William & Susan Schran User on sat 16 dec 06
With the recent posts about cracking kiln shelves and my research on various
shelf options for electric kilns for article in PMI, folks might want to
consider silicon nitride bonded shelves. After the article went to press, I
saw Geil had nitride bonded shelves for much less than Advancers. I'm not
certain if there are additional suppliers or not.
Geil kilns is offering 21", 10 sided nitride bonded shelves for $45 each.
From the picture on their site and the advertised weight of the shelf -
5.5 pounds - these are half-shelves.
They are indeed more expensive than cordierite shelves, but the saving of
weight and associated back stress may be well worth the price. This is
especially true for 28" half-shelves.
It should also be noted that it takes more energy to heat the thermal mass
of the kiln furniture than it does for the pots that are in the kiln. The
nitride bonded shelves have less mass, so take less energy to heat.
You also get more room in the kiln since the shelves are thinner than
cordierite shelves.
Yes, there is the caveat that the nitride bonded shelves will conduct
electricity, but how many folks load with the kiln turned on?
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
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