Kiln placement and safety advice for a scaredy cat

[milkymoonceramics]

Hello all

I have just taken the plunge and bought my first kiln, its a  little electric Paragon E12, its a whopping 57cm X 30cm externally.  The dealer that sold it to me has repeated that, because this is a mini kiln, I do not need to worry about kiln fumes and gases, and that it is safe to use in the home with little clearance and without venting. He convinced me it would be safe to use in  our spare room.

However I cannot stop reading about kiln safety am really uncomfortable and paranoid with this. Especially as next year I will have a baby in the house, I'm obviously not going to take any risks. I was just wondering if anybody had experience with these little electric kilns and can attest that this advice is true?  

My alternative option is to put the kiln outside in some sort of storage container near the external power outlet. I was wondering if anybody had done anything simmilar and had any advice on how best to do this without letting the weather the kiln?

Any advice would be really appreciated! :)

[neilestrick]

Proper clearances are required regardless of the size of the kiln. Keep it at least 12 inches from any combustible surface, and set it on a fireproof floor. You can put it on a non-fireproof floor if you put down 2 layers of cement board under it, that extend a foot or so beyond the kiln diameter. Even though it is small, you may still get noticeable odors from the kiln, especially if you use wax resist. The volume of the fumes may not be much, but depending on what you're firing you may still want to vent them out of the room. For example, if you're using lusters you definitely need to vent. For a kiln that small a fan in the window would likely do the trick.

[Chilly]

What @neilestricksaid, plus. 

If you do move it, make sure you plug it direct into a socket that is connected to your fuse board. 

NOT an extension lead. 

NOT a socket in the garage that is connected to a cable that is connected to ..............