Larry Kruzan on sun 20 apr 08
Hi Laurie,
I am so glad that you suffered nothing worse than a fried plug and
receptacle - you were very blessed! I would just caution you to scrap the
plug/receptacle deal entirely. Replace it with a fused disconnect with a
built in lever switch wired directly to the kiln. The last one I bought was
a Square D brand and cost $35 for the box and $5 for fuses from a home
center (do not use a A/C disconnect).
A disconnect will allow you shut off the power to the kiln when it is not in
use - most of the time. The fuses will blow much quicker than a breaker
will trip in our application - this is very desirable on a kiln - you want
it shut down fast if there is any problem.
Breakers have a delay built into them so that they don't trip when a
electric motor starts and has a instantaneous current draw over the rating
of the breaker - for motors this is normal and OK but not for kilns. Also
as breakers age the "real" trip current can change due to mechanical failure
and breakdown. A breaker that has been used as a switch can have a very big
mechanical problem but still "hold" in the on position, but it might not
shut power off at a much higher current draw.
Typical home use breakers are not very durable mechanically - they are not
designed to be cycled more than a few times in their life. Industrial
breakers are much more durable and can handle being switched more often.
The difference is cost, a home 50A 240v breaker is around $10, the one from
industry is $75.
This is also true of plugs and receptacles - even though the plugs on my two
1027's are pretty good quality most of the receptacles I found were intended
for ranges - not kilns. Do NOT go there! My bet would be that you had a
failure in the receptacle not the plug, can't say if the rat turds were
important or not, I kind of doubt it. Wire it up direct and be safe.
I doubt there are any problems with the cord but stranger things have
happened. If it is shot be sure to replace it with a cord that has a heat
tolerance rating the same as the original. Skutt put a good cord on and if
it needs changing I would go with the same thing, nothing less.
Last thing I would add is that this was a very close call and you really
just missed a fire by the smallest of measures. After you carefully
consider all this check out your insurance to make sure you are up to par in
every area. Do you have a rider to cover the kiln or damage it causes? If
you sell your work you may need a special rider covering any work and
equipment you have there, I did. Insurance that covers the home if business
activities cause a loss and so on, don't guess - be dead certain.
A 6 years ago I had a major fire in my woodworking shop (a detached 1400sf
building) that was a total loss. We had just had a insurance review two
months before the fire and have to admit that I really thought the agent was
just trying to "up" his commission when he told me how underinsured I was.
As we began to clean it up and rebuild I discovered that the building we had
built ourselves for $10,000 in materials 12 years ago, really was going to
cost $68,000 to replace. $2,000 less than my agent estimated. Before the
review it was insured for $20,000. This was in addition to all the tools I
had gathered over many years as an engineering contractor and woodworker - a
couple years salary as it turned out in today's dollars. Since I was
retired my tools were covered as personal use but if I had still been
working I would had just lost it all.
Larry Kruzan
Lost Creek Pottery
www.lostcreekpottery.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Laurie in
Sacramento
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 3:40 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: [CLAYART] Kiln Plug Malfunction
Hi Everyone!
I haven't written in awhile, but I still read Clayart often. I hope to see
you all in Phoenix next
spring.
My ten year old Skutt KM1027 had a little "firing incident" on Friday. When
I went out to the garage
to do a final check after it should have shut down I noticed the KilnMaster
display was off. The
whole kiln was off and I had no idea what happened. There was the faint
smell of burned plastic in
the air, but it was not too strong. I had checked it a couple hours earlier
and it was well on it's way
to finishing a cone 06 firing. It was bisque on the bottom shelf and I had a
sculpture in the top
section that was having its underglazes fired on. Nothing unusual. I checked
the breaker and it
was still on. I checked the fuse on the KM and it was okay. So I shut off
the breaker and tried to
pull the plug and it was stuck in the receptacle. It came out eventually,
but one of the prongs had
come completely loose, the plastic having melted around it. The hole in the
receptacle was also
somewhat melted. I removed the plug and it appears the wire to one prong had
melted the plastic
and it's hard to see exactly what melted onto the prong, the plastic from
the plug or the
receptacle. So now I have the plug off and I think if I strip back the
insulation a couple inches I
will get to good wiring on the cord. It doesn't look that badly damaged. Of
course the plug and
receptacle are history. This kiln has been plugged in to the same circuit
for a good ten years and
has done many firings, mostly to cone 04 and 06. The plug has never even
gotten hot before this.
