We have a Barnstead electric bench top furnace. It uses a 1050 watt
heating element that measures 4 x 12 x 3/8 inches. The furnace goes to
1100 Celcius.

The element burnt out. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ? Their prices are very high.

Having seen how this furnace is put together, I will probably build my
next furnace rather than buy one...

http://euclids.com makes elements for all types of kilns. if they don't have
one, they can custom make one to your specs.

regards,
http://glassartists.org/chaniarts

"me2" wrote in message
news
We have a Barnstead electric bench top furnace. It uses a 1050 watt
heating element that measures 4 x 12 x 3/8 inches. The furnace goes to
1100 Celcius.

The element burnt out. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ? Their prices are very high.

Having seen how this furnace is put together, I will probably build my
next furnace rather than buy one...

On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 21:19:28 GMT, me2 wrote:

We have a Barnstead electric bench top furnace. It uses a 1050 watt
heating element that measures 4 x 12 x 3/8 inches. The furnace goes to
1100 Celcius.

The element burnt out. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ? Their prices are very high.

Having seen how this furnace is put together, I will probably build my
next furnace rather than buy one...
If you're near Seattle then Seattle Pottery Supply is a good place for
custom elements.
ERS

Eric R Snow wrote:

On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 21:19:28 GMT, me2 wrote:

We have a Barnstead electric bench top furnace. It uses a 1050 watt
heating element that measures 4 x 12 x 3/8 inches. The furnace goes to
1100 Celcius.

The element burnt out. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ? Their prices are very high.

Having seen how this furnace is put together, I will probably build my
next furnace rather than buy one...
If you're near Seattle then Seattle Pottery Supply is a good place for
custom elements.
ERS

I would think an element from an electric stove would work. The oven
element might be even better.


John

My home made furnace uses one 220 volt 1500 watt domestic stove-top spiral
wound element from the junk pile. Cost zero$. Dave


"John" wrote in message
...
Eric R Snow wrote:

On Fri, 03 Feb 2006 21:19:28 GMT, me2 wrote:

We have a Barnstead electric bench top furnace. It uses a 1050 watt
heating element that measures 4 x 12 x 3/8 inches. The furnace goes
to
1100 Celcius.

The element burnt out. Does anyone know where I could get a
replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ? Their prices are very
high.

Having seen how this furnace is put together, I will probably build my
next furnace rather than buy one...
If you're near Seattle then Seattle Pottery Supply is a good place for
custom elements.
ERS

I would think an element from an electric stove would work. The oven
element might be even better.


John

me2 writes:

Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ?

Coil your own from Nichrome wire. Calipers and Ohm's law will reverse-
engineer the requirements.

Search for "resistance wire" at http://www.mscdirect.com/ where you can buy
1/4 lb spools relatively cheap.

I'd use Kanthal A1 wire. I used it to make a brass casting furnace and it
worked well.
Karl

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
.. .
me2 writes:

Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ?

Coil your own from Nichrome wire. Calipers and Ohm's law will reverse-
engineer the requirements.

Search for "resistance wire" at http://www.mscdirect.com/ where you can
buy
1/4 lb spools relatively cheap.

Look for resistance wire by the spool and wind your own. Use caution here
because not all wire is equal. Try to find life expectancy at 1500 C spec
and compare.
Steve

"me2" wrote in message
news
We have a Barnstead electric bench top furnace. It uses a 1050 watt
heating element that measures 4 x 12 x 3/8 inches. The furnace goes to
1100 Celcius.

The element burnt out. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ? Their prices are very high.

Having seen how this furnace is put together, I will probably build my
next furnace rather than buy one...

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 03:59:40 +0000, David Anderson wrote:

My home made furnace uses one 220 volt 1500 watt domestic stove-top spiral
wound element from the junk pile. Cost zero$. Dave

What sort of temperatures do you run your furnace at ?

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 00:07:30 -0600, Richard J Kinch wrote:

me2 writes:

Does anyone know where I could get a replacement
element without getting it from Barnstead ?

Coil your own from Nichrome wire. Calipers and Ohm's law will reverse-
engineer the requirements.

Search for "resistance wire" at http://www.mscdirect.com/ where you can buy
1/4 lb spools relatively cheap.


Excellent resource. Thanks.

Do NOT buy Ni/Cr. It will never last.
If you do, make sure you buy the right
one (McMaster does NOT have it, MSC
does).

Instead, buy Kanthal. resistancewire.com
is a good source. There's something like $50 minimum, but it will last
you a lifetime.

When you wind it (lathe etc) make sure do it nice and slow, don't twist
it too much.

Any stress can be lethal to the spiral @ 1100C

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 09:01:21 -0800, rashid111 wrote:

Do NOT buy Ni/Cr. It will never last.
If you do, make sure you buy the right
one (McMaster does NOT have it, MSC
does).

