condensation in a tube!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Johan]

What do you do about the condensation that sometimes builds up inside a tube your working. I hate that shit and sometimes i'll try and shake it all out but that never works.

I happened to me in a shitty way yesterday. It ended up cracking the bottom of my tube ...almost ruined a pendant i was making.

I'd like to know what others usually do to prevent it or what they do when it's too late to prevent it. Very very curious. Thanks

[THAT Guy]

The only other thing I know of to do is flash as much of the tube as you can in the flame real quick while leaving room to spin without burning yourself and that should dry it up pretty quick.

[Johan]

yeah i've done that...but there's always been those times when the condensation reappears halfway through your piece. you know??

[boxfan willy]

Do a makeshift rack on top of your kiln. It helps us out quite a bit with moisture.

Peace

[MUPH]

Keep the tube in the kiln, dont spit when you blow

[VOORHEES]

If that happens to me I put the whole tube in the kiln and let it set for ten minutes of a little less..the moisture is gone, don't burn yourself tho!

[Slow]

Do a makeshift rack on top of your kiln.

^good advice. You can keep all sorts of stuff up there: blowtubes, shocky stuff (chinese tube?), sometimes it even helps to the cadmiums warm before you work them. Although, if you do this...

don't burn yourself tho!

^keep that in mind.

[Alfred]

Water vapor is one of the exhaust gases from your torch,make sure to stop up the end of your point when directing the flame up into your flare and you will get less condensation.I use a small piece of latex tubing with a plug of 9mm rod in the end,heard of others using those squishable earplugs or cig butts.

[Johan]

Thats an interesting idea...maybe i'll try and construct something...I dont want to use rubber or plastic though...maybe some newspaper but that i'd think i would have to keep wet, and that would contadict what i'm doing. Alfred...wouldnt the latex or anything else just heat up way too much?????

Yeah especially since I work in a shed outside and the temps recently hit 20-40 on a good night....The flame reacting with the atmosphere creates a ton of moisture.

[Dom]

It usually doesnt bother me.

But if Im doing I/o then I stick an unused ear plug in my blowtube.

[Johan]

do u stick the ear plug near the flared end or the other end?

[seadal]

I have seen someone in the shop lately use a small shop vac to suck out the moisture. Pretty good idea, you just need some airflow. Works well.

[Slow]

I have very small corks that I stick into the end of a blowtube/point when I heat the inside of a flare. It keeps the flame from travelling up the tube to your hand. Stays cool, helps prevent moisture.

[Johan]

corks...thats sounds like a good idea.

[chayes]

http://www.thegldg.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19951

[Zed]

The scientific guys sometimes use a chemical dryer inline with a blowhose to avoid moisture in glass apparatus. This seems excessive to me for art applications though.

[Johan]

thanks for the link Chayes. Wish i found that before. All good stuff...I am gonna try the cork method right now for a bit. I lost my kiln to a split up and it may be a while till i get a new one. It's all good though i'll just make pendants for a while.


I used to put my tubes i was going to use for the day ontop of the kiln and that usually worked fine....occasionally moisture would build up again, but not as much.

[CitizenNot]

eh...it's just tube jizz. stop rubbin it so hard.

i use kneeded eraser to plug my tubes, works great taste great.