The wire run from the main box is about 3 feet. I turned off the breaker and
removed the wall
plate from the receptacle. There were about a half dozen large rat turds
inside the box. I know
rats can squeeze into some small spaces, but I never expected them to get
into the receptacle
box! They looked fairly fresh, too. The kiln was last fired at the end of
November, so this was the
first time I had turned on its breaker since then. It is always off when not
being used.
So here is where I am today. I am trying to decide whether I need to order a
new plug or a whole
new power cord. A new 6-50 receptacle is needed, too. I am going to get an
electrician out to
check everything from the breaker to the receptacle box to make sure the
wiring is okay, and I
may just go ahead and have it replaced to be on the safe side. I hope the
KilnMaster is okay. I
looked it over and I don't see any obvious damage, like scorch marks or
anything. The relays look
okay. When I later unloaded the kiln my 06 witness cones all had a nice bend
to them, so it looks
like the firing finished properly before the meltdown. It's very odd to me
that it even managed to
finish firing before the "incident". I haven't found a dead rat anywhere,
not even an incinerated
one. Has anyone ever had something like this happen? Should I blame the
rats? Is there some
maintenance I should have been doing for the past 10 years? I am mystified.
I can see what
happened, but I don't know why it happened. When it is firing I normally
check it every hour or
two. This 1027 has been such a reliable workhorse for me that i bothers me
to not know why it
did this.
Any ideas would be much appreciated! Thank you!!
Laurie in Sacramento
Potter's Council Charter Member
Secretary, Sacramento Potters Group
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here:
http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
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melpots2@visi.com
Laurie in Sacramento on sun 20 apr 08
Hi Everyone!
I haven't written in awhile, but I still read Clayart often. I hope to see you all in Phoenix next
spring.
My ten year old Skutt KM1027 had a little "firing incident" on Friday. When I went out to the garage
to do a final check after it should have shut down I noticed the KilnMaster display was off. The
whole kiln was off and I had no idea what happened. There was the faint smell of burned plastic in
the air, but it was not too strong. I had checked it a couple hours earlier and it was well on it's way
to finishing a cone 06 firing. It was bisque on the bottom shelf and I had a sculpture in the top
section that was having its underglazes fired on. Nothing unusual. I checked the breaker and it
was still on. I checked the fuse on the KM and it was okay. So I shut off the breaker and tried to
pull the plug and it was stuck in the receptacle. It came out eventually, but one of the prongs had
come completely loose, the plastic having melted around it. The hole in the receptacle was also
somewhat melted. I removed the plug and it appears the wire to one prong had melted the plastic
and it's hard to see exactly what melted onto the prong, the plastic from the plug or the
receptacle. So now I have the plug off and I think if I strip back the insulation a couple inches I
will get to good wiring on the cord. It doesn't look that badly damaged. Of course the plug and
receptacle are history. This kiln has been plugged in to the same circuit for a good ten years and
has done many firings, mostly to cone 04 and 06. The plug has never even gotten hot before this.
The wire run from the main box is about 3 feet. I turned off the breaker and removed the wall
plate from the receptacle. There were about a half dozen large rat turds inside the box. I know
rats can squeeze into some small spaces, but I never expected them to get into the receptacle
box! They looked fairly fresh, too. The kiln was last fired at the end of November, so this was the
first time I had turned on its breaker since then. It is always off when not being used.
So here is where I am today. I am trying to decide whether I need to order a new plug or a whole
new power cord. A new 6-50 receptacle is needed, too. I am going to get an electrician out to
check everything from the breaker to the receptacle box to make sure the wiring is okay, and I
may just go ahead and have it replaced to be on the safe side. I hope the KilnMaster is okay. I
looked it over and I don't see any obvious damage, like scorch marks or anything. The relays look
okay. When I later unloaded the kiln my 06 witness cones all had a nice bend to them, so it looks
like the firing finished properly before the meltdown. It's very odd to me that it even managed to
finish firing before the "incident". I haven't found a dead rat anywhere, not even an incinerated
one. Has anyone ever had something like this happen? Should I blame the rats? Is there some
maintenance I should have been doing for the past 10 years? I am mystified. I can see what
happened, but I don't know why it happened. When it is firing I normally check it every hour or
two. This 1027 has been such a reliable workhorse for me that i bothers me to not know why it
did this.
