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burnout - element life?

updated thu 8 jul 10

 

Clyde Tullis on tue 6 jul 10


When one uses newspaper as an armature or support in handbuilt piece, doe=
=3D
s
the burning out of the paper effect the life of the elements? The kiln i=
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s
vented
with a hood, not an Envirovent.

William & Susan Schran User on tue 6 jul 10


On 7/6/10 7:41 AM, "Clyde Tullis" wrote:

> When one uses newspaper as an armature or support in handbuilt piece, doe=
s
> the burning out of the paper effect the life of the elements? The kiln i=
s
> vented
> with a hood, not an Envirovent.

If you are doing this occasionally, you should not see any reduction in
element life. If you do this all the time, then you will begin to degrade t=
o
oxide layer on the elements, that require another oxidizing fire to
re-establish it. Leaving spy holes open and leaving lid slightly open until
paper burns away will help.
Bill

--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com

Snail Scott on wed 7 jul 10


On Jul 6, 2010, at 6:41 AM, Clyde Tullis wrote:
> When one uses newspaper as an armature or support in handbuilt
> piece, does
> the burning out of the paper effect the life of the elements? The
> kiln is
> vented with a hood, not an Envirovent...


First off, a hood vent is designed to keep fumes
out of the room, not to clean the air inside the
kiln, so its presence really isn't a factor.

Second, how much paper are we talking about?
a few sheets per firing? hundreds? And is the
newspaper fully enclosed in clay, or open to the
kiln atmosphere? (Enclosed combustibles will
not draw oxygen from the kiln atmosphere, thus
not affecting the elements.)

Any combustion within the kiln atmosphere will
affect the elements of an electric kiln. How
much it affects them depends on the amount
of combustion. Every firing has some going on,
even if it's just burning out trace organics in the
clay. Use more combustibles, and the effect on
the elements will be increased. Elements are
consumable components, and will need to be
replaced someday, but you have some influence
on how soon.

Car tires are also consumables. A steady careful
driver can make them last longer. If you are a race
driver, though, that won't serve your primary goal,
and it would be only sensible to tolerate a shorter
tire lifespan if driving fast and aggressively helps
you win.

So, if burning out paper is essential to the nature
of your work, go ahead and do what you have to.
If you eliminate the paper, it will extend your element
life, but it's up to you to decide if it matters enough to
do that. The tradeoff may be worth it, or not.

-Snail

Dannon Rhudy on fri 9 jul 10


Clyde said:
......When one uses newspaper as an armature or support in handbuilt piece,
does
the burning out of the paper effect the life of the elements? The kiln is
vented
with a hood, not an Envirovent......



It might eventually affect the elements. I used
paper armatures (and paper saggars) for a number of
things for quite some time. I did not notice a
significant shortening of element life. Firing past
bisque temps affects the elements a lot sooner.

Just my experience.

regards

Dannon Rhudy