Don Lyons on wed 16 dec 98
We, the Ceramic Guild of the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, have
just put in
new elements in two of our electric kilns and have not yet fired them.
We had
intended to spray the interiors, both elements and bricks, with ITC,
having heard
that this would increase the life of the elements and improve the
efficiency of
heat retention and transfer. However, the installer of the elements
advised us
against this on two grounds: (1) Kanthal recommends against it, advising
instead
to fire the kiln empty to about 1900F, with the lid cracked. This would
result in a
thin film of oxide on the surface of the elements, which would protect
them
against attack by sulfur fumes (sulfuric acid), and, (2) there is a
report of a
woman potter who is suing ITC Corp because spraying her electric kiln
with ITC
resulted in flaking or some other deterioration of the surfaces of the
brick
interior.
So - what to do?? If you have direct experience with ITC in an electric
kiln, or
know of someone else s experience, please write me a note about that
experience. We would greatly appreciate your input.
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