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I found this information on the web last night when I was looking at Dan Fenton's work and books. I am pretty certain the link to the potmelts was part of the board positngs before the great purge.

http://www.glassblower.info/pot-melt-po ... glass.html

What a find! Thank you for sharing.

I didn't read every bit of that, but I would not fire 600 DPH. You could crack your flower pots. IMHO. I usually heat 300 DPH or something like that.

And not just crack them...Here's a genuine pot melt. The chocolate sauce is the flower pot. A little problem with the thermocouple and the controller not being on the same wavelength. Shaping of fire brick, mixing of castable refractory and now a high temp. mortar to be applied. That's bits of the door stuck to the front of the melt. Have fun!! Jen Oh yeah, a new element, too.....

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!! I do not know what temp you went to to melt EVERYTHING like that.

Les, the controller did not register any higher than 1100 ℉ +. It was the first time I'd fired the kiln since it was connected to the controller. I'd previously fired it only once, empty, except for shelves, to 500 ℉ to check its rate of climb. I used a very conservative schedule, a combination of Steve Immerman's tutorial and Spectrum's notes. The outside of the kiln got very hot and I began to wonder about its insulation but it was rated to 1100℃ so I persevered for a little while till I chickened out when the controller claimed it was at 895℉ but the exterior was too hot to touch. I turned it off and left it closed till next morning. Later I read in the Digitry notes that having the power cable and the sensor (?*) cable in close proximity can throw off the signals. It's since been rewired with the cables separated, so there's a warning for anyone who didn't know that. Jen

The ceramic pot melted???? Holy buckets! I'm wondering how hot it got. I hope it was not too costly.
Sheree

Hi Sheree, cost to date, besides the pot and the glass: 101.00 including postage for custom element, 99.00 for refractory Castable and box of 10 bricks, 26.40 for Blakite mortar and postage to glue the patch back in, 13.20 for thermocouple wire and gas to go and pick up the items not mailed plus 19.90 for a 10 metre 15 amp extension lead because I'd coiled the previous one neatly, in a separate event, instead of stretching it out, and melted the plug joining the extension lead and the kiln cable, all up 259.50. I didn't need ten bricks but the box of 10 cost about the same as buying the individual bricks I needed. The person who wired the kiln to the controller didn't charge me for the original wiring or the repair wiring.

After the 'pot melt' when I switched off the controller and the kiln what looked like 2200 and something flashed briefly in the temp. panel on the controller. It was too fast for me to be sure I'd read it accurately. That kiln is rated to 1100℃ (2012℉).

On another point, part of the ooze on the bottom of the kiln was made up of porcelain tile strips I'd used to shore up the dam. I'd read here on the board that someone used them for weight behind dams. I had some so thought I'd try it. Can anyone tell me what the top temp. that they can stand might be? I have more and they certainly provided stability to the dam. I didn't sandblast off the surface as I hadn't planned for the temp to go above 1650℉. Can anyone clarify that for me, please? Do the tile pieces have to have the glazed surface removed and, if so, would sandblasting do it or would one have to resort to a belt sander with a coarse grit? Thanks for the input (and the sympathy). Jen

I would definitely keep that piece. That's a Ripley's Believe it or Not.

hahahaha...Jeanne. I think it's still in the bin in the workshop. Maybe I will retrieve it. My son did suggest I think up a title for it and enter it in glass competitions. Anyone know when BE's next Emerge closes? Jen

I don't think it was a clay pot!

Don, I'm sure it was clay. I was alert to that when I bought it. (It's definitely not plastic.) When the hole at the bottom was chipped out to make it larger the flakes that came away looked like every other broken clay pot I've ever seen. It was made in Italy and labelled clay. Jen

Buttercup wrote: Can anyone comment on the use of tile strips to stabilize dams, please?

On another point, part of the ooze on the bottom of the kiln was made up of porcelain tile strips I'd used to shore up the dam. I'd read here on the board that someone used them for weight behind dams. I had some so thought I'd try it. Can anyone tell me what the top temp. that they can stand might be? I have more and they certainly provided stability to the dam. I didn't sandblast off the surface as I hadn't planned for the temp to go above 1650℉. Can anyone clarify that for me, please? Do the tile pieces have to have the glazed surface removed and, if so, would sandblasting do it or would one have to resort to a belt sander with a coarse grit? Thanks for the input (and the sympathy). Jen

I have lots more and they were very stable( till they melted). Thanks, Jen

Low fire clay (cheap clay pots) melts at 1900 and up.

Porcelain can fire to 2300, but will sag under weight.

Thanks very much Rose (?). I didn't notice any temperature labelling on any pots I looked at. There wasn't much choice. It was never meant to go that high.

As for the tile strips, that's good to know. I wouldn't plan on using it as a bridge to support the pot, I used cut up kiln shelf for that. I take it that the glaze doesn't have to be removed to survive pot melt temps. under normal conditions when the controller is receiving accurate data? Jen

Ceramic glaze can also be low fire, and will mix/mess with your glass. High fire glazes, used for most floor tiles will withstand a normal potmelt.

I know this post is from a couple months back, but I wanted to dredge it up again and share some info..... I am currently taking a vitrograph class with Nathan Sandberg (formerly of BE education) at my wonderful local studio, Fusions, in Eagle, Idaho. In his initial presentation, he talks about the use of clay pots vs. specifically produced vitrograph pots. He stated that clay/terra cotta pots made in Mexico should not be used (he did say made in US or Italy - as yours was - are just fine). Said he's seen them completely disintegrate into the work.......much like the picture in this post. Could be the type of clay used??? In any case, thought I'd pass that tidbit along FWIW. And if anyone happens to be near a studio where Nathan is teaching this year, I highly recommend the class - it's been quite engaging thus far, and a whole lot of fun.

He is coming to Calgary, Alberta and well, what a wonderful treat. Les

Hi Tracy,
Good to reinforce... just to clarify...the problem with my massive meltdown, shown in the pic, was a problem with the information the controller was receiving from the kiln and was probably attributable to the fact that the sensor cable and the power cable were in too close proximity. ( Too tired right now to make much sense, massive weather events, power outages, no internet, food shortages......)

........Later I read in the Digitry notes that having the power cable and the sensor (?*) cable in close proximity can throw off the signals. It's since been rewired with the cables separated, so there's a warning for anyone who didn't know that. Jen