Buying first kiln

[bciskepottery]

Commercial installations are 208V; residential are 240V. That would likely explain why the school bought a 208V kiln and the instructor brought a 240V from home.

[Arnold Howard]

Kinda freaked me out when I saw that the smaller kiln is a 208 volt...the larger a 240 volt.... but get this...there's only one outlet..and obviously...it isn't BOTH voltages. I didn't take the cover off the electrical box to see what voltage it is..but needless to say...one of the kilns isn't getting the juice it should one way or the other. I have read that many schools are 208V ut I'll have to wait til they open in Jan to check it out further.

 

also....Do the digital controllers adjust for this voltage difference and will the kiln still fire at the proper temp?

 

Someone may have changed the elements in one of the kilns to match the voltage of the circuit. If you ever do that, have the kiln manufacturer send a new data plate showing the corrected voltage. That will aid you in ordering the correct elements for that kiln in the future.

 

Yes, digital controllers compensate for low or high voltage so the ware fires to the correct cone in Cone-Fire mode--provided the kiln has enough power to fire the ware.

 

Sincerely,

 

Arnold Howard

Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA

ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

[teardrop]

Someone may have changed the elements in one of the kilns to match the voltage of the circuit.

 

Thanks for this info, arnold...as well as the info on temp compensation via the digital controller.

 

I will have to investigate all of this further with my instructor. I was merely handed a box of new elements (twice) and asked to change them out. I didn't order them/etc. or look at the voltage rating to see if one or the other has been changed to match the voltage the outlet is putting out. It is possible that she is aware of all of this and it is old news. I will bring the topic up and see what she says.

 

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

 

teardrop