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Help! Help! Haaaalp! (Kiln)


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Okay.

 

I am having a bit of a crisis.

 

My mom's house's breaker won't take Fred's "high" switch setting without tripping. I have to fire him to ^04 for bisque and ^03 for glaze, but will do ^04 if I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO. Will he hit those temps if I keep his switches on "medium?" :'( :'( My very first gallery showing is riding on this...

 

Fred is an old Skutt 231, for model/power requirement references and such.

 

Please help! I'm at my wits' end and can't get the dang breaker rewired until Saturday! :'(

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I mean technically you could hold it for a long time to get the heat work you need.

 

Orton says 4-6 hours for two cones hotter.

 

So if you could hold it at 01 for 4-6 hours you would be close to cone 03... Again I have never done this, but reading ortons information. Can you see the cones. That would be nessecary to do this as other wise ur just guessing.

 

Good luck. Sorry for the bad luck.

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Well, it's a 30 amp, and my uncle thought it would probably work if I didn't fire to ^8, but apparently, it doesn't like it when I turn the switches up. :( My kiln has a manual sitter, btw. I looked in my kiln and there is a pretty healthy glow, but he's been on a long time. I'm gonna check him again in a bit to see if there's been any progress...

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This kiln draws 47 amps on high

30 amp and breakers will not work for this kiln safely-30 amps wire is #10.

you will need #6 wire with a 60 amp breaker for some added safety

even a 40 amp with # 8 wire is not big enough.

Sorry I cannot sugar coat it -get an electrican (if I recall yoiu have one in the famliy?) to wire this kiln up right.

30 amp is not right and will not work.To many amps

Mark

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Oh little Guinea Piglet. I'm so disappointed in you. Here you have a perfectly serviceable and willing kiln just 20-30 miles away from you, and yet you do not call. Sylvia and I are totally miffed.

 

I have ^04 but you'd have to bring your own ^03 sitter cones. Call me. You have the number. :wub:

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You cannot mess around with amps! It doesn't matter how hot you go. When you turn it on high it's going to pull 47 amps whether the kiln is at 85 degrees or 2300 degrees.

Nor would you want it too. Without the right size wire you would be looking a potential fire hazard and not inside the kiln!

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Welp, I opened Fred's lid, and my ware is intact. It did not hit ^04, though. The cone has a MICROSCOPIC curve in it to indicate that it was juuuuuuust starting to think about bending, so I'm gonna venture a guess that he hit around ^06. MAYBE. What a nightmare... but, the underglaze looks right GLORIOUS. I gotta run another bisque when my uncle installs the wiring... Can I run it pretty fast, since my pottery already is pretty much "ceramified?" It's just not cooked all the way to my preferred bisque temp and I'm not taking chances with underfired bisque blisters in my pieces!

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