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a good electrician is worth their weight in gold... (cont'd)

updated sun 26 sep 04

 

Wayne on fri 24 sep 04


Ken:
Not only will Peter Pugger give you a great deal, but if you ask,
they'll toss in free shipping...and from CA that ain't cheap. Saved
me almost $800 on the VPM-30 I bought (at NCECA Indy). Cost me
$4410.00. I wrote the check at the show.

Just one piece of advice:
Make sure there is a 120V outlet (standard house plug, you know...)
on a dedicated 20 amp circuit LOCATED _RIGHT NEXT_ to the 220
outlet. You need to plug the vacuum motor in, and that's house
current. Your wiz electricians will know what that means, and no,
they cannot (MUST NOT) unbalance one leg of the 220 by tapping into
it for the 120 outlet. That vac motor draws a good 10 amps, with a
peak at startup of over 16 amps. (Don't ask how I know this, but
there was smoke involved.) There are two cords from the pugger, one
for the mix motor, one for the vac motor. Both the same length, one
heavier for the 220. I tie-wrapped mine together every foot to make
"one" cord, because I'm the worlds least observant klutz and would
trip over it otherwise, or rip it out of the wall trying to move the
pugger. (Hey, I may be an idiot, but I know my limitations, at least

I also made one small modification. I drilled one hole, and bent a
piece of aluminum rod to create a large "hook" to hang the cords on,
rather than stuff them back under the vacuum motor in the base of
the pugger each time. Saves wear and tear on the cords. I sent the
picture to Peter Pugger. Their chief engineer said he thought it a
great idea. Still have the pic, so I can send it to you if you
like.

Fingers AND toes crossed for you! I can't imagine working without my
"Puglette" now. Don't know how I did it by hand before, but my back
and shoulders continue to rejoice (and so does my orthopedist.)

Wayne

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ken
Nowicki
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 4:24 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: A good electrician is worth their weight in GOLD...
(Cont'd)

Next up... prewiring for the L&L hybrid. Also, having some 4' foot
fluorescent fixtures installed, and various 120V 4-way outlets
installed in the room...
plenty of room to plug in the kiln controller, VentSure, room
ventilation
system (w/heat exchanger), and anything else I need. Having them add
one 220V
outlet for the Peter Pugger VPM-30 I hope to eventually buy...
maybe... just
maybe... I'll be able to get a good deal at NCECA and drive one home
from
Baltimore! (:::keeping fingers crossed:::)

Ken Nowicki on fri 24 sep 04


Okay... not that it is important by any means... but... in case you wanted to
read the last part that got cut off from my first post... here it is...
...........................................................................
(Last half of message)

<>
Two Russian fellows... know their sh*t too. All neat and tidy now... in
fact... just looking at the main panel now makes my nipples hard... ::::argghh
argghhh arghhh:::: (<--- doing his best Tim Allen impression) All connections
now, neat, straight, tight, clean... ORGANIZED! My lights no longer flicker now
when the air conditioning kicks on... amazing what a great electrician can do.
So nice to see craftsman that still have pride... don't take the easy way
out. Take their time and do it right the first time. Quality work. No ship-shod
stuff. Finding contractors like these is nearly impossible these days. Not
cheap, but worth every penny.

Gonna take a digital picture of that freshly wired panel before they put the
cover back on today. :-) It's a piece of art! I'd be willing to bet, any
'hard-nosed' inspector takes one look at it, they will sign off anything I need...
knowing what kind of work these guys do.

Next up... prewiring for the L&L hybrid. Also, having some 4' foot
fluorescent fixtures installed, and various 120V 4-way outlets installed in the room...
plenty of room to plug in the kiln controller, VentSure, room ventilation
system (w/heat exchanger), and anything else I need. Having them add one 220V
outlet for the Peter Pugger VPM-30 I hope to eventually buy... maybe... just
maybe... I'll be able to get a good deal at NCECA and drive one home from
Baltimore! (:::keeping fingers crossed:::)

I was very lucky... finding this electrician. A call to a local potter
helped. We potters take care of our own, don't we? He wired her kiln years ago. Came
with high marks.

I think I'll take her out for a nice fancy steak dinner. :-)

Best wishes,

- Ken


Kenneth J. Nowicki
Port Washington, NY
RakuArtist@aol.com
Charter Member/Potters Council

ASHPOTS@AOL.COM on sat 25 sep 04


Im building a new house where i took a old house down.. saved the wood , took
about a year .. I saved the old mountain stone fire place and i have a 82
year old stone mason putting rock on the front of the new house. He also dug out
the old masonary on the old fire place and and repointed up the rocks.. It
looks great.. He is a true rock Artist,,
Now talking about my Electrician,,,When i built my Studio and my Apartment a
few years ago i was AMAZED at how they wired the box. I wanted to get a
plastic clear cover because of how it looked.. Just like Ken was saying.. Im from
Miami and the electricians i used left the box like spaghetti.. Well the wiring
is almost finished and the lights are working,, the ceiling fans are turning
and the new electric panel box is a true work of ART
Ive known Rodney Ross my electrician since 1968 when i took Charles Counts
class.. He and i would do some things only young boys would do.. He is now the
Fire Chief here in New Salem ,,,He is also a electrician ,, great guy.. Sure is
nice to see Fine Craftsman doing there work and not being in a rush to finish
and get to the next job....

Also.... have you COFFEE drinkers read the issue about coffee in Wine
Spectator??? Great info on coffee.. One part of the article talks about coffee
makers..They are saying that it takes 1200 watts to make coffee.. The coffee makers
that they show cost under $200.. We found a Mr Coffee maker that uses 1100
watts for $20 ..makes great coffee,, just my $.02

Mark Issenberg
www.lookoutmountainpottery.com