HLMass on tue 21 apr 98
Hello,
I have an old L&L (twenty and some odd years old) that, as of late, is taking
far too long to come up to cone. I fire to cone 6. Usually from the time I
turn the switches to high and plug the peeps it takes 3 1/2 hours or so for
the sitter to shut off. The last couple of firings though it has taken almost
triple the amount of time. I checked all of the elements and they are all
still working. The only thing I noticed is that it is actually warmer by the
kiln now when firing which indicates heat loss. I think it is happening
through the space between the lid and the top ring. Is there anything I can
do to seal this space without replacing all the brick?
Thank you,
Heather Massey
HLMass@aol.com
Columbia, CT
Cindy on wed 22 apr 98
Heather,
Over time, your elements decrease in efficiency. Soon, I expect, yours will
start burning out. If you're in production, I strongly suggest you order a
set now, before the old ones completely give up the ghost. (Same thing
happened to me--just before Christmas/before my new kiln arrived/before I
had my orders done . . . )
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels
Custer, SD
USA http://blackhills-info.com/a/cindys/menu.htm
Tim Stowell on wed 22 apr 98
In my experience elements can slow down before breaking completely. I
have replaced elements in a slow kiln once before. I noticed the time
slowing down drastically, I asked my supplier and he said try replacing
the elements. It worked. It makes sense that over time the resistance in
the element would change...and that as a result of that change the
element wouldn't heat properly. I would guess that the reason that the
area around the kiln is heating up more is not so much because of heat
loss through the kiln walls, but, as a result of the heat work produced
by a hot kiln over a longer period of time. I'm sure that people on the
list will offer more scientific reasons why all this is happening. I
would suggest changing your elements.
Tim
Tim Stowell Gerard Stowell Pottery
Stacey Gerard 290 River Street
tstwll@juno.com Troy, NY 12180
(518)272-0983 www.trytroy.org/gerard/
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Eleanora Eden on fri 24 apr 98
I also have an old L&L. I use kaowool as a gasket between kiln and lid. E.
At 07:30 AM 4/21/98 -0400, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hello,
>
>I have an old L&L (twenty and some odd years old) that, as of late, is taking
>far too long to come up to cone. I fire to cone 6. Usually from the time I
>turn the switches to high and plug the peeps it takes 3 1/2 hours or so for
>the sitter to shut off. The last couple of firings though it has taken
almost
>triple the amount of time. I checked all of the elements and they are all
>still working. The only thing I noticed is that it is actually warmer by the
>kiln now when firing which indicates heat loss. I think it is happening
>through the space between the lid and the top ring. Is there anything I can
>do to seal this space without replacing all the brick?
>
>Thank you,
>Heather Massey
>HLMass@aol.com
>Columbia, CT
>
Eleanora Eden 802 869-2003
Paradise Hill
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 eden@sover.net
Daisypet on sat 25 apr 98
For Eleanora: I ,too, have an old kiln-Aim- vintage of early 70's. I have the
same problem withheat loss from the kiln lid. What is kaowool and exactly how
do you use it and where do you get it? Does it come in a sheet that you can
cut or form a round? I would love it if I could save firing time. I also fire
to ^6 most of the time.
Thanks
Phyllis Tilton(Daisypet)
Ann on wed 13 jun 01
As an avid lurker on Clayart, I have read answers to a wonderful assortment
of questions. I wonder if someone can suggest what I should do with my old
Cress kiln which I bought second hand in pretty poor condition 5 years ago.
I am moving across Canada, from London to Vancouver Island, and suspect it
is not worth paying the freight charges to move it. It has cracks across
the lid, both sides and front, AND the metal casing is so rusted and
deteriorated (by moisture escaping from firings?) that replacing the fire
brick is probably impossible. I don't know whether to take it and hope to
repair it, dismantle it for the brick and electronics or give it away.
Any suggestions/advise?
Thanks,
Ann
annsemple@sympatico.ca
Valerie Hawkins on sun 15 jul 01
I've obtained a used Skutt kiln that is about 25 years old (the owner claims
it was unused and in storage for 10 of those years and I'm inclined to
believe him). I'm a little concerned about the possibility of asbestos
fibers in the brick. Are there any precautions I could take to lesson the
possibility of asbestos release?
Thanks,
Valerie
Ron Roy on mon 16 jul 01
The bigger concern would be if it had been used to fire lead glazes.