Any ideas would be much appreciated! Thank you!!
Laurie in Sacramento
Potter's Council Charter Member
Secretary, Sacramento Potters Group
Jennifer Boyer on sun 20 apr 08
The best way to wire your kiln, if possible, is to wire it directly
to a breaker box, without a plug involved. I burned out a kiln plug
years ago and didn't want to do that again! Also while you are at it
you should have a power shut off put into the line between the box
and the kiln.
All hard won experience.....
Jennifer
On Apr 20, 2008, at 4:39 PM, Laurie in Sacramento wrote:
> Hi Everyone!
> I haven't written in awhile, but I still read Clayart often. I hope
> to see you all in Phoenix next
> spring.
***************************
Jennifer Boyer
Thistle Hill Pottery
Montpelier, VT
http://thistlehillpottery.com
http://jboyerdesign.com
http://artisanshand.com
***************************
Page Kelly on sun 20 apr 08
Hi Laurie-
I recently purchased a two year old skutt 1227-1 from my local ceramic
supply, who had "thoroughly" checked it and deemed it as good as new. In
January or February, on my third firing, an 04 bisque, I noticed a very
strong smell, perhaps stronger than what you noticed because my kiln and
studio are in the basement, and thought it was wierd, but that perhaps it
was just chemicals burning out of the paperclay tiles that I had in
there. That load bisqued fine, then on my 4th firing with it, glazing to
^6, I turned it on, watched it for a short time, then left for the nite.
Came back the next morning to a dead kiln. I did very nearly the same
thing you did. Check the breaker - not thrown, hmmm, look at the plug,
see damage, go back to the breaker, turn it off, go back to the outlet,
pull plug and realize the entire thing is charred and melted to the
outlet. Big Yikes and many thanks to the powers that be that I put that
receptacle in a concrete backered wall. For whatever reason power stopped
flowing to the kiln without tripping the breaker and no fire started.
So the good news was this - my outlet and plug were trash, and it was due
to a loose connection inside the plug itself that caused so much heat that
it melted the plug first, then the outlet and about 6" of wire in both
directions. However, my ceramic supplier sent to skutt for a new plug and
skutt sent a whole new ponytail within the week, and the supplier also
replaced the outlet. My electrician rewired and checked everything and my
kiln has been working beautifully, firing twice a week, nearly every week
since. No damage whatsoever to the controller.
Though not exactly the same cause, my hope for you is that you discover
the same result and your controller is fine. The rat could have chewed on
the insulation around the wires at anytime before you fired and would have
gotten away scot free. Then when you flipped the breaker on and started
your firing cycle the heat would have then been produced to melt the
plug. Anyway, just thought it strange that someone would have so similar
an experience to mine so soon, especially when no one I knew or talked to
had heard of such a thing occuring. Good Luck! Let us know how things
work out.
Regards,
Page Kelly
www.zephyrvalleypottery.com
Laurie in Sacramento on mon 21 apr 08
Thanks Jennifer, Page, John and Meg!
It's good to hear what you have to say because it helps me to figure out just what went wrong so i
can, hopefully, avoid a repeat performance in the future. :-)
Page, what you describe sounds almost exactly like what I discovered when I took the plug apart
yesterday. Well, actually the plug more or less fell apart by then. On the outside it looked okay,
but the one prong that had been attached to the black wire was loose and came out after I
unplugged it from the wall. I think it must have been arcing, like John pointed out, and it
completely burned through at the connection point, which is what eventually cut the power off.
Luckily before anything caught fire. The only difference that I can see so far is that the wires going
in to the back of the receptacle look to be in pristine condition. No scorching or melted insulation.
Only the hole where the melted prong went in was damaged. My garage isn't cement block, so
this was mounted in a sheetrock wall in a wood framed building. There is no scorching on the wall
at all, no smoke, and all damage is confined to the plug and receptacle. Maybe that is part of their
design. The 1227 and the 1027 use the same plug. Anyway, my garage is attached to the house,
so there is supposed to be a firewall in between. The kiln is way out by the big door just on the
other side of the wall from the electrical box. Just about the shortest wire run possible. I have
smoke alarms and fire extinguishers all over the place and my street's fire hydrant is directly
across the street with the fire dept. station about a mile away.
