stadelman glass: testimonials

TESTIMONIALS: Page 1 • Page 2

We have been using a Stadleman 600# electric furnace for nearly a year and must
say that it is a very well constructed and designed unit. This is the first store bought
furnace in our 30+ years of operation. We batch once a week and always have great
glass in the morning. There has been no problem melting any of our colors, including
red and amber. Having a neutral atmosphere is so much easier than needing to con-
stantly adjust the excess air for each color/melt. My only complaint is that with all the
insulation and tight door it was not enough to heat the studio this winter. All was fine
once the glory holes were lit. Factoring in rising propane prices and increased electric
usage (subtracting blower motors and adding back the glory holes) we are saving over
$1200 a week for the same quantity of glass. It has already paid for itself. Now I just
need a dual 100# for my birthday. Thanks, Steve.

— John Gilmor

Hey Steve just writing to let you know I am a very happy camper. I have found the
furnace a breeze to use. We have called the furnace Frankie, as in FrankinFurnace,
because of all his electrodes on the top and hoses coming out his sides. I tell every-
one I meet how happy I am with your furnace. Just wanted to let you know.

— Lia Howe

Steve!!! We are so amazed with the furnace you have made for us! The reasons
we are so amazed are quite simple to describe even though the furnace itself took
much education and innovation to create. Every time I gather out of our Stadelman
furnace I come out with a completely flawless gather of molten glass. This furnace is
the one that every glassblower wished they had when working out of some other
furnace. It is SO EASY to charge and it takes so little time to do it! It's SO EASY to
operate and maintain that I honestly don't know how we ever went without it. I will
NEVER be able to get over the completely flawless gathers! I haven't even men-
tioned the way our old furnace threw out so much heat compared to this one.
I walk into a studio every morning where you wouldn't even know that there is
molten glass just feet away. This furnace is a dream come true to a person who
is sick of using what is only second best. Thank you so very much! I'm so glad
that we found you and I hope that everyone looking for a new furnace can be
as fortunate as we have been.

— Cary Ferguson

After a full year of experience with three 300-pound Stadelmelters, I've got to tell
you that I am very pleased. It took me about 3 years to get management to pony
up for the new equipment but with no down time and wonderful glass they are
convinced it was worth it. In the year we have been melting glass in these fur-
naces they have never produce a bad melt. The SP 87 is lustrous and without
seeds or cords. It is wonderful to go into the hot shop in the morning and not
wonder which unit will be down today. The Molymelters have given us peace
of mind. I couldn't be more satisfied with Steve's Molymelters! They perform
just as well as he said they would if not better and Steve is always available if a
problem should arise. I will never go back to wire!

— Todd Nelson, Silver Dollar City / Hazels Blown Glass

After 24 years of melting glass with a gas furnace, we chose to work with Steve
to build our first-ever electric furnace. We had spent a couple years researching
our options, and Steve was by far the best choice. Not only had he developed
a high-quality, heavy-duty electronic furnace system, he could lierally talk the
talk with a City of Austin Energy engineer to help us work within the parameters
of our city codes.

Steve made himself available every step of the way as we made our transition
from gas to electric. His customer service is exemplary. Steve actually shipped
us a critical system component on the morning of his wedding, and then he
checked in with us during his honeymoon to make sure the problem was fixed!
After 18 months of working with the new furnace, we couldn’t be more pleased.
We’ve saved thousands of dollars in fuel costs, still use the original elements,
and have never had so much as a hiccup with the system. Steve’s excellent
customer service and his attention to detail adds even more value to his
furnace system. We are very, very happy customers.

— Matthew LaBarbera and Teresa Ueltschey, Fire Island Hot Glass Studio

The glassworks I built down at my gallery had to be in an extremely tiny space.
It's 11 x 17 feet with an 8.5-foot ceiling. It's also 20 miles away from where I live,
so I wouldn't really know if there were power failures or problems. I'm within 25
feet of probably $15 million worth of buildings, so for me to satisfy the insurance
side of the business, the furnace at that glassworks had to be something without
any combustion gas or unsupervised flames. I also wanted it to be silent at night.
An electric furnace was the only way to go. I already knew how much trouble the
silicon-carbide heating elements could be, and wire was not a viable option, simply
because I just melt too much glass. That left me looking at Moly.

I called Steve at one point and asked him if I could come see him. I really wanted
to take a look at a Moly furnace in operation. I was amazed by how quiet it was,
how cool it was. It was clear he knew how the power systems worked. His knowledge
of the electrical operation was very helpful.

