[brokencookie]

It is mined near bodies of water or old dry lake beds ( or seabeds). There are two varieties, saltwater and freshwater. The properties of each are a little different. "Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae." I checked the properties of the most common varieties and the melting temps are all very high. IMHO there must be something else that could be used as a self sealer. I have used a block sealer in my car that consists of a high copper content silica that becomes "glass" @ aobut 240 degrees F. A self sealing oven is kind of a neat idea but I think it would not be worth the trouble to set it up correctly. As we have seen, the cracks are only important to the builders ego, not the performance of the oven.


Bruce