Joseph Fireborn Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Most of my firings I have done during the day when I am awake and can check on the kiln every hour or so in my garage, this requires me to be home all day, which sometimes I can handle, but I have been increasing how much I am firing lately and I am trying to get to a point where I am firing improvement/test loads 2-3 times a week. As you can imagine this starts to become a problem when I have places I have to go and things to do. So I was thinking about purchasing a Nest alarm, then setting my kiln to start at like 2AM in the morning, then I would sleep till like 8:00AM. That way half of the firing takes place while I am asleep. I am a bit nervous as obviously I don't want anything to happen while I am sleeping. I had an electrician who knew what he was doing install all my wiring and everything to the exact specs that L&L required, so I trust my setup. I also have my kiln 20'' from the wall and it sits on concrete, and everything around it is at least 20'' away from it. My cord doesn't touch the kiln. I check my cord connection every 10-15 firings to make sure no crud is building up on it. I also look at the breaker as well. I also have a vent kit. So far I haven't had any problems. But like I said I am planning to amp up my production and really rock and roll. I need a solution that allows me to use the earlier parts of the firing while I sleep. My idea was to get this Nest alarm and connect it to our iPads, then leave it beside me while I sleep. This way if it detects any CO2 or fire it will alert me and I can go put out the fire or what ever is going on. I am a super light sleeper so I have no worries about not hearing the alerts, from the Nest alarm. I have read lots of information about the types of fires that usually come from kilns and most of it has to do with wiring or the breaker melting. Would this nest alarm be sufficient to allow me to sleep and set my kiln to start at night and then finish while I am awake in the mornings? I was going to install the alarm right beside the breaker box and the plug in. So it would alert me as fast as possible. I am not asking for a guarantee, just an opinion from most of you experts out there. Obviously I value the safety of my family above my pottery, so if this isn't a good solution then I will just have to work around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Bridge Pottery Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Sounds good to me, I would be happy waking up to see the kiln finish the firing. Most of the time I am not even around for the end but I am happy that the kiln will shut off by itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I do 99% of my firings in my shop at night while I am away at home. But my building is all concrete, so there's not much that can go wrong. I think if you have all the proper clearances and such then there is very little that can go wrong aside from an electrical fire. But even then, if everything is done properly there's very little chance of that happening either. If you've got the money to do it, then go ahead and get the Nest alarm. It wouldn't hurt, and it will give you the piece of mind you need to sleep at night with the kiln running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Awesome stuff. I mean I am 99.9% certain that everything is done right. I emailed my electrician the specs from L&L and I watched him wire it. Everything seemed to be exactly as stated. But yea, I think I would sleep better with the nest so that if something did happen I could get up and end the problem right away. I just wanted to be sure that this was still wise to do even with a nest alarm. So now that I have a few experts opinions going to get it and do it for sure. Thanks for help. My time will be much better spent now! WooHoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bciskepottery Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I generally fire overnight. I start and monitor the kiln until bedtime. I time the firings so they have about two hours to completion when I wake up so I can be there to make sure things turn off. I crack the garage door a bit to allow warm air to escape -- especially in summer time. From time to time I've thought about a baby monitor so I could check temperature etc. from computer, but have not gotten around to doing so. Just finished 100th firing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Baby monitor is a good idea as well. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtRoads Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 My brother pointed out to me that my kiln wiring is a lot less likely to have a fire than most other wiring because of the special attention in wiring. If you are certain of the kiln's wiring, I would feel comfortable in over night firing. I fire at night all the time. I used to sleep in the same building but have now moved into another space, but it's still about 12 feet from the kiln area. In reality you are more likely to have an electrical fire from a dryer or electric space heater. I do have smoke alarms installed and check them often to make sure they are working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 in another thread someone suggested a timer set out beyond when you expect it too finish and I really liked that idea (after this post I am going to find that post and 'like' it . One note though, make sure the time is set beyond the time for any controlled cool down period. That way if by chance you didn't check on it right away it wouldn't just keep climbing. I think that is the most likely issue beyond the things you mentioned that can go wrong. If the kiln does not stop climbing due to an error or fault it eventually exceeds a safe temp and a fire can start as everything starts the big meltdown. We normally start loads late afternoon so the firing has stopped and the kiln is cooling down (controlled until 1200) b4 we go to bed. Like u, we never leave the kiln completely unattended while it is climbing either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Yea. My plan is to set the kiln timer to start at night, my L&L has a built in function for this. So my worry was while it was heating up something might happen. I am always around when it is due to cut off. So I think this plan will work well. I am going to invest in the Nest alarm, just for my own calm head. Even though I know the chances are really low, another layer of safety for only 100$ definitely will help me sleep better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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