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A Couple Of Replaced Kiln Bricks Are High. Shave Them Or Wait For Them To Shrink?


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Well the headline pretty much says it all. I replaced a few bricks while replacing elements. Now  the kiln lid doesn't shut as well as I'd like. Do I sand/shave a little height off of the new, high bricks, or will they shrink into place? Also, one of the old bricks need to be lifted a smidge, what the...? Will a little kiln cement work here? I talking, in all cases- sanding, shaving, filling in- somewhere between 1/4" to 3/8".    ja

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The old bricks have shrunk, so the new bricks are larger. Usually it's just 1/8" or less. If it's more than that, then you probably have bricks that are a slightly different size in addition to the shrinkage issue. I shave them down when I run into this, so the lid gets a good seal. It will take quite a while for them to shrink up enough that they will fit. Plus it's better to have a slight gap later than a big gap now.

 

As for shimming one up, I would go with a mixture of cement and brick dust. Mostly dust. You need it to fill tightly so there aren't gaps where air can escape and heat up the outer metal jacket.

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The old bricks have shrunk, so the new bricks are larger. Usually it's just 1/8" or less. If it's more than that, then you probably have bricks that are a slightly different size in addition to the shrinkage issue. I shave them down when I run into this, so the lid gets a good seal. It will take quite a while for them to shrink up enough that they will fit. Plus it's better to have a slight gap later than a big gap now.

 

As for shimming one up, I would go with a mixture of cement and brick dust. Mostly dust. You need it to fill tightly so there aren't gaps where air can escape and heat up the outer metal jacket.

Sounds good. Thanks again Neil. Always good advice. A friend gave me this ol' Paragon 2nf24. I have made and replaced all elements, bought and grooved some bricks, had to do a solder job on an infinite switch where a tab/terminal broke off, and have just discovered a loose tab on one of the timer switches. Going to see if I can j.b.w weld that sucker into not wobbling, as it breaks contact  inside switch when it moves. I could replace all switches and relay for about 300 bucks, but I'm going to try duct tape and bailing wire approach first. Got to love it!  ja

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