Instead, buy Kanthal. resistancewire.com
is a good source. There's something like $50 minimum, but it will last
you a lifetime.

When you wind it (lathe etc) make sure do it nice and slow, don't twist
it too much.

Any stress can be lethal to the spiral @ 1100C


What I'd like to know is how to hold the windings in the furnace chamber.
Cut grooves in the wall ? Do they need to L shaped with the leg of the L
going down ?

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 03:59:40 +0000, David Anderson wrote:

My home made furnace uses one 220 volt 1500 watt domestic stove-top spiral
wound element from the junk pile. Cost zero$. Dave

Where do you place said element in the furnace ? On the floor of the
chamber and then suspend a false floor above it ?

I'd like to hear more about this setup.

This will reply to me2's questions. My furnace is 18x18x18 inch #16 gage
sheet steel case with 2-inches high temp block and 2-inches low temp
insulation on all surfaces. Thus, the chamber is 10x10x10 inches. The
spiral 1500 watt element in on one vertical side wall. Actually, my first
trial was with two identical elements on opposite sides, but it was
overkill, and now I find that a single 1500 watt element is ok. I use it
for wax melt-out for lost wax castings in brass. First phase about 250 deg
for initial melt, then ramp up to 750 for two hours, then up to 1100 degF
for final burn out. Never tried to melt brass or aluminum - for that I use
propane fired naturally aspirated burner - about 1-1/2 inch x 10 inch pipe
with #57 drilled orifice for the gas, modeled after Ron Reed's design.
Bottled propane fuel at about 15 psi pressure. An earlier model used a old
vacuum cleaner blower and natural gas, but this one is better. I am
currently wiring up an Omega temperature controller so I can use the
furnace unattended - right now it is on 100% manual control. If you build
one, I would like to hear from you. Regards, Dave



"me2" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 03:59:40 +0000, David Anderson wrote:

My home made furnace uses one 220 volt 1500 watt domestic stove-top
spiral
wound element from the junk pile. Cost zero$. Dave

Where do you place said element in the furnace ? On the floor of the
chamber and then suspend a false floor above it ?

I'd like to hear more about this setup.

I've seen the grooves cut in IFB using a standard masonry drill in a
drill press. The IFB was held at about 45 degrees using a simple board
as a guide and moved along to route the groove. The resulting groove
was sort of U shaped and deep enough to contain the element, every few
inches the element was pinned using Kanthal wire staples to hold it in
place.

me2 wrote:

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 09:01:21 -0800, rashid111 wrote:

Do NOT buy Ni/Cr. It will never last.
If you do, make sure you buy the right
one (McMaster does NOT have it, MSC
does).

Instead, buy Kanthal. resistancewire.com
is a good source. There's something like $50 minimum, but it will last
you a lifetime.

When you wind it (lathe etc) make sure do it nice and slow, don't twist
it too much.

Any stress can be lethal to the spiral @ 1100C



What I'd like to know is how to hold the windings in the furnace chamber.
Cut grooves in the wall ? Do they need to L shaped with the leg of the L
going down ?

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:44:25 +0000, David Billington wrote:
every few
inches the element was pinned using Kanthal wire staples to hold it in
place.

Tell me more about these staples.

I'm beginning to think I am going to build a new furnace chamber to use
open Kanthal wire elements.

I'd like to cast a new furnace body using the home made pearlite castable
refractory. I'd make the inner cavity mold with cardboard and maybe use
some small rubber tubing to make the grooves for the wires. I'm just
worried about the wires falling out of the grooves. Maybe these staples
would be the ticket to keep them in.

The staples were just like standard U staples but made from the Kanthal
wire. The staples overall were about 1" long and 3/8" wide and push into
IFB fairly easily.

me2 wrote:

On Sat, 04 Feb 2006 18:44:25 +0000, David Billington wrote:

every few
inches the element was pinned using Kanthal wire staples to hold it in
place.


Tell me more about these staples.

I'm beginning to think I am going to build a new furnace chamber to use
open Kanthal wire elements.

I'd like to cast a new furnace body using the home made pearlite castable
refractory. I'd make the inner cavity mold with cardboard and maybe use
some small rubber tubing to make the grooves for the wires. I'm just
worried about the wires falling out of the grooves. Maybe these staples
would be the ticket to keep them in.

When you cut groves for the spirals, cut them at an angle
Look for my articles on how to build a home HT oven,
there're links to pics there.

Typical oven brick is very light & soft, you can literally
make those spirals with yer fingernails.

It is UBER important for the brick to be a good insulator -
with inside temp in 2000F are, you should be able to touch
the outside surface and not get burns.

Casting your own using refractory cement won;t be nearly
as insulating as those bricks they sell @ Ceramic supply
stores.