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kiln question from penni

updated tue 30 jun 09

 

William & Susan Schran User on sat 27 jun 09


On 6/26/09 10:25 PM, "mel jacobson" wrote:

> He said I would need 600 volts to run it as it is a single phase kiln.(I
> think I have that right.)
> The specs are as follows;
> Duncan "Pro-Plus"
> DA1029-4C
> Serial 3000002
> Volts 208
> Phase 1
> Amps 45
>
> Can I or can I not hook this sucker up in my home garage studio??? We hav=
e
> the normal household electric set up - nothing fancy.

Don't know why your neighbor would think you'd need 600 volts as it is
written on the kiln specs 208V. Your current kiln runs on 220/240 volts,
which is what your house is supplied.

Most newer/remodeled homes have a 200 amp circuit panel. You may have a 400
amp panel. Perhaps he was telling you you need 600 amp panel to add the
kiln.
Your current panel may be full and you will need to upgrade or put in a
sub-panel. You will need at least a 60 amp circuit breaker for this kiln an=
d
you may have to hard wire it. I think limits for plugged kilns are 50 amps.

Because the elements are made for 208 volts they will cause the kiln to
heat faster and will wear out faster. You should be able to install 220 vol=
t
elements in this kiln when you need to change the elements.
Bill

--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com

threereeds1 on sat 27 jun 09


Hi Penny,

Your neighbor must be in management. This is regular 220 volt stuff.
Think dryer, Elect. range, etc.
You will need some adequate wiring and breaker.
Close to your breaker box is easiest.
Please find a good electrician.
This should be affordable.

Good Luck,
Tom King
----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 9:25 PM
Subject: kiln question from penni


>I bought a Duncan last fall in an online auction via our local school
>board.
> It is bigger then the one I currently have and now that all my student
> work
> has gone through I wanted to hook up this new one and start testing and
> firing with it. (I have a fountain I've build that is just that little bi=
t
> too wide for my current kiln so I see this as a great time to get the
> bigger
> one on the go).
> My electrician neighbour who works for Hydro One here in Ontario took a
> look
> at it last weekend to replace the missing plug (it was hard wired in at
> the
> school) and found a problem.
> He said I would need 600 volts to run it as it is a single phase kiln.(I
> think I have that right.)
> The specs are as follows;
> Duncan "Pro-Plus"
> DA1029-4C
> Serial 3000002
> Volts 208
> Phase 1
> Amps 45
>
> Can I or can I not hook this sucker up in my home garage studio??? We hav=
e
> the normal household electric set up - nothing fancy.
> My other question is - if I can't use it then who the heck is going to bu=
y
> it from me?? How do I get rid of it??
>
> =3Do) =3Do) =3Do) =3Do) =3Do)
> Penni Stoddart
> London, Ontario
>
> Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.
> from: minnetonka, mn
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
> clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
> new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
>

John Rodgers on sat 27 jun 09


The 208 volts is going to be a limiting factor. Schools and other
institutions are typically wired for 208 volts, and home are wired for
220/240 volts. You will have to change your coils to use the home voltage.

Contact Arnold Howard at Paragon for details on what to do and parts
reeded. Paragon bought out Duncan and has all that you will need.

Arnold Howard

Regards,

John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL


mel jacobson wrote:
> I bought a Duncan last fall in an online auction via our local school
> board.
> It is bigger then the one I currently have and now that all my student
> work
> has gone through I wanted to hook up this new one and start testing and
> firing with it. (I have a fountain I've build that is just that little
> bit
> too wide for my current kiln so I see this as a great time to get the
> bigger
> one on the go).
> My electrician neighbour who works for Hydro One here in Ontario took
> a look
> at it last weekend to replace the missing plug (it was hard wired in
> at the
> school) and found a problem.
> He said I would need 600 volts to run it as it is a single phase kiln.(I
> think I have that right.)
> The specs are as follows;
> Duncan "Pro-Plus"
> DA1029-4C
> Serial 3000002
> Volts 208
> Phase 1
> Amps 45
>
> Can I or can I not hook this sucker up in my home garage studio??? We
> have
> the normal household electric set up - nothing fancy.
> My other question is - if I can't use it then who the heck is going to
> buy
> it from me?? How do I get rid of it??
>
> =3Do) =3Do) =3Do) =3Do) =3Do)
> Penni Stoddart
> London, Ontario
>
> Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.
> from: minnetonka, mn
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
> clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
> new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
>
>

William & Susan Schran User on sat 27 jun 09


On 6/27/09 1:12 PM, "John Rodgers" wrote:

> The 208 volts is going to be a limiting factor. Schools and other
> institutions are typically wired for 208 volts, and home are wired for
> 220/240 volts. You will have to change your coils to use the home voltage=
.

