Forgot to turn off rod warmer

blr2449 · #1 2010-01-25, 7:57am

Yep. Thought I'd turned it off and discovered I hadn't the next morning. Not a pretty sight. My 5 rods of Devardi bi-color were melted to the floor of the warmer. After it cooled I was able to remove about 98% of the glass. Won't do that again.

jillybead · #2 2010-01-25, 8:01am

Ouch! That sucks.. we have all done it,, I currently have my rod warmer on the same switch as my light,, it warmer goes off when the light does.. a great "plan B" for me. I wonder if you could put it on a timer to go off every nite as a back up?

GlassGalore · #3 2010-01-25, 1:09pm

Wow! That's hot! I take it there's no temperature setting that you could lower, just in case???

blr2449 · #4 2010-01-25, 1:55pm

I'm definitely going to look for a timer or thermostat. It's a warmer sold at beauty supply stores, hits 1000 degrees.

rosemarie23 · #5 2010-01-25, 2:01pm

I use one of these too - I've had rods slump just while working throughout the day. I can imagine what an all night soak looks like.

blr2449 · #6 2010-01-25, 4:03pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosemarie23

I use one of these too - I've had rods slump just while working throughout the day. I can imagine what an all night soak looks like.

It wasn't pretty.

mini · #7 2010-01-27, 6:21pm

Oh no! That's terrible. Maybe one of those timer plugs that you get to turn the lights on & off when you are vacation? Just in case you forget again.

TAKnight · #8 2010-01-27, 8:05pm

Barb and Rose what brand or rod warmers do you have and where didi you buy it?

Otter's Flame · #9 2010-01-28, 1:48am

If you can run your lights, rod warmer, cd player/ipod dock and other devices like that all off of one power strip that has a switch, that will really help to prevent this as well. The flip of one switch and all of those things go off at once, no remembering what to unplug and turn off.

Otter

profusion · #10 2010-01-28, 6:15am

Just remember to plug in the kiln in different outlet

P~

rosemarie23 · #11 2010-01-28, 6:28am

I have the Gold N Hot Ceramic heater. Here is a Google search for them.

I got mine at a local beauty supply place - one that specializes in multi cultural beauty supplies.

I got the larger one, but I've read that the medium size is better - it has a flat top where you can heat murrini, whereas mine has a rounded top. I definitely don't need all of the space in the big one.

glassactcc · #12 2010-01-28, 9:28am

I have the Gold N Hot too. I put a piece of fiber blanket on the bottom. Just a thin piece to make sure nothing sticks. These should have an auto turn off or even a light that glows when it's on. They are very easy to forget with just the switch on the cord.

lunamoonshadow · #13 2010-01-28, 10:12am

I'm sorry, but I read this & all I could think was "cool, you could use it to FUSE GLASS CABS if you put in a piece of kiln paper"!!!!
(I know, I know, it's *not* the intended use....but really, it's not a "glass warmer" either

)

rosemarie23 · #14 2010-01-28, 5:12pm

Good grief! I never thought of a fiber blanket. I had some stick so I tried to line it with scrap glass so if it was going to stick, at least my "good" glass is sticking to something with a known COE.

(And I'm an engineer, hanging my head in shame that I didn't think of that obvious solution...)

Ed_Slawson · #15 2010-01-28, 5:24pm

The easiest way to control the temperature of a golden hot heater is to use a stove burner (120vac) replacement switch. It has to be enclosed in a suitable box, with an outlet wired to it, and an indicator light so you know when it is on.

The top of the medium sized golden hot is flat, and it makes a great place to preheat murrini for pickup.

blr2449 · #16 2010-01-28, 7:02pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by TAKnight

Barb and Rose what brand or rod warmers do you have and where didi you buy it?

It's a Heat Exxpress Ceramic Wide Mouth Stove from Sally Beauty Supply.

mini · #17 2010-01-28, 9:54pm

You are all so fantastically clever!! I'm always just amazed!

rosemarie23 · #18 2010-01-29, 6:46am

I had a big piece of fiber blanket that I stuffed into my warmer last night and I think that it was too big or something. I was making beads and looked over and saw the ceramic on the bottom and the side glowing BRIGHT orange. I freaked out, got some tweezers and started pulling the blanket out of the warmer. Of course, I forgot about keeping my beads warm - this is an unusual thing for me! I had 6 beads that I was working on (just spacers thankfully) and three of them - pop, pop, pop! All over my bench...

I think I need to use something different than what I have.

mini · #19 2010-01-29, 8:42am

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosemarie23

I had a big piece of fiber blanket that I stuffed into my warmer last night and I think that it was too big or something. I was making beads and looked over and saw the ceramic on the bottom and the side glowing BRIGHT orange. I freaked out, got some tweezers and started pulling the blanket out of the warmer. Of course, I forgot about keeping my beads warm - this is an unusual thing for me! I had 6 beads that I was working on (just spacers thankfully) and three of them - pop, pop, pop! All over my bench...

I think I need to use something different than what I have.

Cynthia has a bigger unit I think. Maybe a small ceramic tile with kiln was to protect the bottom?

blr2449 · #20 2010-01-29, 12:23pm

A small tile!!! Great idea!

rosemarie23 · #21 2010-01-29, 4:22pm

Well! A tile is a good idea too. I'll try that next.

Cynthia posted that she used a THIN piece of fiber blanket. I had a big one - that was too wide, so I folded it over. Thin was definitely not a description of what I did.

mini · #22 2010-01-29, 7:14pm

I have a terra cotta tile that isn't enameled at all. I use it as a trivet but I keep thinking of bringing it to the studio!

I honestly have no idea where it came from.
maybe a plate mold from fusing too could work.