Hello,

        Can anyone offer some information on constructing your own high 
temp (1300 or 1400 C) furnace for an EA?  There must be a reason why I'm 
not hearing about people doing this.   I'm thinking that wire is wound 
around a ceramic tube, held in place somehow and packed in an insulating 
material.  There needs to be a sleeve or port for a thermocouple, and it 
needs to be mountable in the EA.    Here's a few specific questions that 
come to mind:

1. What type and gauge of wire is necessary for temperatures up to 1300 or 
1400 C?

2. How close together are the coils wrapped?

3. What length of the tube do the coils need to cover?

4. Is the wire coiled uniformly along the tube or more densely in the 
center?

5. Is there a good source for materials and information about such a 
project?

6. Are there less expensive but perfectly useable sources of high temp 
furnaces other than the EA manufacturers?


Any information along these lines would be appreciated.  Thanks much.

        Steve

Steven Silva
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Rd., Mailstop 434
Menlo Park, CA 94025
ph:  (650) 329-4558
fax: (650) 329-5590
email: [log in to unmask]