Brad Sondahl on sun 13 mar 05
The shorter the element, the higher the amperage drawn, and the hotter
the element (thus making for a shorter life).
To understand this, imagine if you had a very short piece of element
wire. When the juice is connected, all that electricity would want to
surge through the short wire, causing a huge amount of heat (likely
burning it out immediately, or blowing the breaker). The longer the
element, the more places for the energy to be disappated, resulting in
lower element temperature and longer element life.
The shorter elements you made should work unless they draw enough
current to pop your breakers.
I used to roll my own elements, but the newer kilns I've got have such
long ones it seemed too hard to practically do at home.
Brad Sondahl
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For original art, music, pottery, and literature, visit my homepage
http://sondahl.com
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