Method of making a ceramic tube

An improved method of making a ceramic tube, comprising the steps of:

• preparing a tube from ceramic fibers with filament winding;
• impregnating the tube with a pre-ceramic water soluble polymer solution produced by a method comprising the steps of heating a hydrated metal salt in a furnace to a temperature above the melting point of the hydrated metal salt, said hydrated metal salt being a member selected from the group consisting of a hydrated metal nitrate salt, and a hydrated metal chloride salt, providing a flow of air above the melted hydrated metal salt to drive a polymerization reaction forward, forming a water soluble pre-ceramic polymer, maintaining the heat at a temperature not exceeding 100.degree. C. above a melting point of the pre-ceramic polymer and flow of air until a weight loss ranging from about 10% to 73% weight percent of the pre-ceramic polymer is obtained;
• and
• adding water to the pre-ceramic polymer to make a pre-ceramic polymer solution with a polymer to water weight ratio of at least 1 to 1.5;
• drying the impregnated tube;
• heating the dried impregnated tube at a temperature of about 500.degree. C.;
• and
• repeating the impregnating through heating steps.