taylormtree Posted October 12, 2021 Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 Hi everyone! I was gifted this Amaco EC-25 electric kiln, however I have no idea how to operate it. I emailed Amaco and since it was made in the 50’s and 60’s and then discontinued, there’s no instruction manual or many parts for it sold anymore. The kiln has some damage on the inside, and I’m nervous to try and experiment with it without knowing whether it’s safe to use and if I can even plug it into my power socket. If anyone has any advice for how to use this, or even to point me in the direction of a manual or video about similar kilns, it’d be much appreciated! I’ve been a big ceramics fan for a while, but I’ve never operated a kiln before. I attached pictures of the kiln, including the damage. The bricks in the inside back of the kiln are broken off in some spots. There’s also a crack in the bricks on the inside of the door. It came with these two broken pieces inside it. According to the label, it’s 120 Volt and 17.1 amps, is it safe to just get a 15 amp to 20 amp converter and plug it into the wall socket? I have the kiln in the basement on concrete in a ventilated area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted October 12, 2021 Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 NO, you cannot use a 15-20amp converter. You need an outlet that's on a 20 amp breaker, not a 15 amp breaker. I wouldn't mess with this kiln. The broken bricks are going to cause the elements to sag and be a big problem. Replacing the broken bricks is going to be near impossible, assuming you can even get bricks that fit. It doesn't appear to have any sort of switches other than the on/off timer mechanism (not standard for kilns), which is far from ideal for firing pottery- no way to go slow. The kiln is only rated to 2000F, so it's only good for low fire work. I'd look for something in better condition with more modern controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylormtree Posted October 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2021 2 hours ago, neilestrick said: NO, you cannot use a 15-20amp converter. You need an outlet that's on a 20 amp breaker, not a 15 amp breaker. I wouldn't mess with this kiln. The broken bricks are going to cause the elements to sag and be a big problem. Replacing the broken bricks is going to be near impossible, assuming you can even get bricks that fit. It doesn't appear to have any sort of switches other than the on/off timer mechanism (not standard for kilns), which is far from ideal for firing pottery- no way to go slow. The kiln is only rated to 2000F, so it's only good for low fire work. I'd look for something in better condition with more modern controls. Oh drats! Thank you so much for responding to me and saving my electricity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.