Andrew Elman on thu 13 oct 05
I work in the Expressive Therapy Department of Loretto Hospital, in Chicago
Illinois. We have a 76 bed capacity in our psychiatric unit. The hospital
is very fortunate to have a kiln, and we use it in all of our ceramics
projects. Recently a small, but crucial, part of the kiln broke. Our Kiln
uses a Dawson Kiln sitter (model LT-3K). The ceramic tube assembly which
holds the kiln support in place broke. The kiln support is a tiny part
which holds the cone in place. There is one on each side of the tube
assembly and a latch that sits on top of the cone. When the cone melts the
latch drops and the kiln shuts off. As a result a result of it's small size
the kiln support has been misplaced. After contacting a kiln repair
technician, he quoted us with a $750 estimate. Since we are a "safety net
hospital" we have an almost fictional budget. If any one can recommend a
course of action that would allow us to replace this small part and allow
us to continue making ceramics it would very much appreciated. thankyou,
andrew elman
Maurice Weitman on fri 14 oct 05
At 4:43 PM -0400 on 10/13/05, Andrew Elman wrote:
>I work in the Expressive Therapy Department of Loretto Hospital, in Chicago
>Illinois. We have a 76 bed capacity in our psychiatric unit. The hospital
>is very fortunate to have a kiln, and we use it in all of our ceramics
>projects. Recently a small, but crucial, part of the kiln broke. Our Kiln
>uses a Dawson Kiln sitter (model LT-3K). The ceramic tube assembly which
>holds the kiln support in place broke. The kiln support is a tiny part
>which holds the cone in place. There is one on each side of the tube
>assembly and a latch that sits on top of the cone. When the cone melts the
>latch drops and the kiln shuts off. As a result a result of it's small size
>the kiln support has been misplaced. After contacting a kiln repair
>technician, he quoted us with a $750 estimate. Since we are a "safety net
>hospital" we have an almost fictional budget. If any one can recommend a
>course of action that would allow us to replace this small part and allow
>us to continue making ceramics it would very much appreciated. thankyou,
>andrew elman
You probably mistyped the technician's quote. Shouldn't that have been $75?
Or $7.50??
Call Dawson 714-529-2813 - nice people. A tube assembly from them
will cost around $20.
If you've described this accurately and I understood correctly, you
should be able to replace the tube yourself quite easily. Dawson
might even include replacement instructions, but you can surely ask
the folks for one while you phone them.
Regards,
Maurice
ps I resisted the temptation to ask whether the "kiln repair
technician" was in inmate. Until now.
Diane Winters on fri 14 oct 05
Andrew wrote:
> Our Kiln
> uses a Dawson Kiln sitter (model LT-3K). The ceramic tube assembly which
> holds the kiln support in place broke. The kiln support is a tiny part
> which holds the cone in place. There is one on each side of the tube
> assembly and a latch that sits on top of the cone. When the cone melts the
> latch drops and the kiln shuts off. As a result a result of it's small
size
> the kiln support has been misplaced. After contacting a kiln repair
> technician, he quoted us with a $750 estimate. >
What!!!? Good thing you came to clayart. You could buy an entirely new
model LT-3K direct from Dawson for only slightly more than $100.
Fortunately you can also buy their individual parts.
Here's the parts price list. This webpage also includes a link which will
show a detailed expanded diagram of the kiln sitter innards, so you can see
how things fit together and choose the right parts.
http://www.kiln-sitter.com/cgi-bin/perlshop/perlshop.cgi?ACTION=thispage&thispage=page5.html&ORDER_ID=327353236
Once you get your replacement part(s), I think you can, if it proves
necessary, have someone at Dawson help talk you through the repair process.
Diane Winters
in still beautiful, barefoot-weather, Oakland/Berkeley by the Bay
Cindy Bracker on fri 14 oct 05
$750 for a tube assembly???? That's outlandish! A complete tube
assembly costs about $25.00. If you just need the cone supports,
those are about $5.00 or less. Tube assemblies are pretty easy to
change. You could easily do it yourself. Takes about 20 minutes.
What the kiln repair tech might be quoting is a brand new complete
kiln sitter, which, IMHO, it is unlikely that you need. Please feel
free to contact me off list, or you can contact Dave, our kiln
technician directly at tech@brackers.com
Cindy Bracker
On Oct 13, 2005, at 3:43 PM, Andrew Elman wrote:
> I work in the Expressive Therapy Department of Loretto Hospital, in
> Chicago
> Illinois. We have a 76 bed capacity in our psychiatric unit. The
> hospital
> is very fortunate to have a kiln, and we use it in all of our ceramics
> projects. Recently a small, but crucial, part of the kiln broke.
