@stokeseeds.com)
If you are going to make a plaster embedded heater from these things you
should sandwich the heating tape or blanket between two layers of chicken
wire or coarse rat wire inside the bat and ground the wirescreen using a
three wire plug. It wouldn't hurt to use a ground fault detector in the
socket you plug it into either. That way if there is current leakage into
the damp plaster it will be harmlessly diverted to ground and all you will
do is blow some fuses or pop the ground fault detector.
>Hello:
>I've been planing to make some bats for reclaiming. I would like to put some
>heat strips in the clay so that even in cold or damp weather the clay would
>dry. All the heat strips that I've found have a thermostat that doesn't allow
>the heating elements to come on until the temperature is below 32 degrees F.
>Anyone know where I can get heat strips without thermostats?
>Bob Hanlin
Fred Paget---Mill Valley,CA,USA
Never try, never win!
Mark Sweany on mon 29 dec 97
Hi Bob,
I know that they make heat strips that they pour into concrete
floors. Obviously, to suppy heat for a house, they have to
opperate with a seperate thermostat. I don't know if these
would be adaptible to your use, but it might be worth a try.
Any electrical suppy house should stock them.
----
Mark Sweany
m_pswean@primenet.com
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 11:58:57 EST
> From: Bob Hanlin
> Subject: Heat Strips
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Hello:
> I've been planing to make some bats for reclaiming. I would like to put some
> heat strips in the clay so that even in cold or damp weather the clay would
> dry. All the heat strips that I've found have a thermostat that doesn't allow
> the heating elements to come on until the temperature is below 32 degrees F.
>
> Anyone know where I can get heat strips without thermostats?
>
> Bob Hanlin
> bhanlin@ionet.net
> Oklahoma City, OK
Ron Wright on tue 30 dec 97
I've used an old waterbed heater. You can stick the sensor into the
clay. I have used it to keep about 400 lbs of clay in my garage from
freezing.
Fred Paget wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Look in horticultural supply catalogs or greenhouse supply places. There
> are a variety of heat strips and heat pads used to heat seed to promote
> germination. They sometimes have thermostats set around 80 degrees or a
> separate thermostat. I have a 3 foot by 5 foot rubber heat blanket in my
> greenhouse that has a separate thermostat . It cost well over 100 dollars.
> I also have a small one that is about 18 x 24 inches . It was originally
> made as a foot warmer pad for workers standing or sitting in cold places.
> Somebody adapted it to seed germination . I got it from Johnny's Seeds in
> Albion ,ME. There are tapes sold for burying in the bottom of a cold frame.
> I have seen them in the Burpee's and the Stokes catalogs in past years.
> This year's Stokes has some listed.Their thermostats are set for 71 deg. F
> and come in three lengths - 16 feet to 33 feet for 25 dollars to 30 dollars
> (e-mail Stokes@stokeseeds.com)
> If you are going to make a plaster embedded heater from these things you
> should sandwich the heating tape or blanket between two layers of chicken
> wire or coarse rat wire inside the bat and ground the wirescreen using a
> three wire plug. It wouldn't hurt to use a ground fault detector in the
> socket you plug it into either. That way if there is current leakage into
> the damp plaster it will be harmlessly diverted to ground and all you will
> do is blow some fuses or pop the ground fault detector.
> >Hello:
> >I've been planing to make some bats for reclaiming. I would like to put some
> >heat strips in the clay so that even in cold or damp weather the clay would
> >dry. All the heat strips that I've found have a thermostat that doesn't allo
> >the heating elements to come on until the temperature is below 32 degrees F.
>
> >Anyone know where I can get heat strips without thermostats?
>
> >Bob Hanlin
>
> Fred Paget---Mill Valley,CA,USA
> Never try, never win!
Cheryl L Litman on tue 30 dec 97
This time of year you should be able to find heat trace cable in any
hardware store. It's used in cold climates to run at the edge of the
roof to prevent ice dams from forming and backing water up under the
shingles.
Cheryl Litman
Somerset, NJ
email: cheryllitman@juno.com
On Mon, 29 Dec 1997 10:58:42 EST Linda Blossom
writes:
>----------------------------Original
>message----------------------------
>How about heat cable that is used for starting seeds?
>
>Linda Blossom
>2366 Slaterville Rd.
>Ithaca, NY 14850
>6075397912
>www.artscape.com
>blossom=40lightlink.com
>
Cameron Harman on wed 31 dec 97
I have been following this thread with great interest and have
finally decided to quit "lurking".
I wish to make a point, yet I do not wish to infer any disrespect
to anyone who discussed the heat strips question. Clearly, one of
the great things about the clayart list is that so many people can
bring forth so many good ideas. I though that all the submitted
ideas about heated strips were quite good and some were uniquely
clever.
The point I wish to make is that the the original problem was
stated as being a drying problem and the solution was thought to
be a strip heater (I apologize for having lost the original
message and the name of the originator). I deal with industrial
clients most of the time and find that the intuitive thinking here
is very similar. The real problem here is one of controlling the
rate of drying.
Sometimes we want to dry quickly and sometimes more slowly.
Usually people think of heat when they think of solving a drying
problem. I understand this, but the real answer to drying problems
is water removal.
For a potter water removal comes about in two major ways .. one is
the placement of the ceramic on something that absorbs water, the
other is air. Without going into great detail (see the Ezine for
that) I always try to keep freshly made ceramics in a controlled
place and set them on perforated (non solid) plates. I want the
air to reach evenly all around the parts and I don't want the
ceramic placed on anything that absorbs the water (it will dry
that face too fast, usually).
I find that clear plastic hung over the racks that you might
normally use will work fine, as long as you cannot get too many
pieces in at one time. By admitting more or less air you can
control the rate of drying. To dry more rapidly you must do only
two things .. one use a fan to move the air across the ceramic
(and always exhaust a portion of the air from the enclosed space)
and two .. you may need a space heater to warm the air before it
gets to the fan.
The reason for heat is that warm air holds more moisture, so it
will cause faster drying. If your climate is hot and dry, or if it
is a northern winter and you are in a heated room (even 65
degrees) the humidity is so low that ceramics will dry fast .. too
fast sometimes.
The complete answer takes a lot more space than we have here, so
I'll leave the complete answer to the next e-zine where I can put
in more words. Feel free to e-mail me with questions as I know I
left a lot unsaid.
Please remember this.. almost all drying questions (including
cracking) can be handled rather simply by applying the correct
basics. You don't *need* and expensive dryer, but you definitely
do need to consider drying as even day to night changes can
sometimes get your pots.
All the best for the new year ..
Cameron
--
********************************************************
Cameron G. Harman, Jr. President Ceramic Services, Inc.
215-245-4040 fax 215-638-1812 visit us http://www.@kilnman.com
1060 Park Ave. Bensalem, PA 19020
THE place to go for answers to all YOUR kiln and dryer questions
********************************************************
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