shawnhar Posted August 27, 2018 Report Share Posted August 27, 2018 Need to get my kiln up and running. I bought the breaker and #8 wire, along with the 6-50 outlet at my local big box store yesterday and I will be crawling under the house, again, uggg, I hate going under there! I need a vent system for my little kiln, the Skutt Envirovent2. Any recommendations for dealers? Was looking at Clay King, $437 delivered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted August 27, 2018 Report Share Posted August 27, 2018 How many amps does your kiln pull? Any of the vents on the market will work just fine. The thing I don't like about the Skutt is that it is held in place by pressure, and often gets knocked out of alignment with the holes in the kiln floor. The L&L Vent-Sure has an adjustable box which screws to the kiln. Both can vent more than one kiln, up to 20 cubic feet total. Both are easy to install, and need a 4" outlet, just like a dryer vent. Do you need to vent heat, too? If so, look at the Vent-A-Kiln hoods instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnhar Posted August 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2018 28 amps, it's a KM818 3". The manual calls for a 40amp breaker and #8 wire. Was not the kiln or wheel I wanted but I got a whole studio package used deal on CL and couldn't pass it up. I'm not too worried about the heat at the moment since the kiln is so small and I have a window vent in the room. It will actually be helpful in the winter in that back room, it's cold back there! lol. I ran the kiln to cone 04 on my dryer outlet for a test and it did not put out enough heat to make it uncomfortable. Mainly worried about the out-gassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted August 27, 2018 Report Share Posted August 27, 2018 I have been firing electric kilns for over forty years next to a window, I would put a fan in the window to pull the fumes out. If the studio got fumy I would find something else to do. I did buy a Skutt Envirovent system quit a few years ago so I could keep my window closed in the winter. Recently my Envirovent system wouldn't turn on, I had a kiln loaded and ready to go so I stuck my fan in the window. It turned out there was a wasp nest on the flapper of the Enviorvent. I think you could start firing with a fan and look around for a deal on the system you want. I have read instructions someplace on how to build your own exhaust system. If you look around on the internet I am sure you can find them. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted August 28, 2018 Report Share Posted August 28, 2018 Depending on the size of the room, what's in the kiln, and power of the fan, you may be able to get by with a fan in the window. You'll know if it's not working. However, a downdraft vent will improve your glazes and extend element life, and you won't have to have a window open in the winter. If you're handy you can build your own system for much less than the cost of buying one. I've seen people do them with inline duct fans which are pretty cheap, although I don't know how well they hold up to the corrosive nature of kiln fumes. The system works by pulling a small amount of air from the kiln, just enough to create negative pressure, and that hot air is mixed with a lot of air from the room to cool it down before it goes through the ducts and out the wall. So the connection to the kiln has openings to pull room air, and there are only a couple of small holes in the kiln. A kiln your size only needs one 1/4" hole when using the real system. For a homemade system it would take some testing to see what works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted August 30, 2018 Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 I built my own. I just ordered the metal box that goes under the kiln from L&L. The rest of it I just pieced together. I think I paid 100$ for the initial setup. You can find used inline fans really cheap if you just look around for them. People upgrade and just don't even want the old ones, and you don't need a fancy one, just any regular inline fan will work, but you probably need an adjuster for the power so that you don't have way too much draft. As far as how long it last, I have been using mine for over 350 glaze firings and it is still running, and I have done nothing to it besides turning it on and off. I did replace my foil piping with the stuff Neil posted a while back. That stuff is amazing. I forget what it was called, but its a rubber/plastic ducting? It works really well and hasn't worn out at all. I was constantly taping my foil/metal ducting with tape to fix holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnhar Posted August 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2018 Thanks! I am pretty handy but I don't have metal shears and did not feel like working out the intake volume and fan control. I ordered the Skutt vent from Sheffield as they had free shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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