Lou Roess on sun 22 feb 04
on 2/22/04 5:45 PM, T.B.Pots at tbpots@TIDEWATER.NET wrote:
> Lou,
> I used to leave the toggle switch on my wheel turned on 'round the clock.
> Then last March the wheel caught fire around midnight.
Whew! A story like that is one reason I turn to Clayart for answers.
Just knowing it 'could' happen is going to make me really careful about
turning my wheel off, too. Thanks, Tracy.
Lou in Colorado
Lou Roess on sun 22 feb 04
I sometimes forget to turn off my Pacifica wheel and find it on the next
day. Does this hurt it at all? Is there anything that will be harmed by
this or is it just the same as sitting there turned off as long as I don't
put power to it through the foot pedal?
TIA
Lou in Colorado
Ababi Sharon on sun 22 feb 04
You can try to generate electricity and reuse it!
Ababi Sharon
Glaze addict
Kibbutz Shoval Israel
ababisha@shoval.org.il
http://ababi.active.co.il
http://www.matrix2000.co.nz/Matrix%20Demo/Ababi.htm
To Ceramics forum in Hebrew:
http://www.botzpottery.co.il/kishurim.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Lou Roess
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 6:24 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Does it harm wheel to leave it turned on?
I sometimes forget to turn off my Pacifica wheel and find it on the next
day. Does this hurt it at all? Is there anything that will be harmed
by
this or is it just the same as sitting there turned off as long as I
don't
put power to it through the foot pedal?
TIA
Lou in Colorado
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Christine Caswell on sun 22 feb 04
I don't know if leaving it on does any harm- I'd guess that it does not.
However I ALWAYS unplug mine now. The reason for this is that like anything
plugged in during a lightning strike it can short out. This happened to my
wheel a couple of years ago. We had a lightning stike down the street and
it caused a power surge and shorted out something in the pedal- it wasn't
expensive or difficult to fix in my particular case but it was really
inconvenient to not have my wheel in working order while waiting for a part.
Hope this helps.
-Christine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lou Roess"
To:
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 11:23 AM
Subject: Does it harm wheel to leave it turned on?
> I sometimes forget to turn off my Pacifica wheel and find it on the next
> day. Does this hurt it at all? Is there anything that will be harmed by
> this or is it just the same as sitting there turned off as long as I don't
> put power to it through the foot pedal?
> TIA
> Lou in Colorado
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Charles Moore on sun 22 feb 04
About leaving the wheel on: Someone more knowledgeable than I can tell you
if you need to turn off your wheel when you are not using it.
I think a more serious issue is the possibility of power surges during
storms, so I bought a small, powerful surge protector in case of a storm
whether I am using my wheel or not. Someone on Clayart, perhaps a year or
two ago, did report damage to his/her wheel during a storm.
Charles
Sacramento
T.B.Pots on sun 22 feb 04
Lou,
I used to leave the toggle switch on my wheel turned on 'round the clock.
Then last March the wheel caught fire around midnight. It burned up the
wheel, and some other things as well. It could have been a disaster, we
could have lost everything. Now I faithfully turn off the power switch on
my (new) wheels. And yes, the one that burned was the same brand as yours.
Tracy
ASHPOTS@AOL.COM on mon 23 feb 04
I try to inplug my wheel after using it,, I live on top of a Mtn near the
bluff.. Sometimes the storms that come thru are scarey.. lots of lighnting and
thunder.. I was working on my wheel during a storm and i got zapped while i was
putting 2 large pots together.. My hand made a wild push and i was working on
the rim.. I left the unlevel rim .
I now dont throw during wild storms..
I have all kinds of surge protecton ,, even done by Georgia Power..
I unplug,, much cheaper than replacing a motor on my wheel
Mark
E.G. Yarnetsky on mon 23 feb 04
Reading about the wheel that burned, I feel compelled to share the
experience of our microwave - 13 years old- plugged into a surge
protector, but not being used at the time. We heard a big electrical
POP and saw flames underneath. Something in the microwave went wrong,
and even though it wasn't being used, it caught fire. Glad we were
there! I am better about unplugging kitchen appliances now, but hadn't
thought about the wheel. Better safe than sorry!
