Here's the latest in my Kiln repair wars. In attempting to patch up my broken coil, it broke in several more places. No worry, I got these cool little tubes that I can crimp on to connect the broken ends. The trick is to propane torch the coil, and then it gets really pliable and easy to stretch and bend. OK now I needed to rebuild a few places along the wall where all the firebrick is broken or missing. I plopped in trowel fulls of furnace cement and let it harden for a few days every 8" or so to keep the double coil separated, and in place. OK so now I cranked it on to see if it heats up. While it's getting hot, the cement looks slick like it's melting on the top. I touch it to see, and I feel the familiar tingle of electricity coarsing through my hand. I had no idea that the almost dry, but now wet cement was conductive? Weird huh?
*Java.... no lectures about what an asshole I am for tinkering with this thing, and not doing it properly like you suggested. I can take 100 hours to solve a computer techie problem rather than formatting and starting over. I like the little challenges of life, and am compulsive enough to get lost in them sometimes. I've fixed old radios that were worthless, just cause they were there.