>I've obtained a used Skutt kiln that is about 25 years old (the owner claims
>it was unused and in storage for 10 of those years and I'm inclined to
>believe him). I'm a little concerned about the possibility of asbestos
>fibers in the brick. Are there any precautions I could take to lesson the
>possibility of asbestos release?
>
Ron Roy
RR# 4
15084 Little Lake Rd..
Brighton,
Ontario, Canada
KOK 1H0
Residence 613-475-9544
Studio 613-475-3715
Fax 613-475-3513
Snail Scott on sun 2 nov 03
At 05:18 PM 11/2/03 -0600, you wrote:
>I recently purchased an old used kiln...[warped shelves]...
Great! Most kilns are not difficult to repair, and
an old one for a good price is almost always a
worthwhile find. The warped shelves should not be
used to fire anything that needs to be flat when
it comes out, though...trying to level objects with
wadding can work, but may not be worth the effort if
pieces come out wobbly and unstable. Even if it's
not your living, your time in making them has more
value than a few new shelves unless you are really,
really broke. And selling a few decent pieces will
pay for the new shelves pretty soon.
>purchased some kiln wash (powder form-I know I will need to take care with
>the powder) and am thinking I should go over the old shelves with it.
Sure. Kilnwash is cheap insurance, and even old
warped shelves have their uses. Kilnwash is even
cheaper when you make your own - just mix equal
parts of silica and kaolin. Don't worry too much
about the powder; don't inhale, sure, but it's
no more harmful than any other silica-containing
dust that we deal with, and virtually harmless
when wet.
>...also thinking I should take one of the rings out of the kiln to make it
>smaller so that I can do smaller loads and have more practice firing for now.
Most kilns aren't really set up to permit that.
If yours is, go ahead, but if your long-term
goal is to fire the whole kiln, might as well
practice now! Fire it with all the rings, to
learn how it behaves.
>I thought I would vacuum the inside of the kiln, apply kiln wash to the
>shelves (should I do only one side, or both? can I do this in my
>garage? I wonder what temp. it needs to be to have these dry?) and just
>dive in.
Always a good idea to vacuum your kiln regularly; the
element channels especially.
People differ on whether to wash one side of a shelf
or both: if you wash both, you can flip the shelves
to compensate for warping, but you risk having bits
of kilnwash fall on your glaze. Since your old
shelves are already warped, I'd just do one side.
With your new shelves, I'd still do just one side,
and think about doing the other side only if signs
of warping actually develop later on. If you're not
firing heavy work to ^10, they may never warp at all.
Washing shelves is safe enough, I'd even feel fine
about doing it in my living room (though my sig.other
might complain when I spilled kilnwash on the couch).
It'll dry quite rapidly in any climate, since the
shelves are absorbent. Any moisture remaining in the
shelves when firing begins will be readily driven
off during candling. There's almost zero hazard of
explosions with wet shelves - they dry really fast
even if loaded while still wet.
If your old shelves have been washed before, scrape
off any flaky bits, grind off any persistent glaze
drips, then paint on new kilnwash with a housepaint
brush or a cheap roller. For new or unwashed shelves,
do two coats. If using a brush, you may find that
the absorbency of the shelves makes it hard to get
an even coat, but I avoid this problem by spraying
the shelf with a little water first. The kilnwash
should be about the consistency of heavy cream, not
quite as thick as paint.
-Snail
>
>Any advice or moral support would be helpful.
>
>Thanks.
>Patricia
>
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Patricia Voellinger on sun 2 nov 03
I recently purchased an old used kiln and have never done the firing part
of clay art before. (Others previously did this part for me, but I think I
am too addicted to working with clay to not take this further) The kiln
that I purchased (inexpensively) has shelves that are quite warped. I did
purchase some new shelving, but it seems like a good idea that while I am
'making mistakes', it would be a good idea to use the old shelves and try
to prop things up to make them even (in case I ruin something). I
purchased some kiln wash (powder form-I know I will need to take care with
the powder) and am thinking I should go over the old shelves with it. I am
also thinking I should take one of the rings out of the kiln to make it
smaller so that I can do smaller loads and have more practice firing for now.
I thought I would vacuum the inside of the kiln, apply kiln wash to the
shelves (should I do only one side, or both? can I do this in my
garage? I wonder what temp. it needs to be to have these dry?) and just
dive in.
Any advice or moral support would be helpful.
Thanks.
Patricia
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