Michael Wendt on thu 6 sep 01
Jennifer and all others,
Please read Tommy's post (see below) about kiln hookups. My advice to
install a range pigtail on the kiln was very poor because I shot from the
hip without knowing the power requirements of the particular kiln. Range
circuits are 50 amps @ 220 V so the maximum wattage that circuit will
support is 50X 220=11000 watts and the recommendation is to limit wattage on
a circuit to 80% of the rated maximum.
To know whether you can safely use a circuit that way requires knowledge of
electrical equipment, and I realize now that you were telling us you are a
novice in this area. Get several bids to find someone you can work with and
hire the installation done right the first time. If you try to do it
yourself and do it wrong, it can actually void your homeowners insurance if
it is the cause of a fire. Nice save Tommy, and thanks to you and to John H.
for adding important information to the kiln hook up discussion.
Regards,
Michael Wendt wendtpot@lewiston.com
Tommy wrote:
Jennifer,
Please do not try to alter the plug on the kiln to try to make it work with
the older wiring in your home, at least not if you are attached to the
house, as this is a good way to burn it down. The best bet would be to get
someone knowledgeable to run a sub panel off your main breaker box with a
220 circuit for your kiln. This will avoid any stress on the home wiring,
and you will be insured of getting enough juice to run your kiln properly.
This is assuming that you have enough room left in your panel for the extra
breakers. Might be a good time to upgrade the electrical service to the
entire house.
There are 110 kilns out there, but they are typically the smaller "test"
type kilns. I have one that will hold 3-4 mugs and it will fire to ^6 in 5
hr..
Most animals crave clay... it is good for the digestive system. Many people
crave it too, for the same reason...they don't call it kao-pectate for
nothin!
Tommy
| |
|
