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2021 Furnace ('Phoenix') and Lehr at Quarley - Repairs to Phoenix after Firing Two (Autumn 2021)

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Furnace Superstructure Build   Phoenix Firing One   Repairs after Firing One   Phoenix Firing Two   Repairs after Firing Two

Phoenix Firing Two Repairs

The ten days of Firing Two had resulted in further shrinkage of the inner wall, which led to some of the repaired cracks opening up, as well as creating new cracks in the hotface. All of these were filled with high temperature filler and the inner surface was recoated with the zircon silicate slip.

The firing chamber floor had spills of hot glass mixed with ash stuck to the floor. We weren’t able to reach them with an angle grinder, so we cleaned them off as well as possible using a hammer and chisel.

Cracks also appeared in the outer wall, many following previous cracks, and they were also filled.

Two of the daub supports for the shelf support bars had fallen off, so they were reattached using the high temperature sealant.

The shelves had suffered from spillage of molten glass. The ceramic fibre cloth had offered very little protection, and the spilt molten glass had glued much of it to the shelf. After removing the shelves from the furnace, they were cleaned using an angle grinder, and replaced, using sections of ceramic fibre cloth to stop any wobbling (see photo in the 'Preparations for Firing Three' section below).

Molten glass and ash on the firing chamber floor Cracks in the hotface
Cracks in the hotface Cracks in the hotface
Cracks in the hotface Cracks in the hotface
Cracks in the hotface Cracks in the hotface
Cracks in the hotface Filled cracks in the hotface - also showing the places where the two shelf supports had broken away
Filled cracks in the hotface - also showing the places where the two shelf supports had broken away Filled cracks between the two walls
Filled cracks in the hotface Filled cracks in the furnace roof
Repaired area around smaller gathering hole Repaired area around smaller gathering hole
Repaired area around large gathering hole Filled cracks in the hotface
Filled cracks in the hotface Filled cracks in the hotface
Left-hand side after coating the hotface with zircon silicate slip. Also showing filled cracks in the coldface Ash hole after coating the hotface with zircon silicate sli
Right-hand side after coating the hotface with zircon silicate slip. Also showing filled cracks in the coldface Right-hand side after coating the hotface with zircon silicate slip. Also showing filled cracks in the coldface
The hotface after filling and coating with zircon silicate slip The hotface after filling and coating with zircon silicate slip
Left-hand side after coating the hotface with zircon silicate slip. Also showing filled cracks in the coldface The hotface after filling and coating with zircon silicate slip. Also showing the repaired shelf support brackets
The hotface after filling and coating with zircon silicate slip Zircon silicate slip around and in the top holes
Zircon silicate slip around and in the stoke hole, including on the ceramic fibre blanket The cleaned-up firing chamber floor
The cleaned-up firing chamber floor Inside the firing chamber
The stoke hole The stoke hole

Preparations for Firing Three

The repairs had been carried out in autumn 2021. These preparations were carried out in January 2022 – immediately before Firing Three, and largely consisted of making and fitting an upper layer of shelves to support shallower pots.

After shaping the upper shelves, we supported them on cut-to size HTI brick offcuts, built a low wall of daub around them and filled the space with sand to contain glass spills. We also placed kiln shelf offcuts on the shelves to support the pots.

We also had to replace the broken spacers either side of the firebars in the stoke hole. This time, we used kiln batt offcuts instead of fire brick offcuts.

The upper shelves drying in front of the modern furnace
Using ceramic fibre cloth to cure the wobble on the lower shelves HTI supports for the front upper shelf in position
The front upper shelf in position The front upper shelf in position
HTI supports for the rear upper shelf in position The rear upper shelf in position
The rear upper shelf in position The daub wall around the front upper shelf
The daub wall around the rear upper shelf The stokehole showing the spacers made from kiln batt

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