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Long Lasting Vent Ducting


neilestrick

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I've been testing a black thermoplastic vent ducting for more than 2 1/2 years now, and it's held up great. You can get it at McMaster-Carr HERE (link is for 3" but you can get it in any size). It's rated for 250F, so plenty high for kiln venting. I've used it for at least 550 firings and it's still as soft and flexible as the day I installed it, even where it connects down under the kiln. It costs about 4 times more than the aluminum semi-rigid ducting that comes with most vent systems, but it's way more durable and last a lot longer. You can actually step on it without hurting it.

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What does the fire department inspector think of it? In our coop studio we installed longer runs of standard plumbing DWV plastic pipe for a main exhaust network with shorter links of the metal flex to each kiln. The fire department choked, said the plastic could ignite and provide a channel for the fire to spread. So we had to replace the plastic sections with much more expensive solid metal.

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My fire department hasn't seen it, but since it's rated for higher than the max temp that the vent manufacturer says will be going through it, I think my fire marshall wouldn't care. He's pretty cool about that kind of stuff, and generally defers to the manufacturers if it's not a system he's familiar with. It's also only a 3 foot run. Orton actually ships a plastic vent hose with their vents. The flexible metal ducts get hole in them, and get mangles when people bump them with their feet. Those holes cause a major air quality problem, which I think is a much bigger deal than the odds of the hose catching fire.

 

Does your venting network go through any walls? That could definitely be a problem with anything flammable.

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