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kiln hardwireing question

updated sun 18 dec 05

 

Leland Hall on fri 16 dec 05


Seasons greetings all,

I'm hoping to aquire some advice/tips on the typical/best method of
hardwireing a Skutt 1227. My electriction has hardwired directly into a
new 200 amp load center/breaker box the appropriate copper wire, run it
through the studs to where the kiln is to be, It's a short run, and wires
are quite heavy enough I'm sure.

I take it I need a junction box, or a disconect on the wall? Could someone
steer me toward an appropriate unit?

Once aquired, we will remove the plug and I'm in business!

(well, not quite but way closer!)

Thanks for any suggestions,

Sincerely
Leland Hall and Judy Hannon
Before The Wheel Enterprises
La Pine, Oregon

Carl Finch on sat 17 dec 05


At 07:51 PM 12/16/2005, Leland Hall wrote:

>I'm hoping to aquire some advice/tips on the typical/best method of
>hardwireing a Skutt 1227. My electriction has hardwired directly into a
>new 200 amp load center/breaker box the appropriate copper wire, run it
>through the studs to where the kiln is to be, It's a short run, and wires
>are quite heavy enough I'm sure.

"Heavy enough" had better mean at least size #6 (for a single 1227
kiln--and heavier if you may be using a bigger kiln in the future).

>I take it I need a junction box, or a disconect on the wall? Could someone
>steer me toward an appropriate unit?

I found that a disconnect box (with fuses) was far more expensive than a
small panel (breaker box) plus a pair of 60 amp breakers. Breakers are not
meant to switch heavy currents, but in this application they don't need to
do that anyway--the switching is done within the kiln.

The panel cost $11 and the paired breakers were $16 (for a total of $27)
bought from a local electrical suppy store.

I've uploaded a couple pix of my panel setup to Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/djinn/

Power from the main panel enters at the back of the box. Power to the kiln
(an outdoor receptacle--for now at least--on the other side of the wall)
exits from the bottom.

The wire I bought was #6, 3-conductor plus bare ground (all I really needed
was 2-cond. + gnd, but that's what they had), so I used the white conductor
(normally a "neutral" to provide 120v in addition to the 240v provided
across the red and black) as a ground and painted it green at both ends
(code requirement). My reasoning was that the stranded #6 would provide a
huskier safety ground than the thinner solid bare ground (Pointless, but
that's what I did. The inspector rolled his eyes!)

If your disconnect box is to be mounted outdoors, you'll probably want one
with a weather proof cover (more $$ of course).

--Carl
in Medford, Oregon

Fredrick Paget on sat 17 dec 05


Leland,
A junction box on the wall should do it since you indicate that
the breaker for the kiln is close by. You should turn off the breaker
when the kiln is not in use to prevent accidental firing. Don't turn
it off when the kiln is running (except in emergency, of course) as
that is hard on the breaker.
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
http://homepage.mac.com/fredrick/FileSharing1.html
Charter Member Potters Council