> Our Kiln
> uses a Dawson Kiln sitter (model LT-3K). The ceramic tube assembly
> which
> holds the kiln support in place broke. The kiln support is a tiny part
> which holds the cone in place. There is one on each side of the tube
> assembly and a latch that sits on top of the cone. When the cone
> melts the
> latch drops and the kiln shuts off. As a result a result of it's
> small size
> the kiln support has been misplaced. After contacting a kiln repair
> technician, he quoted us with a $750 estimate. Since we are a
> "safety net
> hospital" we have an almost fictional budget. If any one can
> recommend a
> course of action that would allow us to replace this small part and
> allow
> us to continue making ceramics it would very much appreciated.
> thankyou,
> andrew elman
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
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>
>
Lester Haworth on fri 14 oct 05
Andrew,
This is a simple fix, You'll need to replace the tube assembly which is a
$21.00 part. First remove the tube assembly noting where all the screws go.
Then you need to measure the lengh of the tube assembly. Go to
http://www.kiln-sitter.com/support.html and click the documents button to
display or print a manual with an expanded view of the Kiln sitter. If you
know the make and model of the kiln this would be helpful in finding the
correct size tube. Don't forget, after you install the new tube assembly to
adjust the sitter with the firing gauge which comes with a new tube. That's
pretty much it. I repair kilns in the Los Angeles area and would charge
$60.00 for the house call $60.00 for the labor and about $21.00 for the
part. $750.00 is way too high! You can also visit my web site for tips on
routine maintence and a links page that will get you to most of the electric
kiln mfg. in the USA. http://www.mobilekilnrepair.com Good luck.
Les H.
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Andrew Elman
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 1:43 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: broken kiln sitter
I work in the Expressive Therapy Department of Loretto Hospital, in Chicago
Illinois. We have a 76 bed capacity in our psychiatric unit. The hospital
is very fortunate to have a kiln, and we use it in all of our ceramics
projects. Recently a small, but crucial, part of the kiln broke. Our Kiln
uses a Dawson Kiln sitter (model LT-3K). The ceramic tube assembly which
holds the kiln support in place broke. The kiln support is a tiny part
which holds the cone in place. There is one on each side of the tube
assembly and a latch that sits on top of the cone. When the cone melts the
latch drops and the kiln shuts off. As a result a result of it's small size
the kiln support has been misplaced. After contacting a kiln repair
technician, he quoted us with a $750 estimate. Since we are a "safety net
hospital" we have an almost fictional budget. If any one can recommend a
course of action that would allow us to replace this small part and allow
us to continue making ceramics it would very much appreciated. thankyou,
andrew elman
____________________________________________________________________________
__
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 14 oct 05
Andrew, replacing the porcelain tube on your Kiln Sitter is not too
difficult. You could probably do it yourself. The tube assembly and cone
supports, depending on your kiln, are around $50 for parts.
The Kiln Sitter manual shows how to replace the porcelain tube. You can
download the manual from Paragon's website at no charge. Go to
www.paragonweb.com and click on "Manuals."
I can't imagine why anyone would charge you $750 to repair a Kiln Sitter.
Perhaps the estimate includes changing all the elements and cracked bricks.
But if your kiln is operating to your satisfaction, you don't need new
elements. And cracked bricks rarely affect a kiln's performance.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
From: "Andrew Elman"
Recently a small, but crucial, part of the kiln broke. Our Kiln
> uses a Dawson Kiln sitter (model LT-3K). The ceramic tube assembly which
> holds the kiln support in place broke. The kiln support is a tiny part
> which holds the cone in place. There is one on each side of the tube
> assembly and a latch that sits on top of the cone. When the cone melts the
> latch drops and the kiln shuts off. As a result a result of it's small
> size
> the kiln support has been misplaced.
William & Susan Schran User on fri 14 oct 05
On 10/13/05 4:43 PM, "Andrew Elman" wrote:
> After contacting a kiln repair
> technician, he quoted us with a $750 estimate. Since we are a "safety net
> hospital" we have an almost fictional budget. If any one can recommend a
> course of action that would allow us to replace this small part and allow
> us to continue making ceramics it would very much appreciated.
What a friggin' rip off! $750!! You gotta be kidding!
Contact the kiln manufacturer, tell them what kiln you have, get the new
kiln sitter tube, under a $100. Ask them to send you directions for
replacing the kiln sitter tube. Or here's a web site (and there's others)
that will show you how to fix it: http://hotkilns.com/dawson-PK.pdf
Just remember to unplug the kiln before you start working on it.
I promise, it's not hard.
--
William "Bill" Schran
Fredericksburg, Virginia
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