Holly Shaw on fri 24 mar 06
Hi,
I need advice about whether to replace just one electric element that has
had a major meltdown . The elements have been through 76 firings, ^6 glaze
^04 bisque. No attempts at reduction or lead glazes used. Have done a few
crystalline firings, all at ^6 with only a 3-4 hour hold. Not alot of heavy
use, ave. 2-6 firings per month.
The kiln is an L&L 230-3 6.8 cu ft. and the elements are heavy duty. The
meltdown caused major contamination of the ceramic holders so the effected
brick needs to be replaced. The L&L tech guy says "the elements could have
made it over 100 firings if that one hadn't gone, you should replace all the
elements".
So the questions posed are-
- has anyone had success replacing just one of an ageing set of elements?
I'm a major cheapskate and would obviously love to squeeze all the life out
of the elements that I can, I ordered the heavy duty elements originally
because I thought I would get considerably more life out of them.
- Anyone used Duralite or Euclid instead of manufacture recommended parts?
(The kilns' warranty has expired so that is not a concern.)
- Are all replacement elements made of the Kanthal wire?
If I have to bite the bullet and replace all the elements I'm looking into
the ITC 213 coating.
-Any helpful advice on best application method, consistancy, things to avoid
coating? Can older 'already kiln washed' shelves be coated or does the
shelf surface need to be pristine?
Thanks for any and all input!
Holly in Connecticut
Rick Hamelin on sat 25 mar 06
Holly
I have only purchased elements from Duralite and I find that they substantially last longer than the manufacturers replacements.
Order what you need plus a spare or two and replace only the damaged ones. If the others blow on you later, then you have replacements on hand.
Rick
www.americanredware.com
--
"Many a wiser men than I hath
gone to pot." 1649
Arnold Howard on mon 27 mar 06
If the elements are near the end of a wear cycle, I
would replace them all. If one element burned out due
to contamination with a foreign material but the
other elements still had life in them, I would
replace only the burned-out element.
One advantage to using the original manufacturer's
elements is that you know they will fit properly.
Since those elements are used regularly in the
factory for new kilns, they are stretched to the
correct length. (The installers would complain to the
element department if the stretch length was wrong.)
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Holly Shaw"
> - has anyone had success replacing just one of an
> ageing set of elements?
> I'm a major cheapskate and would obviously love to
> squeeze all the life out
> of the elements that I can, I ordered the heavy
> duty elements originally
> because I thought I would get considerably more
> life out of them.
>
> - Anyone used Duralite or Euclid instead of
> manufacture recommended parts?
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