[Cement on lid of kiln beginning to peel — any recommended treatment?]

8 hours ago, Bill Kielb said:

I have had good results with AP Green Green patch 421 which is used as a brick joint mortar as well as for patching. That appears to be an oval kiln and the joint cracks I would guess from flexure. In my experience, I think I would patch all smoothly and before the patch sets and cures, tighten the lid band until nice and snug to its final tension. Final strike all the joints even though they are small. I would also wipe away excess patch to keep this as smooth and thin as practical.

Cleaning and vacuuming the grooves first is important as well as reasonably pre-wetting the joints so the material has time to set especially if warm.

my best suggestions

Thank you for the suggestion! It's actually an octagonal kiln! (Skutt KM1027). This helps a lot, though. It looks like my local supplier has greenpatch available in pint volumes and is very reasonable.

I understood most of your recommended course of action but was curious, what do you mean by "final strike all the joints?"

[Cement on lid of kiln beginning to peel — any recommended treatment?]

Thanks, Neil! They don't go all the way through as of yet. I'm wondering if it might be the mud daubers around here or something, but I've never noticed any critters hanging out on top of it.

[Cement on lid of kiln beginning to peel — any recommended treatment?]

14 minutes ago, oldlady said:

your kiln manufacturer will sell you a container.   if it is L&L, make sure it has a label stating what it is or write that yourself because that jar will be sitting around for a long time.

if you seriously think critters are doing the damage, tape over each seam to prevent them getting into the slots.   if the tape gets damaged, you will know what it is.

 

Thanks!

A dumb question but... If I put tape over the seams, wouldn't the tape melt onto the kiln lid?

[Cement on lid of kiln beginning to peel — any recommended treatment?]

6 minutes ago, oldlady said:

it looks like someone is scratching it out of the seams.  the distance from the top of the kiln down to it's  bottom is in inches.    the crack looks like it could be measured in significantly less than one inch.    probably not a worry unless you see it coming through the bottom.   kilns do not have to be kept pristine, just reasonably clean.

Yes, I'm not exactly certain what's happening there. The kiln is outside (well-covered) and I'm not sure if it's critters or if it's a combination of the heat + relative humidity.

Either way, I know it's not a problem right now, but I just want to keep it from becoming a problem! So I'm just wondering if there's some kind of cement that would be good for this portion of the kiln.

Cheers!

[Cement on lid of kiln beginning to peel — any recommended treatment?]

19 hours ago, Dick White said:

Can you upload a picture?

Certainly, here is the photo:

 

[Cement on lid of kiln beginning to peel — any recommended treatment?]

Hey y'all! As per title, I have some lines (they look like "seams") on the lid where cement is beginning to peel. I'd like to treat it, but there are many different kinds of refractory cement out there and I'm just wondering what the community's recommendation is for repair materials. Thanks very much!

Cheers,

Kevin