Jim V Brooks on mon 23 feb 04
Most modern wheels have circuit boards in the foot control and the on/off
switch boxes. Circuit boards are rated by how many hours of operation they will
lasts. So, logic would tell us that if they are left on, we are shortening
the hours they will last for active operations/use.
SO ---- be safe !!!! and cut the switches off on the wheels...
Also, after a period of use, some switches actually develop a "leak" that
lets some slight flow of power thru..... this would also affect the "useful"
life of a wheel before those printed circuits have to be replaced.. SO...
again... Be Safe.... turn the wheels off.......... and unplug
them.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
....
If you need a surge protector -- then this is just an additional factor to
consider.
Jim in
Denton
clennell on mon 23 feb 04
>
> SO ---- be safe !!!! and cut the switches off on the wheels...
>
> Also, after a period of use, some switches actually develop a "leak" that
> lets some slight flow of power thru..... this would also affect the "useful"
> life of a wheel before those printed circuits have to be replaced.. SO...
> again... Be Safe.... turn the wheels off.......... and unplug
> them.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
> ....
> If you need a surge protector -- then this is just an additional factor to
> consider.
>
> Jim in
> Denton
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
have to second Jims advice. i always leave my wheel on and last year we had
a tree crash into the hydro line. fried my circuit and motor. Total
replacement cost $600 clams. I still leave it on- duh!
cheers,
tony
John Jensen on mon 23 feb 04
I guess, in theory, it would be a good idea to turn off the wheel or
unplug it when not in use. At school I usually make an effort to turn
off all wheels after class; but in my Pacifica wheel at the Mudbug
Pottery has been turned off maybe a dozen times in as many years. I
just never do turn it off. About six years ago the old twenty year old
pedal and board gave out and I replaced it with a new one which is still
functioning fine. I use this wheel every day anywhere from 2 to six
hours and no problems.
John Jensen, Mudbug Pottery
mudbug@toadhouse.com , http://www.toadhouse.com
Ivor on tue 24 feb 04
I heard a story (probably apocryphal) many years ago about an old
lady. She used to put the plugs back in - in case the electricity
leaked out overnight!
Ivor
Ivor J Townshend
Macclesfield UK
Laurie Kneppel on tue 24 feb 04
At school we unplug the wheels after every class. Good thing because a
couple weeks ago a transformer blew up in the art department building
and they were on generator for about a week afterwards. I can imagine
there could have been significant damage from surges when the thing
blew and also when the replacement was powered up. unplugging is the
best surge protection.
I had a power surge at home burn up a board in my VCR. You should have
seen all the panel lights light up like a Christmas tree for a couple
seconds while it happened. I was home and looking at it at the exact
moment and it was a little scary wondering if it was about to burst
into flames and take the tape collection and TV with it!
laurie
Sacramento, CA
Steve Mills on thu 26 feb 04
In message , Ivor writes
>I heard a story (probably apocryphal) many years ago about an old
>lady. She used to put the plugs back in - in case the electricity
>leaked out overnight!
This sounds like the old lady who left her recently acquired electric
lights on all day and night: *'tis terrible wasteful, I can't blow it
out, 'tis in a bottle!*
Steve
Bath
UK
>
>Ivor
>
>Ivor J Townshend
>Macclesfield UK
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
=?iso-8859-1?q?Iben=20Vedel?= on thu 26 feb 04
Hi All.
I'm Danish and I'm currently living in Belgium.
I was brought up learning to take care of my environment, being conscious of nature and how we treat the earth that we live on.
Leaving my wheel on is a waste of energy, not only does it(electricity) pollute but here in Belgium electricity is expensive (likewise in Denmark).
So as a rule everything that can be turned of gets turned of, and we save a lot of money and take care of the environment.
This misuse of energy has always been a sore point with me, I believe we have a duty to treat this earth well, so that it will last a long time and our children can enjoy it too.
My connection with nature is one of the reasons I work with clay.
I have only been a member of clayart for a short time, but I am sure that this subject has come up for discussion before?!
I am not pointing fingers at anyone, only voicing my opinion..;))))
(in light of recent discussions-Malcolm)
This said, I would like to again thank all members of this board for their wealth of information that gets passed on, when I don't have the time to read the messages I feel like I am missing out, it is like a giant classroom!!!
I will soon get some courage and post some photos........small steps:0)
Iben
*Brussels_where the Pots do their fire dance and the glazes run Wild* ivedel@yahoo.com
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