Craig Martell on fri 20 oct 06
Hello Kelly:
I have electric heat bands on the pipes in the well pump house. They have
a built in thermostat that turns the juice on and off as necessary. You
might be able to use this type of heat source. Put the bands and
thermostat against the metal and cover the mill and bands with some
insulation and perhaps some plastic over that for a vapor barrier and
you'll cut the electric consumption and the mill will stay unfrozen. Well,
we hope so anyway.
regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
Fredrick Paget on fri 20 oct 06
Here is my 2 bits worth . I think the heat tape is the best idea but
it needs a wrap of something over it to insulate the exposed metal
and let the heat spread out. I was thinking that bubble wrap would
probably work held on with a little string or tape. The kind with
small 1/4 inch bubbles. I used to use that to insulate the windows in
my glass greenhouse when I lived in Massachusetts. Watch it closely
and make sure the heat tape does not get too hot for it and melt the
plastic. If it does you will need an underlayer of something better
like fiberglass.
Fred Paget
--
Twin Dragon Studio
Mill Valley, CA, USA
Just back from two weeks at the International Wood Fire Conference at
NAU, Flagstaff AZ.
First time I ever saw a train kiln and helped fire it. I had some of
my work in it and my clay and glazes were all wrong for it so my work
came out all black and sooty looking. I made it hoping to get it in
the original Tozan there but it was filled up before I got there.
There was so much work brought in that a lot of it could not be
fired. I came home with all my big pieces unfired.
It was great to see so many kinds of kilns, They had two anagamas ,
two train kilns, the Tozan noborigama which is a glaze kiln and a
double catenary, one chamber of which is used for soda.
The NAU Tozan is a lot different from the Tozan in Nanaimo B.C.
Canada where I am a member.
It has a much smaller dogie (fire box) and was made with a smaller
chimney tunnel - only about 6 feet. they are at an altitude of over
6000 feet at NAU so firing is much different, There is no door on the
dogie, The opening is bricked up to leave a fire mouth of about one
square foot which stays open all the time and the firing and stoking
are different. They frequently stoked a great deal of wood almost
filling the dogie up to the level of the firemouth, A long poker was
frequently used through the firemouth to keep the wood inside well
stirred up.
The firing was about a week long.
They get temperature all the way to the back of chamber five where
as the BC Tozan has great difficulty in getting it back to chamber
four.
I learned a lot - there is more to wood firing than it appears.
F.
mel jacobson on fri 20 oct 06
i have a couple of instant thoughts.
get one of those on/off timers. i think you
have one in that cupboard off the dining room, under
the mouse cage...i think i saw one there. ask the
`princess` that lives with you.
anyway.
if you put the heat source, electric blanket, heating
pad whatever, on a timer, you can set it for
let us say...four hours at night....then you won't have
it running non/stop.
i do that for sharlene's electric blanket.
she likes warm, but often forgets to turn
the blanket off. so, it is set to warm her side
of the bed at 8 p.m. it goes off at 1 a.m. then
she is snug and warm...and does not need it any longer.
and, we don't have the blanket wasting fuel for days on
end.
if you get a really nasty cold spell, you can add a few hours
to your pug mill heater. you are not that cold, for that long.
you know...`lake affect`.
i am sure if you scout around, you can find an
old electric blanket that works. ask diana for one of hers.
she has six in the basement behind that old desk, in the gilbey's gin box
marked...`oven mitts`.
i have at least three of them. at the farm.
in fact, a mattress pad heater can be gotten at walmart
for a cheap price...i like them much better.
and, i think clayarters will send you their old
electric blankets...won't you friends?
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
W J Seidl on fri 20 oct 06
Sorry, Mel, but I'm sticking my fat head in here for a moment.
Kelly would be better served buying one of the "engine heater" style
blankets that one puts on the oil pan of their car engine and plugs in...and
putting it on a timer.
Household electric blankets are not designed to be moisture proof, not
designed to be used on metal surfaces. She could find herself in for a
nasty surprise if it got wet, or it rubbed on a sharp part.
Now, I know that Kelly and her pugmill have all nicely rounded curves, no
sharp edges, and she NEVER spills even a drop of liquid anywhere in the
studio, certainly not near the pugmill!
Unfortunately, most of us are a different sort of potter. A.K.A. slobs, er,
"less than perfect housekeepers" in the studio. Heck, most of us probably
fling mud around just on principle.
Better "safe and alive" than the alternative.
ROFL
Wayne Seidl
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of mel jacobson
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2006 4:33 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: kelly/heater pugmill
i have a couple of instant thoughts.
get one of those on/off timers. i think you
have one in that cupboard off the dining room, under
the mouse cage...i think i saw one there. ask the
`princess` that lives with you.
anyway.
if you put the heat source, electric blanket, heating
pad whatever, on a timer, you can set it for
let us say...four hours at night....then you won't have
it running non/stop.
i do that for sharlene's electric blanket.
she likes warm, but often forgets to turn
the blanket off. so, it is set to warm her side
of the bed at 8 p.m. it goes off at 1 a.m. then
she is snug and warm...and does not need it any longer.
and, we don't have the blanket wasting fuel for days on
end.
if you get a really nasty cold spell, you can add a few hours
to your pug mill heater. you are not that cold, for that long.
you know...`lake affect`.
i am sure if you scout around, you can find an
old electric blanket that works. ask diana for one of hers.
she has six in the basement behind that old desk, in the gilbey's gin box
marked...`oven mitts`.
i have at least three of them. at the farm.
in fact, a mattress pad heater can be gotten at walmart
for a cheap price...i like them much better.
and, i think clayarters will send you their old
electric blankets...won't you friends?
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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Lee Love on sat 21 oct 06
On 10/21/06, W J Seidl wrote:
>
> Better "safe and alive" than the alternative.
Heating tape is on a thermostat so it kicks on just above freezing.
I have one on the outside studio water spigot. I'd wrap the barrel
with some of this heating tape. Then cover. It could be put on a
timer.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
"When we all do better. We ALL do better." -Paul Wellstone
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