Ned Simmons wrote in
news
On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:06:26 -0600, WKW wrote:

I have a couple of nice soldering stations with burned out elements
that I need to rewind. I found the nichrome wire I need cheap on eBay,
but now I need something to insulate it from the metal. After doing
some research, I came across ITC-213 refractory cement which seems to
be ideal, but only see it sold by the pint - which is probably 100
times more than I'll ever need. Does anybody here have a tiny amount
they can sell me? I probably only need a teaspoon or two.

If you're willing to substitute, I have some Sauereisen cement that
should work. The jar's not close at hand, but I think it's zirconia
based. If you want to look into it I'll get the exact product name. It
may be No.13 on this page:
http://www.sauereisen.com/c_prod/c_chemical.asp


It looks that should work fine if it is #13. The wire was wound on the
outside of a 1/4" dia hollow steel tube, which is in turn slid inside a
slightly larger dia. steel tube, with only about.02" of space between
the inner and outer tube, so there is no room for mica or any other
insulators. The inner tube must be painted & dried before winding on the
wire element, then painted over again before inserting it in the outer
tube. Fortunately, it is only a 24 volt 2 amp element, so higher voltage
breakdown is not a problem. Most irons operate at about 700 or 800 deg.
F. ( about 400 deg C )

Wade