Muffle Furnace Refurb - Element Q.

[countryguy]

Hi Everyone, Hope everyone is doing well. Our Newb Shop of Dad & Son is so busy in learning mode that I'm just buried. Onle of my co-workers quit so not much time to play of late.
The last three eve's I have been trying to locate some TEMCO (not tempco) thermolyne /Barnstead/Thermo -Fisher (sp?) muffle furnace ceramic heating elements. (pics below).

Being a beginner the kid and I are learning that we have a muffle furnace. Old TEMCO (no "p") Internal size of 13/11/9 (?? close to this anyway)
All but 1 of the elements are bad and cracked and failed due to a crucible spill. 12Ohms on a top panel.
I guess this is a "What would you do" which I know I ask often here!

I can get some custom A-1 3/8 coils of proper length and coil- length and width run counts in proper Ohms but they are not cast into clay or anything. Just loose to hang myself??? $50 a piece.

How can I mount them to be functional even? Also, can I mold these into similar clay or ceramic plates on my own?

I can find some 12x11 top/bottom panels from Barnstead EBAY for $100 apiece but would need to get crafty and figure out the Ohm and current setups, but should be close. I loose a little space this way. I also see some 9x11 as well. I think I make get this up to all 4 panels for $400
or buy the pre made bare heater wire wound into runs and coils for $50 apiece.
Or do my own A-1 spool and try out some good winding skills and such.
Or hybrid - Buy the top bottom Barnsteads, and then buy the $50 hand wounds... Wire them in somehow? Assuming I can run current thru it all in some series or parallel config to get the Ohnm and overall watts correct.

Then get it all into a PID & contactor, safty close on/off switch etc... Man...... And I thought I was done after the Mill. LOL. So much fun though!

 

[countryguy]

Just a quick update for anyone on this thread. The elements on this are not around (well not exactly) TEMCO was way way way back muffle furnace place. I could get some replacement (close replacement) innards for say 200-500$ apiece. Sometimes an Ebay panel here or there with no certainty it will work or Ohm out correctly.

SOLUTION: Bought a used Thermolyne F-A1730 from Govt. Liquidators. Price- Well, I do not know how well or horrible I did. $600 +tax and 10% bidder premium. Has controller and was decommissioned working. for parts, I can find these heating coil inserts. Yahoo!

My Son and I drive down next Monday to get it.

I gotta say- For us small hobby guys- I really did not realize how much tooling and equipment is needed to really be productive and make a quality product! For the next month the Son and I will soak (pun intended) our steel heads into learning full recipe Heat normalized, Annealing, Treating, Oh My!

 

[kingmt01]

You need as much tooling as you want to spend it seems. I find that everyone I think I'm starting a easy project I have to make a to for it but that always seems to require me to make a tool to make the tool. Sometimes I end up having to buy a tool to make the tool. It seems to be a rabbit hole.