Refractory cement of the kiln lid peeling off

[Jazmina]

Dear all,

sorry because this topic has been previously discussed, but I need your advice and the previous thread is closed.

I received my kiln last June in Brisbane (Eastern Australia), and less than 50 fires after the refractory cement of one of the corners of the lid is peeling off (see pictures).  Looking in detailed it seems that the brick under is fractured.

As the kiln is under warranty, I contacted my Australian rep and after many messages I got to be in contact with one of the American reps in Portland.

First solution they gave me:

- we send you the refractory cement and you repair it.

I asked for a technician to do it.

Answer: there are no technicians in Eastern Australia. If you want it repaired by us you need to send us the kiln at your own expenses to Western Australia.

I was shocked by this response, so I asked in general how damaged kilns under warranty have been handled before in Australia.

Answer: we send you the refractory cement for you to repair and if you are not satisfied we will arrange for a new lid.

Ok, this starts to sound more reasonable to me, but my questions for the community are:

- how easy is to repair my issue based on the pictures? (I have never repaired a kiln before).

- I will need to remove the part that is almost detached (left corner), what happens if the brick is broken under? Can I just apply the cement on it?

- I read in this forum that it is recommended to remove all the cement and put new, is that necessary in my case?

I would really appreciate your opinions.

Warm regards,

Jaz

Jaz

[neilestrick]

That's a very minor crack. To me it looks more like an actual crack, and not just the cement peeling, and isn't uncommon. I'm honestly surprised they were willing to do anything about it after 50 firings. As long as it doesn't extend all the way to the inner edge of the wall brick, it wouldn't affect the performance of the kiln even if the chunk fell out completely. Wet the brick, put some mortar on it, and set the brick piece back in quickly, before the cement dries. Use a thin layer of mortar. If it doesn't hold, I wouldn't worry about it if it doesn't cause a leak in the lid seal. You're going to get cracks, especially along the edges of the lid, and especially near the hinge assembly. Make sure that your body band and hinge assembly hasn't sagged and is sitting low and causing the edge of the lid to compress as it closes. If it is, you'll need to adjust it.