More to follow after I see an electrician.
Laurie in Sacramento
jonathan byler on mon 21 apr 08
I'm not sure what the current draw of your kiln is, but a 50 amp
breaker may have actually tripped if there was a major problem. but
you have to understand that the breaker is there to protect the house
wiring from short circuits and NOT to protect the kiln. Don't blame
the breaker when it is doing it's job as it is supposed to. There
are not many 60 amp plugs out there to begin with, and I have never
seen one at your local home center. if you have a 50 amp plug
servicing a 60 amp kiln, you are exceeding the current rating of the
plug, and it is much more likely to overheat, which causes extra
corrosion, which causes more heat, which can make a nice electrical
fire.
you need to make sure that if you are using a plug that it really is
rated for the amount of current that you are going to draw through
it, and that the wires and breaker servicing said plug are large
enough to provide for the current draw required.
It may seem like it at first, but home wiring, and the wiring to
hook up a kiln is *not* rocket science. There are a few important
rules that must be followed, both in planning and installation, but
they can be learned readily. Other than that, you just look stuff up
in a few charts, to determine wire size, etc. and off you go.
Even if you don't want to get that deep into it and do it yourself,
there are also plenty of good books about electricity out there that
will explain the basics and then some, so that you can make a more
informed decision about whether your electrician knows what he is
talking about. If you are not sure about him, find another.
jon byler
3-D Building Coordinator
Art Department
Auburn University, AL 36849
On Apr 21, 2008, at 1:50 PM, Laurie in Sacramento wrote:
> Many thanks today to Larry, Jeff and Arnold for great advice!
> This is what makes Clayart a great forum.
>
> I am definitely going to have the kiln direct wired to a disconnect
> this time. That part about the
> residential type breakers wearing out quickly got me worrying about
> the breaker. I will also have
> the breaker replaced as a precaution. I can't count how many times
> I have probably flipped that
> thing on and off over the past 10 years! The original receptacle
> was put in by an electrician, but I
> suspect it was just like anything you could get at Home Depot. I
> don't think he was especially
> knowledgeable about kilns, to be honest. He tried to talk me into a
> 50 amp breaker instead of the
> 60 amp, for instance. Is the receptacle that Skutt sells a more
> heavy duty type, I wonder?
>
> I think this whole thing regarding kiln wiring and safety would be
> a good subject for discussion at
> our next potters Group meeting. I can show my burned plug. They
> won't like the way it smells!
>
> Anyway, I will get a recommendation for a good electrician today. I
> am on vacation next week, so I
> should be able to schedule the work for then, I hope. Probably will
> be a costly lesson. But it could
> have been far, far worse! I will also call my insurance agent and
> see about a rider for the kiln,
> since I don't think I have one, even though I know I told them
> about having it out there in the
> garage when I switched insurance companies about 5 years ago.
>
> Many thanks again everyone!!
>
> Laurie in Sacramento
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here: http://
> www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots2@visi.com
Jeff Gieringer on mon 21 apr 08
Laurie,
I would recommend that you follow each piece of advice that Larry gave you.
Our home burned to the ground back in January and the cause being faulty
electric in the attic. Luckily our studio is not at home, so it did not
affect our ability to work. During my college years, I worked for my father
in law who was an electrical contractor. I never became a true electrician,
but learned a lot during those years. OK. here's my advice, wire the kiln
direct to a disconnect (as there really is no substitute for doing it right)
and do check on your insurances as I am finding out first hand, insurance
companies will split very fine hairs when your claim gets into 6 figures or
more, and it doesn't take much these days to get into 6 figures.
Jeff Gieringer
Gatlinburg, TN
----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Kruzan"
To:
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 12:21 AM
Subject: Re: Kiln Plug Malfunction
> Hi Laurie,
>
> I am so glad that you suffered nothing worse than a fried plug and
> receptacle - you were very blessed! I would just caution you to scrap the
> plug/receptacle deal entirely. Replace it with a fused disconnect with a
> built in lever switch wired directly to the kiln. The last one I bought
> was
> a Square D brand and cost $35 for the box and $5 for fuses from a home
> center (do not use a A/C disconnect).
