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Small Kiln In House (Not Garage Or Basement)


PotterPutter

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Hi all! I posted a while ago asking feedback on having an electric kiln outside, and fabricating some type of enclosure for it. You gave me a lot to think about and I have scrapped that idea.

 

So, I am trying to figure out if my new scheme will work. I do not have a basement, garage, or covered/screened patio so a kiln would have to go inside the house. My studio is in an 8x8 spare bedroom - (gotta love small houses from the 50s!) - and it's a great little setup. There is one exterior wall with two windows. 

 

I really only need a small kiln ~1 c.f.  - I do this as a hobby and would probably fire it 2 times a month. Electrical will be handed by a pro - but what about fumes and heat? I will fire to cone 6. If the kiln produces 5940 BTUs, how hot will the room get, particularly in the summer when it's in the 90s outside? Might be nice in the winter, not so much in the summer.  I will vent it however I need to - either a venting system or a fan in the window. Does a fan in the window really work for heat and fumes? (I won't be working in there while the kiln is doing its thing.) I think the place where I take classes has 7-8 large kilns running all the time and only fans in the windows for ventilation?

 

I plan on having the kiln on casters. It will live in a corner and be moved to the middle of the room when fired, so about 3 feet. Is cement board on wood floors sufficient? 

 

Please let me know what you think. I so appreciated all of your feedback the last time. Thanks!!

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My small kilns - 40 litre and 60 litre (less than 2.5 cu ft) are in the garage. I only ever run one at a time. Worst thing I notice is fumes around the 250-350oC (480-650 oF) mark. I'm not paranoid about venting and have none except normal garage draughts or sometimes leaving door propped open. However - I totally avoid going into the garage at the above temperatures because I suspect these fumes aren't good ones! (Think I may have read carbon monoxide somewhere, but I might have imagined that!) I wouldn't think they'd do much good inside the house, even if you're not working in the room at the same time. I think you'd want something extracting them out so they don't leak into the house.

This is only my experience - for all I know they may smell awful but be safe enough.

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be very careful about the wiring. I had a test kiln that I had in Montana moved it to Texas. IT was 110 v house wiring. IT was fine in Montana but slightly melted the outlet in the carport in Texas.. ENough so that I wouldn't use it until I had new wiring. I had new wiring put into my kiln shed for all the kilns including that one.

 

Marcia

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Guest JBaymore

Many of the 110VAC "test" and "doll" kilns require a 20 AMP 110VAC circuit....not the typical 15 amp ones.  This typically requires that the wiring between the breaker and the outlet is 12-3 or even 10-3 romex rather than the typical 14 -3.  So yes... be careful of the house wiring for the kiln.

 

best,

 

..............john

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Fumes at higher temps are actually minute metal particles, so fine that they are airborne. Not good to breathe.

 

Do you wax your pots for glazing? If so the fumes around the 250 -350 mark could be the wax volatilising. The compounds and volatiles produced by burning wax, acrylic, etc at around those temps are toxic and potentially even worse for you than breathing metal fumes. Again, not good.

 

Money spent on ventilation is money well spent.

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Thanks everyone! The electrician is coming Monday to sort out the electrical bits and I am feeling much more hopeful about having my own kiln.

 

My insurance company said that as long as I am not running a business out of my house, they are ok with it.  Their main concern would be customers coming to the house, which doesn't happen.

 

I am really grateful for this forum. Hopefully I'll have lots of kiln firing and glazing questions in the new year.

 

Happy Holidays!!!

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