Installation and distillation
Sep. 7th, 2017 09:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrDismantling my old kiln is a project in and of itself.
These old Olympics were an early experiment in modular design. Each ring had its own control box, which plugged into the box below and above it using standard extension cord plugs. This was always a weak point in the design. Expansion would push the plug and socket apart, little by little, until the contacts were far enough apart that they'd arc, and presto, dead plugs.
I'd replaced about three of them, oddly enough always in the top box, before I gave up and just hard-wired them together. It took another ten years before the bottom set blew, at which point they were treated likewise.
So to get the kiln out of the studio, I first had to reverse this process. As there's a chance someone else will be putting this back together again, I carefully labeled all the wires and connections.
After that, it's just a matter of destructive distillation. Disconnect the power cord from the wall box. (Of course the circuit breaker is off. Whaddya think, I'm an idiot?)(Oh, right, I'm a potter. Never mind.) Slide the hinge pin out so I can take out the lid. Carry out the rings, one at a time. Throw away the broken bottom slab (fortunately, I have an extra, so the kiln is still useable). Knock all the rust off the stand and take it outside.
Cough and choke in the dust. Remember to put my dusk mask back on. Vacuum up the rust, dust and cobwebs.
Before I can install the new kiln, I need to commit carpentry. Specifically, to cut a hole in the wall for the EnviroVent.
I kill a 2-inch hole saw and a jigsaw blade making the hole. Back when I installed my first kiln, I thought it would be a good idea to fire-proof the wall, so I covered it with HardiBacker, cement board used in tile-laying. Turns out that stuff is death on saw blades. My neighbor Bob takes pity on me and loans me his SawzAll so I can finish the job. (Now I have tool envy.) A standard dryer vent slides in the hole, and a few nails hold it in place.
Installing the new kiln is comparatively easy, stepwise.
1. Connect the controller to the power supply. Set aside.
2. Bring in the base, position carefully. Set in the EnviroVent, connect it to the wall vent with aluminum dryer ducting. Plug in and test. (Works. Yeah!)
3. Bring in bottom slab, carefully position on the metal base. The points where the shelves post need to be supported by the legs of the base.
4. Put down some 1" stilts, then the bottom-most kiln shelf. (Needs to be raised up so the vent can draw air out the bottom.
5. Bring in the rings, one at a time in the proper order. Line 'em up and latch 'em together.
6. Bring in the lid; slide the hinge pin back in place and secure it. Position the prop and discover the screw that holds it in place is missing. Go looking for another screw to replace it. Find out the screw isn't missing, it's broken off. Fortunately, I have a screw puller, so make short work of this problem.
7. Slip controller box into its hinges. (This is, bar none, the coolest part. Having struggled for years with control boxes that need to be supported with one hand, while two others hold a wire and screwdriver, respectively, the idea that the control box hinges open for access? Genius.)
8. Reconnect the power leads to the bus block. Plug in the thermocouple. Close the box and screw otto the frame.
9. Say a quick prayer.
10. Flip the circuit breaker. Display reads PF; this is normal when current has been interrupted. It interprets it as a power failure. Press Clear and the display reads IDLE and 67 degrees.
Oh my God, guys, I have a new kiln.
These old Olympics were an early experiment in modular design. Each ring had its own control box, which plugged into the box below and above it using standard extension cord plugs. This was always a weak point in the design. Expansion would push the plug and socket apart, little by little, until the contacts were far enough apart that they'd arc, and presto, dead plugs.
I'd replaced about three of them, oddly enough always in the top box, before I gave up and just hard-wired them together. It took another ten years before the bottom set blew, at which point they were treated likewise.
So to get the kiln out of the studio, I first had to reverse this process. As there's a chance someone else will be putting this back together again, I carefully labeled all the wires and connections.
After that, it's just a matter of destructive distillation. Disconnect the power cord from the wall box. (Of course the circuit breaker is off. Whaddya think, I'm an idiot?)(Oh, right, I'm a potter. Never mind.) Slide the hinge pin out so I can take out the lid. Carry out the rings, one at a time. Throw away the broken bottom slab (fortunately, I have an extra, so the kiln is still useable). Knock all the rust off the stand and take it outside.
Cough and choke in the dust. Remember to put my dusk mask back on. Vacuum up the rust, dust and cobwebs.
Before I can install the new kiln, I need to commit carpentry. Specifically, to cut a hole in the wall for the EnviroVent.
I kill a 2-inch hole saw and a jigsaw blade making the hole. Back when I installed my first kiln, I thought it would be a good idea to fire-proof the wall, so I covered it with HardiBacker, cement board used in tile-laying. Turns out that stuff is death on saw blades. My neighbor Bob takes pity on me and loans me his SawzAll so I can finish the job. (Now I have tool envy.) A standard dryer vent slides in the hole, and a few nails hold it in place.
Installing the new kiln is comparatively easy, stepwise.
1. Connect the controller to the power supply. Set aside.
2. Bring in the base, position carefully. Set in the EnviroVent, connect it to the wall vent with aluminum dryer ducting. Plug in and test. (Works. Yeah!)
3. Bring in bottom slab, carefully position on the metal base. The points where the shelves post need to be supported by the legs of the base.
4. Put down some 1" stilts, then the bottom-most kiln shelf. (Needs to be raised up so the vent can draw air out the bottom.
5. Bring in the rings, one at a time in the proper order. Line 'em up and latch 'em together.
6. Bring in the lid; slide the hinge pin back in place and secure it. Position the prop and discover the screw that holds it in place is missing. Go looking for another screw to replace it. Find out the screw isn't missing, it's broken off. Fortunately, I have a screw puller, so make short work of this problem.
7. Slip controller box into its hinges. (This is, bar none, the coolest part. Having struggled for years with control boxes that need to be supported with one hand, while two others hold a wire and screwdriver, respectively, the idea that the control box hinges open for access? Genius.)
8. Reconnect the power leads to the bus block. Plug in the thermocouple. Close the box and screw otto the frame.
9. Say a quick prayer.
10. Flip the circuit breaker. Display reads PF; this is normal when current has been interrupted. It interprets it as a power failure. Press Clear and the display reads IDLE and 67 degrees.
Oh my God, guys, I have a new kiln.