Hi all, 

I'm new to cone 6 and have moved studio to town. 

I'm wondering if the town water is messing with the glaze. It seems to be precipitating out and forming thick sludge at the bottom. I have a water softener. Should I be using distilled water to mix glaze?

My previous studio had a dug well.

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Hi Margaret,

Hope you ski day was good - I moved from Toronto to Fergus and like you I now have a water softener.

I have not experience any additional difficulty with my glazes.

Does you recipe include 'bentonite'?    Bentonite in glazes helps keep molecules in suspension.  Try to add 2 to 3 % to your recipe.   Which glaze are you using?

Denise

Yes - if you use water from a "water softener" it will lead to glazes settling out.

Two basic concepts:


1.) To help suspend glazes, I add Calcium Chloride (Ca2+) while others add Magnesium Sulphate (Mg2+) (epsom salts).

2.) If you add a feldspar high in sodium, like Nepheline Syenite, over time bacterial action can cause sodium ions (Na+) to leech into the glaze leading it to hard pan, requiring the addition of more Calcium or Magnesium ions.

Water with lots of Calcium and Magnesium ions is the definition of hard water, which helps suspend clay-like material.

A "Water Softener" has resins which attract Calcium and Magnesium ions (see #1 above) and replaces them with Sodium ions (see #2 above). When it comes time to recharge, you soak the resins with a very concentrated solution of sodium chloride salt which once again displaces the Calcium and Magnesium ions from the resin with Sodium ions. The Calcium and Magnesium ions are flushed down the drain along with the excess salt.

By definition, a "water softener" takes water which helps clay-like materials and glazes suspend, and changes it into water which tends to make clay suspensions collapse.

You either need to use water before it is "softened", or you need to add Calcium Chloride (ice-melting crystals) or Magnesium Sulphate (epsom salts). In my experience Calcium  Chloride will make fewer visual changes to the fired glaze. Calcium Chloride attracts moisture from the air, dissolving the crystals, so keep it sealed if you like the convenience of adding crystals.

http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Joe-MELT25CC-Chloride-Resealable/dp/B00O...

Occasionally glaze recipes have less than 10% clay or kaolin which will need the addition of Bentone-EW or other highly ionic bentonite / macloid product to create enough suspension. Without enough clay-like material there is nothing for the Calcium or Magnesium ions to repel. But without the positive Calcium or Magnesium ions, not even a glaze recipe with a lot of clay will remain suspended for long.

Thank you both very much for your answers. I will try these suggestions. In the meantime I have been using distilled water.

Margaret



Denise Rainville said:

Hi Margaret,

Hope you ski day was good - I moved from Toronto to Fergus and like you I now have a water softener.

I have not experience any additional difficulty with my glazes.

Does you recipe include 'bentonite'?    Bentonite in glazes helps keep molecules in suspension.  Try to add 2 to 3 % to your recipe.   Which glaze are you using?

Denise

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