Arnold Howard on wed 24 jan 07
meltdown
Craig, some of the best potters fire their kilns unattended.
They consider that a calculated risk. Though I feel that one
should monitor the kiln during firing, I don't think you
should be so hard on yourself.
By the way, if you don't have the budget to repair your kiln
right away, perhaps you could buy a used kiln. I've seen
them sold for very little.
I understand that the kiln bottom, the bottom row of bricks,
and the bottom element are destroyed, but the rest of the
bricks and elements are okay. The kiln is single-section.
1) Unplug the kiln, vacuum the interior, and remove the lid.
Turn the kiln upside down onto a protective piece of
cardboard. Loosen the bottom of the stainless case.
2) Does the kiln have a galvanized sheet metal base? If so,
remove the screws holding it and pry out the steel base with
a screwdriver.
3) Lift out the kiln bottom and bottom row of bricks.
Replace the bricks. It may be possible to salvage the brick
bottom by flipping it over and using the other side.
Reinstall the steel base.
4) Tighten the stainless case and turn the kiln right side
up.
5) Install the new element.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
From: "Craig Fulladosa"
The kiln is a Cress octagonal B-18-H. My question is, does
anyone know the procedure to dismantle the bottom part of
the kiln so I can cut new bricks to replace the floor and
bottom row of bricks?
> The bottom element is encased in thick glaze as is the
> entire floor.
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