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more on itc and electric kilns

updated mon 9 mar 98

 

Hrnce on sat 7 mar 98

Few months ago I reported here my experience with ITC.Briefly , I coated the
inside of my kiln ,elements included, with ITC and right away started using
more and more kWh on my firings.
Finally when my usage reached 98 kWh ( from preITC average of 74) and I spent
half of the night waiting for the cones to go down I decided to take action. I
bought Euclid elements(and by the way I am very happy with them) and replaced
all the kiln elements.
Needless to say that it was quite a lot of work and money, but there is
more.
As you spray the elements ,they increase slightly in the diameter and
conversely the brick grooves narrow. Now you can imagine that when you try to
remove the thicker element through a narrower slit there will be some damage
to the brick, which is what happened to a lot of my bricks. Now I am back to
my pre ITC kWh usage and happy with my Skutt kiln.
Jiri in Berkeley.

Talbott on sun 8 mar 98

This type of report (see msg below) was the very reason that I took my
"cautious" stance on applying any refractory coating to a studio kiln be it
gas or electric. I have nothing personally against the makers of these
products. I do think that there may be some useful applications but studio
potters don't necessarily have the same needs as large commercial potteries
and refractories which is the primary target market for such companies.
Most kiln manufactures such as Skutt to the best of my knowledge recommend
against using these coatings as well. So whose recommendations do you
follow? Again Just my $0.0002 worth. ....Marshall

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Few months ago I reported here my experience with ITC.Briefly , I coated the
>inside of my kiln ,elements included, with ITC and right away started using
>more and more kWh on my firings.
>Finally when my usage reached 98 kWh ( from preITC average of 74) and I spent
>half of the night waiting for the cones to go down I decided to take action. I
>bought Euclid elements(and by the way I am very happy with them) and replaced
>all the kiln elements.
> Needless to say that it was quite a lot of work and money, but there is
>more.
>As you spray the elements ,they increase slightly in the diameter and
>conversely the brick grooves narrow. Now you can imagine that when you try to
>remove the thicker element through a narrower slit there will be some damage
>to the brick, which is what happened to a lot of my bricks. Now I am back to
>my pre ITC kWh usage and happy with my Skutt kiln.
>Jiri in Berkeley.

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Clennell on sun 8 mar 98

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Few months ago I reported here my experience with ITC.Briefly , I coated the
>inside of my kiln ,elements included, with ITC and right away started using
>more and more kWh on my firings.
>Finally when my usage reached 98 kWh ( from preITC average of 74) and I spent
>half of the night waiting for the cones to go down I decided to take action. I
>bought Euclid elements(and by the way I am very happy with them) and replaced
>all the kiln elements.
> Needless to say that it was quite a lot of work and money, but there is
>more.
>As you spray the elements ,they increase slightly in the diameter and
>conversely the brick grooves narrow. Now you can imagine that when you try to
>remove the thicker element through a narrower slit there will be some damage
>to the brick, which is what happened to a lot of my bricks. Now I am back to
>my pre ITC kWh usage and happy with my Skutt kiln.
>Jiri in Berkeley.


Dear Jiri: Like most things in life more is not always better. From the
sounds of your experience with ITC products I think you must have thought
if a little does save energy or protect elements then imagine what alot
would do. To put enough spray on an element to increase its size so that
you can't get out of the groove without doing damage, it sounds like you
used a putty knife and not a spray gun. People that seem to have bad
experiences with these products fall into the more is better category. The
directions that come with the ITC products recommend a 1/16 of an inch
spray. If your brick grooves don't allow for that kind of tolerance then
I'd go shopping for a Cone Art kiln. Thats what we use and I have it
sprayed with 100 and I would have no trouble removing the elements. My
elements are still soft too, after over two years use.
I'm not real sure on this one, but could it be that the thickness of the
coating on the elements prevented the kiln from reaching temperature? I
think a call to Feriz at ITC would give answers. When we applied ITC 213 to
elements we rubbed it on with a cloth like simmonizing a car. Painting it
on with a brush in my mind is a no-no.
Hope there is a answer in here to the mystery of your problems with the
products.
Cheers,
Tony