I've been using the Moly furnace for about 20 months, and it works great. It really
wouldn't faze me one bit to leave town for a week and leave the Moly furnace to run
unattended. The worst thing that could happen here is a power outage. But when
the power comes back on, the furnace turns itself back on. It's an awful lot easier
than the potential of using a gas solenoid valve that has a minor leak because it's
been actuated so many times — or the gas not coming on because of safety
systems but the blower coming on and blowing cold air into the system, super
cooling and breaking the pots.

Steve Stadelman is very level headed and easy to deal with. He does what he
says he'll do. He builds a good product, is impeccably honest and patient, and he
sees people through to the end. Steve's just all around a very decent guy and we
could stand more people like him. I can recommend Steve Stadelman with complete
confidence.

— Pete Vanderlaan, Guadalupe Glass

The Stadelman electric furnaces have been a joy to use. In the beginning, it was
difficult to predict what the outcome would be in having two 600-lb electric furnaces
in a rental studio like Public Glass. Like most rental facilities, there is a lot of wear
and tear. The furnace is holding up just fine. Without gas burners, the studio has
gotten much more quiet. This may or may not be the first thing one thinks about
when choosing a glass furnace but if you have to be in a studio day in and day
out, it makes all the difference.

The quality of the glass has been amazing. As a matter of fact, it behaves like an
entirely different material. From what I understand, there is not as much flux being
burned out during the electric cook and the result is a longer working glass (we are
currently using Spruce Pine ER 87 pelletized). The service Steve has provided has
always been very informative. He has always taken time out of his day to trouble-
shoot anything I am unfamiliar with. All questions are always solved in a timely
fashion. He’s also got an amazing team of guys working with him. All of them are
very talented and knowledgeable of the equipment they design and build. I have
been extremely satisfied with the customer service as well as the performance of
the equipment. I would highly recommend anybody interested in going electric to
at least look into these products. I am sure they will become satisfied customers.

— J. Lin-Hsien Kung, technical director, Public Glass

Our electric furnace is saving us a lot of money in two ways: in energy costs and
in glass quality. The morning after a charge, the glass has fined out so well that
we no longer have worry about scheduling our production around our charges.
As a public-access, community-based studio, we really appreciated the edu-
cational opportunity that Steve offered during the three-day installation. Our
studio is further enhanced by how quiet, cool, and attractive this furnace is.

— Rebecca Britt, Hot Soup Glass Studio and Gallery

We bought a furnace from Steve Stadelman to replace a 10-year-old gas furnace
that we built. Through the processes of constructing, modifying, and reconstructing
our gas unit, we learned volumes about how not to build a furnace! In the end we
knew intimately what we were dealing with: an overinsulated box with marginal
convection in the combustion chamber. Running the thing was very touchy feely,
and it wouldn't take much of an electrical blip to trip the safety system. Interruptions
required a manual restart. We were married to the pager for notification. We have
been melting Spruce Pine Batch from the beginning, charging 125-150 pounds
once a week. We could count on cords after the third day and were plagued with
reboil bubbles.

We are totally satisfied with the experience we had with Steve. He worked hard
and delivered what he promised. He was available any time to answer questions,
and he went out of his way to talk to our electrician and the representative from
the electrical-service provider. We were glad Steve came to Houston for the
installation. It was a great opportunity to see and understand. Our new Stadelman
furnace has a 300-lb EC crucible. We are still melting Spruce Pine Batch, charging
every two weeks. We've noticed several benefits from using the furnace Steve built:

• Savings: The furnace draws about 5500 kWh/month.
• Glass Quality: Once we worked out the melting/fining schedule, the glass was
great on day one and stayed nice deeper into the pot than we dared hope.
• Time: The larger crucible enables us to only devote two days a month to charging
instead of four. It is easy to get behind with the cold working and studio maintenance.
• Performance: Gathering is more comfortable. Not as much heat pours out of the
port when we open the door. It is so quiet in the studio, and we love having a controller
that does what its told. No more running back to the studio in the middle of the night to
adjust settings.
• Peace of Mind: This furnace is a reliable workhorse. We have turned in the pager.
No more missing the last act of the play because the furnace shut down and needs a
manual restart. No need for a furnace sitter when we want to get more than an hour
out of town.

— Kathy Poeppel, Houston Studio Glass