>
> A disconnect will allow you shut off the power to the kiln when it is not
> in
> use - most of the time. The fuses will blow much quicker than a breaker
> will trip in our application - this is very desirable on a kiln - you want
> it shut down fast if there is any problem.
>
> Breakers have a delay built into them so that they don't trip when a
> electric motor starts and has a instantaneous current draw over the rating
> of the breaker - for motors this is normal and OK but not for kilns. Also
> as breakers age the "real" trip current can change due to mechanical
> failure
> and breakdown. A breaker that has been used as a switch can have a very
> big
> mechanical problem but still "hold" in the on position, but it might not
> shut power off at a much higher current draw.
>
> Typical home use breakers are not very durable mechanically - they are not
> designed to be cycled more than a few times in their life. Industrial
> breakers are much more durable and can handle being switched more often.
> The difference is cost, a home 50A 240v breaker is around $10, the one
> from
> industry is $75.
>
> This is also true of plugs and receptacles - even though the plugs on my
> two
> 1027's are pretty good quality most of the receptacles I found were
> intended
> for ranges - not kilns. Do NOT go there! My bet would be that you had a
> failure in the receptacle not the plug, can't say if the rat turds were
> important or not, I kind of doubt it. Wire it up direct and be safe.
>
> I doubt there are any problems with the cord but stranger things have
> happened. If it is shot be sure to replace it with a cord that has a heat
> tolerance rating the same as the original. Skutt put a good cord on and
> if
> it needs changing I would go with the same thing, nothing less.
>
> Last thing I would add is that this was a very close call and you really
> just missed a fire by the smallest of measures. After you carefully
> consider all this check out your insurance to make sure you are up to par
> in
> every area. Do you have a rider to cover the kiln or damage it causes?
> If
> you sell your work you may need a special rider covering any work and
> equipment you have there, I did. Insurance that covers the home if
> business
> activities cause a loss and so on, don't guess - be dead certain.
>
> A 6 years ago I had a major fire in my woodworking shop (a detached 1400sf
> building) that was a total loss. We had just had a insurance review two
> months before the fire and have to admit that I really thought the agent
> was
> just trying to "up" his commission when he told me how underinsured I was.
>
> As we began to clean it up and rebuild I discovered that the building we
> had
> built ourselves for $10,000 in materials 12 years ago, really was going to
> cost $68,000 to replace. $2,000 less than my agent estimated. Before the
> review it was insured for $20,000. This was in addition to all the tools
> I
> had gathered over many years as an engineering contractor and woodworker -
> a
> couple years salary as it turned out in today's dollars. Since I was
> retired my tools were covered as personal use but if I had still been
> working I would had just lost it all.
>
>
> Larry Kruzan
> Lost Creek Pottery
> www.lostcreekpottery.com
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Laurie in
> Sacramento
> Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 3:40 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: [CLAYART] Kiln Plug Malfunction
>
> Hi Everyone!
> I haven't written in awhile, but I still read Clayart often. I hope to see
> you all in Phoenix next
> spring.
>
> My ten year old Skutt KM1027 had a little "firing incident" on Friday.
> When
> I went out to the garage
> to do a final check after it should have shut down I noticed the
> KilnMaster
> display was off. The
> whole kiln was off and I had no idea what happened. There was the faint
> smell of burned plastic in
> the air, but it was not too strong. I had checked it a couple hours
> earlier
> and it was well on it's way
> to finishing a cone 06 firing. It was bisque on the bottom shelf and I had
> a
> sculpture in the top
> section that was having its underglazes fired on. Nothing unusual. I
> checked
> the breaker and it
> was still on. I checked the fuse on the KM and it was okay. So I shut off
> the breaker and tried to
> pull the plug and it was stuck in the receptacle. It came out eventually,
> but one of the prongs had
> come completely loose, the plastic having melted around it. The hole in
> the
> receptacle was also
> somewhat melted. I removed the plug and it appears the wire to one prong
> had
> melted the plastic
> and it's hard to see exactly what melted onto the prong, the plastic from
> the plug or the
> receptacle. So now I have the plug off and I think if I strip back the
> insulation a couple inches I
> will get to good wiring on the cord. It doesn't look that badly damaged.
> Of
> course the plug and
> receptacle are history. This kiln has been plugged in to the same circuit
> for a good ten years and
> has done many firings, mostly to cone 04 and 06. The plug has never even
> gotten hot before this.
