Louis Katz on thu 15 jun 00
IMHO replace the bricks, or pin a section of brick in place to hold the elements
or buy a new kiln. You can hold up an element with pins, but it will sag and any
other problems will increase the oportunity for a short. Exposed elements increase
the opportunity for a shock. Forget the added insulation value. If your kiln is
otherwise in good shape with clean connections repairs are worthwhile. If you are
paying fifty dollars an hour, and will need repairs again soon, you may be better
off going for a replacement.
Louis
Juliet Johnston wrote:
> My employer is getting an electric kiln repaired. We have an estimate for
> changing out the elements and for an additional $84 to $126 they will replace
> the broken bricks. Two of the bricks are so badly broken that they will no
> longer hold the wire and it sags badly. Some other bricks are also chipped,
> but still hold the wire. The wire can probally be held up with wire pins.
> Will replacing the bricks give better insulation and maybe pay for itself in
> electricity savings or is it foolish to spend this extra money on an old
> kiln? I appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Juliet Johnston
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Juliet Johnston on thu 15 jun 00
My employer is getting an electric kiln repaired. We have an estimate for
changing out the elements and for an additional $84 to $126 they will replace
the broken bricks. Two of the bricks are so badly broken that they will no
longer hold the wire and it sags badly. Some other bricks are also chipped,
but still hold the wire. The wire can probally be held up with wire pins.
Will replacing the bricks give better insulation and maybe pay for itself in
electricity savings or is it foolish to spend this extra money on an old
kiln? I appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Juliet Johnston
Charles on fri 16 jun 00
I don't know how much the damaged bricks affect the heat retention, but I do
know that saggy elements stand a greater chance of being damaged while
loading and unloading the kiln. Whatever you decide to do, I suggest you
watch the repairmen do their job, then NEVER pay anyone to do it again. It's
not hard and you will save yourself a lot of $$ in the future. Bricks are
not too hard either, they cost 2-5 bucks a piece depending on your supplier.
It took us an extra 1/2 hour to change bricks. it's a matter of removing the
metal shielding with nothing more than a nut and screwdriver, then loosening
a few metal clamps that keep the metal skin on the kiln. As soon as this
skin is relaxed, you can unstack down to the damaged brick, replace it, and
stack it back up. Then simply tighten everything in reverse order.
I also HIGHLY recommend using ITC products. They are amazing. They will save
you money on electric and replacing bricks and elements into the future.
Charles Hughes
http://www.thecreativeoasis.com/Hughes/hughes.html
----- Original Message -----
From: Juliet Johnston
To:
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2000 8:46 PM
Subject: Electric Kiln Repair
> My employer is getting an electric kiln repaired. We have an estimate for
> changing out the elements and for an additional $84 to $126 they will
replace
> the broken bricks. Two of the bricks are so badly broken that they will no
> longer hold the wire and it sags badly. Some other bricks are also
chipped,
> but still hold the wire. The wire can probally be held up with wire pins.
> Will replacing the bricks give better insulation and maybe pay for itself
in
> electricity savings or is it foolish to spend this extra money on an old
> kiln? I appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Juliet Johnston
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Arnold Howard on fri 16 jun 00
I suggest that you replace bricks as a last resort. It
is easy to damage elements when replacing bricks.
Repairing bulging elements is much easier. They should
be repaired as soon as possible.
Arnold Howard
Paragon
--- Charles wrote:
> I don't know how much the damaged bricks affect the
> heat retention, but I do
> know that saggy elements stand a greater chance of
> being damaged while
> loading and unloading the kiln. Whatever you decide
> to do, I suggest you
> watch the repairmen do their job, then NEVER pay
> anyone to do it again. It's
> not hard and you will save yourself a lot of $$ in
> the future. Bricks are
> not too hard either, they cost 2-5 bucks a piece
> depending on your supplier.
> It took us an extra 1/2 hour to change bricks. it's
> a matter of removing the
> metal shielding with nothing more than a nut and
> screwdriver, then loosening
> a few metal clamps that keep the metal skin on the
> kiln. As soon as this
> skin is relaxed, you can unstack down to the damaged
> brick, replace it, and
> stack it back up. Then simply tighten everything in
> reverse order.
>
> I also HIGHLY recommend using ITC products. They are
> amazing. They will save
> you money on electric and replacing bricks and
> elements into the future.
>
> Charles Hughes
>
> http://www.thecreativeoasis.com/Hughes/hughes.html
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Juliet Johnston
> To:
> Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2000 8:46 PM
> Subject: Electric Kiln Repair
>
>
> > My employer is getting an electric kiln repaired.
> We have an estimate for
> > changing out the elements and for an additional
> $84 to $126 they will
> replace
> > the broken bricks. Two of the bricks are so badly
> broken that they will no
> > longer hold the wire and it sags badly. Some other
> bricks are also
> chipped,
> > but still hold the wire. The wire can probally be
> held up with wire pins.
> > Will replacing the bricks give better insulation
> and maybe pay for itself
> in
> > electricity savings or is it foolish to spend this
> extra money on an old
> > kiln? I appreciate your thoughts on this matter.
> Juliet Johnston
> >
> >
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> > Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> > You may look at the archives for the list or
> change your subscription
> > settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> > Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change
> your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at melpots@pclink.com.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Send instant messages with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com/
| |
|
