Brad Sondahl on tue 7 jun 05
I was replacing the elements in my kiln today, a process that could be
done in a half an hour, except for a design flaw that makes the
elements too large for the slots when they are removed. (Elements get
slightly larger over time, from little bits sticking off the edges of
them). So I ended up spending an hour with a needlenosed pliers,
removing an inch at a time, ocasionally damaging the soft brick in the
process. I've done this many times before, and wouldn't have thought
too much of it if I hadn't been showing my god daughter (who's studying
ceramics in college) the system, and finally had to tell her she might
as well check back in an hour. She said
that she hadn't had such troubles when she changed the elements on the
Skutt kiln at school. This thought made me consider switching brands of
kiln, but that isn't likely to happen for a few more years (and element
changings). The conversation did prompt a new thought--instead of
tolerating an intolerable situation indefinitely-- I can get my elements
custom made to a smaller diameter (at places like Euclid's and Duralite)
and hopefully overcome the problem with the existing kiln.
There are plenty of weak designs possible with electric kilns. Many
of the kilns are designed with removable rings, with modular plug in
sections between each ring. These plug ins rapidly corrode and can fail
or arc in use. My goddaughter mentioned the school electricians hard
wired the sections in their older kilns together, as I have done with
most of my connections like that. Also the use of slots in the soft
brick for elements reduces the effective soft brick insulation by an
inch or more.
Brad Sondahl
--
For my pottery how-to videos, original art, music, pottery, and literature, visit my homepage
http://sondahl.com
Maurice Weitman on thu 9 jun 05
Brad Sondahl wrote, in part:
>[...] Also the use of slots in the soft
>brick for elements reduces the effective soft brick insulation by an
>inch or more.
Hi, Brad,
I didn't see any responses to this on the list, so I thought I'd pipe up here.
I certainly agree with the substance and spirit of your kiln and
element rant, but I'm confused by the "by an inch or more" part above.
My kilns have element grooves that are between 1/2" and 5/8" deep.
Are you referring to something else?
And is there an alternative to placing elements in grooves in IFB?
Do you think L&L's solution is good?
I've been thinking of coating my next elements with ITC and have been
concerned about not being able to get them out afterwards (or even IN
after coating them).
Thanks.
Regards,
Maurice, in Fairfax, California, where last night Celia and I saw a
very chunky River Otter sitting on a log in "our" lake, part of our
water district's reservoir system. We walk around the lake five or
six times a week and often see Osprey, several kinds of hawks and
herons, Pileated and other woodpeckers, loads of waterfowl, some
fairly exotic, and are regularly sung to this time of year by
Red-Winged Blackbirds, various Warblers, along with the Robins and
Grosbeaks that are common around our house, in the canyon downhill
about a mile from the lake.
About two years ago, we saw three, smaller River Otters on the same
logs in the lake. I actually got several pictures of them eating
Crayfish that were apparently plentiful just below the logs. The
otter last night was really rugged looking and quite curious about
us. Kept trying to get our scent, but we were downwind, so he kept
following us as we walked along the dam. The sighting rivaled that
of the Bobcat we saw at the end of December last year.
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