Can an electric Kiln be powered by a Natural Gas Generator?

[Tiffanovich]

I am wondering about powering an electric Kiln via a natural gas powered generator.  Is this a possibility?

 

 

[LostClay]

It is posable.  Just make sure that when they size the generator they know it's for 100% resistance loads.  Resistance loads are hard on the power grid or in your case a generator so it will look way over sized if you do the math biased off the amps.     

[Bill Kielb]

10 hours ago, Tiffanovich said:

Is this a possibility?

Yes, if it’s whole house then the breaker will need to be sized for 125% of the kiln rating but that is to protect the breaker and ensure the breaker is never loaded more than 80% of its rating. Again, all about the breaker. Large inductive loads (like.an AC compressor) are very hard starting on a whole house generator. Kilns not so much except it will be lots of watts for many hours. What is the rating of the kiln (watts & amps) and what is the generator rated (watts or kva) 

The generator will need to be sized for the watts, not necessarily 125% that’s only a requirement for the breaker. When kilns start and stop, there is little inrush. Quite opposite to that of a large motor starting so it is fairly gentle comparatively. Your generator will need to be rated to supply all the watts for the home though and if you have an older ac unit, etc…. Be sufficiently oversized to start the AC unit and all the wattage being consumed by the home.

A 10,000 watt kiln is very similar to an  Electric stove. Easy to start, just lots of watts.

Edited October 28, 2022 by Bill Kielb

[Hulk]

Being curious, to power my seven cubic foot kiln, draws 48 amps.
Should run easy, so, looking for 60 amp solution, found:

"What size generator do I need to run 60 amps?

230 volt times 60 amps is 13800 watts or 13.8 kilowatts, and that is the max you panel can run through it, However you generally do not consume the entire wattage of your panel. You should be fine with a 10 kilowatt standby generator."

From there, quick shopping tab browse on search string "10 kW portable generator" indicates solutions between three to five thousand US dollars.

Good question!
Maybe size up a bit more, as the unit would be running hard for hours at a time.

[Bill Kielb]

6 hours ago, Hulk said:

230 volt times 60 amps is 13800 watts or 13.8 kilowatts, and that is the max you panel can run through it, However you generally do not consume the entire wattage of your panel. You should be fine with a 10 kilowatt standby generator."

I would submit your kiln may draw 48 amps @ 240 v nominal so 11520 watts max. You will need a 60 amp breaker and wiring to satisfy the limitation of loading a breaker 80% maximum. From there you can add your other loads and characterize them. The AC being the toughest to start on the generator. A 3 ton Ac unit might run on approximately 15 amps but it takes 5 times the current to start it or 75 amps. So a simple 3000 w load grows to an Effective 9000 watt łoad at startup with the AC unit. A general rule 5 times the amps, 3 times the watts - at startup. My point, inductive  loads are killers, hard on everything including the grid because of a power factor less than one. Resistive loads are fine, but their true wattage must be accounted for. The cure for the AC used to be a hard start kit installed on the AC unit (Big capacitor) because at 5:1 on startup you quickly run out of capacity with most generators. Tell your generator guy what wattage your kiln is, he will size for it like most other things - to cover the wattage.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Bill Kielb