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life expectancy of elements 2

updated wed 24 feb 99

 

rocky mann on mon 22 feb 99

Dear ClayArt,

In response to my note of 2/5/99 about the life expectancy of elements: I am
sorry I did not answer earlier but I have been trying to chase down the
reason I got only 57 firings out of my Cone Art 16.5 cone 10 kiln. I thank
all of you for your feed back and questions. In answer to some of your
questions:

I needed to change all five wall elements because they were all burned out.
I suspect that they burned out in firing number 55, 56, and 57, not all in
the same firing.

I do have a 240 volt kiln and do have 240 coming into the studio.

I have been in touch with Cone Art (very helpful) and have checked the ohms
of the elements and that is still in question but they feel I do have the
right elements. We have talked about other problems and can not seem to find
a cause for my elements going so soon.

I vacuum regularly and do not use unusual glazes.

Questions to ClayArt:

Does anyone have experience with all elements going at about the same time?

Although I do not use ash glazes, Cone Art tells me that ash glazes can
cause problems with elements. Does Anyone have problems, experience or
knowledge with ash glazes harming elements?

Rocky Mann / Studio Potter Bar Harbor, ME

zahidi on tue 23 feb 99

does your area get a lot of power surges? I dunno about elements, but surges
play havoc with all the electronics and some switches.
-----Original Message-----
From: rocky mann
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Monday, February 22, 1999 3:50 PM
Subject: life expectancy of elements 2


>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Dear ClayArt,
>
>In response to my note of 2/5/99 about the life expectancy of elements: I
am
>sorry I did not answer earlier but I have been trying to chase down the
>reason I got only 57 firings out of my Cone Art 16.5 cone 10 kiln. I thank
>all of you for your feed back and questions. In answer to some of your
>questions:
>
>I needed to change all five wall elements because they were all burned out.
>I suspect that they burned out in firing number 55, 56, and 57, not all in
>the same firing.
>
>I do have a 240 volt kiln and do have 240 coming into the studio.
>
>I have been in touch with Cone Art (very helpful) and have checked the
ohms
>of the elements and that is still in question but they feel I do have the
>right elements. We have talked about other problems and can not seem to
find
>a cause for my elements going so soon.
>
>I vacuum regularly and do not use unusual glazes.
>
>Questions to ClayArt:
>
>Does anyone have experience with all elements going at about the same time?
>
>Although I do not use ash glazes, Cone Art tells me that ash glazes can
>cause problems with elements. Does Anyone have problems, experience or
>knowledge with ash glazes harming elements?
>
>Rocky Mann / Studio Potter Bar Harbor, ME

Nils Lou on tue 23 feb 99

Rocky, Strongly urge you to coat your new elements before replacing them.
Use ITC213 from International Technical Ceramics. If you don't get 100
firings I will personally pay for replacement elements and the cost of the
ITC material. Nils Lou

On Mon, 22 Feb 1999, rocky mann wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Dear ClayArt,
>
> In response to my note of 2/5/99 about the life expectancy of elements: I am
> sorry I did not answer earlier but I have been trying to chase down the
> reason I got only 57 firings out of my Cone Art 16.5 cone 10 kiln. I thank
> all of you for your feed back and questions. In answer to some of your
> questions:
>
> I needed to change all five wall elements because they were all burned out.
> I suspect that they burned out in firing number 55, 56, and 57, not all in
> the same firing.
>
> I do have a 240 volt kiln and do have 240 coming into the studio.
>
> I have been in touch with Cone Art (very helpful) and have checked the ohms
> of the elements and that is still in question but they feel I do have the
> right elements. We have talked about other problems and can not seem to find
> a cause for my elements going so soon.
>
> I vacuum regularly and do not use unusual glazes.
>
> Questions to ClayArt:
>
> Does anyone have experience with all elements going at about the same time?
>
> Although I do not use ash glazes, Cone Art tells me that ash glazes can
> cause problems with elements. Does Anyone have problems, experience or
> knowledge with ash glazes harming elements?
>
> Rocky Mann / Studio Potter Bar Harbor, ME
>