Brian Haviland on fri 5 aug 05
Hi Everyone
In light of the recent fire one of our clay friend has had i just wanted to
share the close call i had this week with my CODE wired kiln.
I did the installation myself and being the kiln is less than three years
old there is no way this should have happened RIGHT ?
Please be aware that there is NO electrical connection that can go
unchecked on a regular basis. Plugs are one of the most risky parts of an
electrical circuit. You need to check them on a regular basis. Look for
discoloration of the Blades and for hot spots on the rubber around the
blades of the plug. Hard wiring the kiln is your best way of installation,
But you still have to check around lugs and wire for hot spots. Do a yearly
check on tightness of lugs at connections if you are qualified. If you are
not familiar with it HAVE IT DONE.....here are a couple of pics of the
receptacle That got extremely hot...I'm just glad i was close by to smell
it. If a fire would have occurred i would have lost Home,studio,everything
we own.....Nuff said???
Brian
Haviland
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?a=67b0de21b30f22724556&sid=8IZtmbNoxbMNU
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Tom at Hutchtel.net on fri 5 aug 05
Brian is right on this. If you have a plug-in kiln, especially, the plug
prongs and socket will corrode over time and must be cleaned off with some
emery paper.
All large connections have a specified torque that they must be tightened
to...it's in the code which should be available in the library or online.
And those torques make the connections tighter than they would be
intuitively.
Also, an experience we had when I had my work area in the garage and
basement in Illinois. Most line wiring is aluminum which is far more prone
to oxidation. One of the neighbors complained of dimming lights and we
finally figured out that it was when I had the electric kiln going. After
much prodding, I finally got the electric utility out to tighten the
connections at the pole where the service drop came off. That cured the
problem.
Tom Wirt
Subject: Close call/wanted you to see
> share the close call i had this week with my CODE wired kiln.
> I did the installation myself and being the kiln is less than three years
> old there is no way this should have happened RIGHT ?
> Please be aware that there is NO electrical connection that can go
> unchecked on a regular basis. Plugs are one of the most risky parts of an
> electrical circuit. You need to check them on a regular basis. Look for
> discoloration of the Blades and for hot spots on the rubber around the
> blades of the plug. Hard wiring the kiln is your best way of installation,
> But you still have to check around lugs and wire for hot spots. Do a
> yearly
Jennifer Boyer on fri 5 aug 05
This happened to me as well, years ago, and since then I have always
had my kilns hard wired into a junction box. The original plug was put
in by a licensed electrician but I agree that plugs themselves have
inherent dangers..
Jennifer
On Aug 5, 2005, at 7:43 AM, Brian Haviland wrote:
> Hi Everyone
>
> In light of the recent fire one of our clay friend has had i just
> wanted to
> share the close call i had this week with my CODE wired kiln.
> I did the installation myself and being the kiln is less than three
> years
> old there is no way this should have happened RIGHT ?
> Please be aware that there is NO electrical connection that can go
> unchecked on a regular basis. Plugs are one of the most risky parts of
> an
> electrical circuit. You need to check them on a regular basis. Look for
> discoloration of the Blades and for hot spots on the rubber around the
> blades of the plug. Hard wiring the kiln is your best way of
> installation,
> But you still have to check around lugs and wire for hot spots. Do a
> yearly
> check on tightness of lugs at connections if you are qualified. If you
> are
> not familiar with it HAVE IT DONE.....here are a couple of pics of the
> receptacle That got extremely hot...I'm just glad i was close by to
> smell
> it. If a fire would have occurred i would have lost
> Home,studio,everything
> we own.....Nuff said???
>
> Brian
> Haviland
> http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pictures?
> a=67b0de21b30f22724556&sid=8IZtmbNoxbMNU
>
>
************************
Jennifer Boyer
Thistle Hill Pottery
Montpelier, VT
http://thistlehillpottery.com
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