mudslingers@ATT.NET on sat 15 nov 03
hi! i sure hope someone can get back to me quickly as i am chomping at the
bit to replace my elements today/tomorrow (saturday/sunday)!
thanks to this awesome list i have been convinced of the virtues of ITC.
i have in my hot little hands the new elements and the ITC213 (and 100HT for
the brick).
info in the archives --including posts from nils lou whom we all know is the
kiln god himself--says to wash the elements with a clorox/water solution. in
a post from april 2003 entitled "Instructions for ITC coatings " , nanci
bishof was kind enough to enter instructions she said came from the ITC
literature: "Wash surface with a 1:1 solution of liquid Clorox bleach and
water."
i ordered my itc from axner. THEIR instruction sheet (with their logo on it--
the package did not contain any info from ITC) says to heat the elements to
700 degrees as the prepartation and nothing about washing with the clorox
soloution.
i am leaning towards the clorox wash. but i'm confused! why is there
different info? should i do one or the other? which one is better? should i
do both??
i called axner, skutt, and ITC, but no one was available to take the calls.
any help would be greatly appreciated!
i love this list!
lauren
--
Mudslingers Pottery, Lauren Bellero
http://mudslingers.home.att.net
39 Leroy Place, Red Bank, NJ 07701
732.747.4853
william schran on sat 15 nov 03
Lauren wrote:>"Wash surface with a 1:1 solution of liquid Clorox bleach and
water."
i ordered my itc from axner. THEIR instruction sheet (with their logo on it--
the package did not contain any info from ITC) says to heat the elements to
700 degrees as the prepartation and nothing about washing with the clorox
soloution.<
The idea is to remove oils/lubricates used in forming the element
wire into coils. If this is not removed the ITC will not adhere
properly. I simply wound the coils up, placed on a kiln shelf (upside
down, not on kiln wash side) and fired up to red heat.
Make darn sure you apply the ITC to the coils very thinly. I used the
dip/dunk method in a drywall compound tray, but apparently did not
add enough water cause several months later the elements were
shorting/burning out in areas where the coating was thicker. Used in
an L&L kiln, the short actually burned holes through the porcelain
element holder!
Bill
Paul B on sat 15 nov 03
Be very cautious at this stage because everything has to be done exactly
right to get good results. Otherwise the stuff can flake off onto your pots
during the firing.
You can do the bleach solution thing if that's what people say, or another
thing is to put them in the kiln during a bisque firing -- keep the
elements wrapped up in a cicle and be sure they do not touch the kiln
elements while firing. The idea is to get rid of the coating that comes on
new elements because it will prevent the 213 from adhering well. I
personally think that firing them in a bisque is better and easier, and the
owner of the company recommended that to me; but i am not one of the
renowned experts on the list either so you will have to decide how to do it.
Even more important is to make sure the ITC 213 is of the proper
consistency before you dip the elements in it. Too thick and it will flake
off and this can cause major problems. If you do it just right the elements
could very well last forever. The owner said to empty the container of 213
into a blender and fill the container 1/3 full with water and blend it all
up. When i did this i found the mix was still a little thick so just a
little bit more water may be good, but it needs to be blended very well. If
you put too much water then the mix tends to settle hard making it very
hard to work with.
You should wet the elements in water before dipping them in 213 -- this is
done with all ITC products, mortars, etc. and there is not reason why 213
should be an exception.
Give them a thin dip and allow to dry completely overnight before
installing (do not coat the ends).
Once installed fire them slowly like in a bisque.
Read all the info available because there may be other tricks i did not
mention, and the itc 100 HT has it's own set of details to understand.
Paul B
Falmouth, KY
wayneinkeywest on sat 15 nov 03
I don't presume to know all the fine points of ITC213
installation on kiln elements. My total exposure has been
watching and helping Mr. Mayor ITC100 an old beater kiln
at Lisa Skeen's workshop (and those of you have the calendar,
you know who the supervisors were .)
Seems to me that instructions (for whatever) these
days are meant for the person who has lived in a
bubble their entire lives. Mel sprayed the kiln with
water to clean it (after he blew it off with air to remove
the dust and particles. Once the kiln was "wet", then
the ITC was sprayed on, old elements and all.
All this done in a back yard,
with a breeze, on grass. No special precautions
(except keeping the guineas away from it, I suppose...
a task at which we failed miserably :>)
That said, here's a tale to enlighten you...
One day a woman invited her parents over for a "family
dinner". She was going to attempt her mother's famous
ham. With her mother watching, she followed the recipe
to the letter, doing _exactly_ what she remembered her
mother had done all the years the woman was growing
up. When it came time to put it in the oven, the woman
took the ham, sliced about an inch off of each end,
put it in the pan, and into the oven. The woman's mother
stopped her, and asked her why she cut the ends off the
ham. The woman said "That's what YOU always did, so
I'm doing it." at which point the mother burst out laughing.
"Of course I did, sweetie" she exclaimed. "But only
because the only roasting pan I owned was always too
small for the ham!"
Sometimes you need to take instructions "with a grain of salt."
Don't just do something because "that's how it's always been done".
There might be a good reason for doing something. There might not.
All my Best,
Wayne Seidl
> Be very cautious at this stage because everything has to be done exactly
> right to get good results. Otherwise the stuff can flake off onto your
pots
> during the firing.
> You can do the bleach solution thing if that's what people say, or another
> thing is to put them in the kiln during a bisque firing -- keep the
> elements wrapped up in a cicle and be sure they do not touch the kiln
> elements while firing. The idea is to get rid of the coating that comes on
> new elements because it will prevent the 213 from adhering well. I
> personally think that firing them in a bisque is better and easier, and
the
> owner of the company recommended that to me; but i am not one of the
> renowned experts on the list either so you will have to decide how to do
it.
> Even more important is to make sure the ITC 213 is of the proper
> consistency before you dip the elements in it. Too thick and it will flake
> off and this can cause major problems. If you do it just right the
elements
> could very well last forever. The owner said to empty the container of 213
> into a blender and fill the container 1/3 full with water and blend it all
> up. When i did this i found the mix was still a little thick so just a
> little bit more water may be good, but it needs to be blended very well.
If
> you put too much water then the mix tends to settle hard making it very
> hard to work with.
> You should wet the elements in water before dipping them in 213 -- this is
> done with all ITC products, mortars, etc. and there is not reason why 213
> should be an exception.
> Give them a thin dip and allow to dry completely overnight before
> installing (do not coat the ends).
> Once installed fire them slowly like in a bisque.
> Read all the info available because there may be other tricks i did not
> mention, and the itc 100 HT has it's own set of details to understand.
> Paul B
> Falmouth, KY
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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.
>
| |
|