Not necessarily.
I have an older kiln that came to me with 208V elements/wiring.
Have fired only bisque in it for almost 10 years in my studio with 220/240V
service, have never changed the elements, functions fine.
Kiln wired for 208v will function on 220/240V, but elements will wear out
faster. A kiln wired for 220/240V would probably not reach desired
temperature on a 208V circuit.

Bill

--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com

John Rodgers on sat 27 jun 09


I agree.

But to get optimum service from the kiln the coils will need to be
changed. I saved a big Paragon from the dump when a school nearby got
all new equipment. No one seemed to know quite what to do with it except
send to the dump It needed some repairs, including elements and was
deemed not worthy of repair. I claimed it, made the repairs, and
upgraded from the 208 V that the school had - to the 220/240 elements.
Made an excellent kiln. My cost was the price of 6 insulating bricks
and a full set of elements When done it performed like new. Not bad for
what it cost me.

But back to the 208V issue - from my view it's best to switch over and
get the special handling out of the way. It's a convenience thing. The
house has 220/240 - go with what's there, and match the elements to the
local voltage. Far less hassle once done. High convenience factor.

Regards,

John



William & Susan Schran User wrote:
> On 6/27/09 1:12 PM, "John Rodgers" wrote:
>
>
>> The 208 volts is going to be a limiting factor. Schools and other
>> institutions are typically wired for 208 volts, and home are wired for
>> 220/240 volts. You will have to change your coils to use the home voltag=
e.
>>
>
> Not necessarily.
> I have an older kiln that came to me with 208V elements/wiring.
> Have fired only bisque in it for almost 10 years in my studio with 220/24=
0V
> service, have never changed the elements, functions fine.
> Kiln wired for 208v will function on 220/240V, but elements will wear out
> faster. A kiln wired for 220/240V would probably not reach desired
> temperature on a 208V circuit.
>
> Bill
>
>

Eva Gallagher on sat 27 jun 09


Hi - we have 220//240 volts wiring at the Guild but our large Guild kiln is
a 208 one. We were told that the elements should work and they did to cone
8. Never have tried cone 10. Once the elements wear out you can then get
ones for 230. Tucker's Pottery Supply are very helpful with questions. Your
kiln will probably have to be hardwired to 60 amps. Your kiln draws almost
50 and you need a bit of leeway otherwise you will be blowing the breakers
all the time. Hopefully your home panel will have enough breaker room for a
60 amp one. If your former kiln just was a plug in on a 40 amp dryer/stove
type of circuit, I imagine that you will need a bigger electrical line form
the panel to the kiln as well - though not sure about that.
As well depending on how far you have to run the electrical line from the
panel, this can be pretty expensive.
We just went through this trying to help out on the Golden Lake Algonquians
who are trying to get a 48 amp kiln hooked up at their Cultural Centre, but
they have a very old panel that still uses breakers that are no longer
made - so a different problem there.

Eva Gallagher
Deep River, Ontario
http://stevenhilljourneyworkshopjuly2008.blogspot.com/

Arnold Howard on mon 29 jun 09


> My electrician neighbour who works for Hydro One here in
> Ontario took a look
> at it last weekend to replace the missing plug (it was
> hard wired in at the
> school) and found a problem.
> He said I would need 600 volts to run it as it is a single
> phase kiln.(I
> think I have that right.)
> The specs are as follows;
> Duncan "Pro-Plus"
> DA1029-4C
> Serial 3000002
> Volts 208
> Phase 1
> Amps 45

Penni, the kiln will fire on your 240 volt power. According
to Duncan's instruction manual, you will need a circuit with
a 60 amp breaker and #6 copper wire. It should be all right
to fire the kiln with the 208 volt elements. As others have
suggested, when you replace them, order 240 volt elements.

Sincerely,

Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com /
http://twitter.com/ParagonKilns /
http://twitter.com/arnoldhoward