> The wire run from the main box is about 3 feet. I turned off the breaker
> and
> removed the wall
> plate from the receptacle. There were about a half dozen large rat turds
> inside the box. I know
> rats can squeeze into some small spaces, but I never expected them to get
> into the receptacle
> box! They looked fairly fresh, too. The kiln was last fired at the end of
> November, so this was the
> first time I had turned on its breaker since then. It is always off when
> not
> being used.
>
> So here is where I am today. I am trying to decide whether I need to order
> a
> new plug or a whole
> new power cord. A new 6-50 receptacle is needed, too. I am going to get an
> electrician out to
> check everything from the breaker to the receptacle box to make sure the
> wiring is okay, and I
> may just go ahead and have it replaced to be on the safe side. I hope the
> KilnMaster is okay. I
> looked it over and I don't see any obvious damage, like scorch marks or
> anything. The relays look
> okay. When I later unloaded the kiln my 06 witness cones all had a nice
> bend
> to them, so it looks
> like the firing finished properly before the meltdown. It's very odd to me
> that it even managed to
> finish firing before the "incident". I haven't found a dead rat anywhere,
> not even an incinerated
> one. Has anyone ever had something like this happen? Should I blame the
> rats? Is there some
> maintenance I should have been doing for the past 10 years? I am
> mystified.
> I can see what
> happened, but I don't know why it happened. When it is firing I normally
> check it every hour or
> two. This 1027 has been such a reliable workhorse for me that i bothers me
> to not know why it
> did this.
>
> Any ideas would be much appreciated! Thank you!!
> Laurie in Sacramento
> Potter's Council Charter Member
> Secretary, Sacramento Potters Group
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here:
> http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots2@visi.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here:
> http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots2@visi.com
>
Arnold Howard on mon 21 apr 08
From: "Laurie in Sacramento"
So I shut off the breaker and tried to
> pull the plug and it was stuck in the receptacle. It came
> out eventually, but one of the prongs had
> come completely loose, the plastic having melted around
> it.
Laurie, I'm glad the only loss was a receptacle and power
cord.
Touch the power cord occasionally while the kiln is firing.
Turn off the kiln if the cord feels hot. Every month or so,
pull out the plug and examine it and the receptacle for
signs of overheating.
Make sure the plug is pushed all the way into the
receptacle. Over time the weight of the cord may pull it out
a little. The cord should hang down without twisting the
plug.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
Laurie in Sacramento on mon 21 apr 08
Many thanks today to Larry, Jeff and Arnold for great advice!
This is what makes Clayart a great forum.
I am definitely going to have the kiln direct wired to a disconnect this time. That part about the
residential type breakers wearing out quickly got me worrying about the breaker. I will also have
the breaker replaced as a precaution. I can't count how many times I have probably flipped that
thing on and off over the past 10 years! The original receptacle was put in by an electrician, but I
suspect it was just like anything you could get at Home Depot. I don't think he was especially
knowledgeable about kilns, to be honest. He tried to talk me into a 50 amp breaker instead of the
60 amp, for instance. Is the receptacle that Skutt sells a more heavy duty type, I wonder?
I think this whole thing regarding kiln wiring and safety would be a good subject for discussion at
our next potters Group meeting. I can show my burned plug. They won't like the way it smells!
Anyway, I will get a recommendation for a good electrician today. I am on vacation next week, so I
should be able to schedule the work for then, I hope. Probably will be a costly lesson. But it could
have been far, far worse! I will also call my insurance agent and see about a rider for the kiln,
since I don't think I have one, even though I know I told them about having it out there in the
garage when I switched insurance companies about 5 years ago.
Many thanks again everyone!!
Laurie in Sacramento
William & Susan Schran User on tue 22 apr 08
On 4/20/08 4:39 PM, "Laurie in Sacramento"
wrote:
> This 1027 has been such a reliable workhorse for me that i bothers me to not
> know why it
> did this.
>
> Any ideas would be much appreciated!
The electrical connection between plug & receptacle is a somewhat weak link
between a kiln & power supply. Rodents may have chewed on insulation, but
more likely there was simply corrosion over time that led to heating, then
melting, then failure.
You may be better to not replace plug & receptacle, but have your
electrician hardwire the kiln. Have the electrician put a cut off box at the
connection.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
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