Any advice for a new kiln owner? 120v

Of course I wanted a new Skutt with all of the bells and whistles, however, due to my current budget and tiny apartment, a small/test kiln had to suffice. Olympic MAS129E. Reading the manual is giving me a headache. NEMA 5-15 or 5-20 receptacle? What’s that? I went to home depot and only became even more confused lol
Any advice would be appreciated. I’m anxious to start firing :slight_smile:

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So this is what they look like from our Engineers Black book

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Assuming this your kiln -

Specs call for a 20 amp breaker.
Current is 16 amp - guessing this is max draw…
Standard wall outlet is rated for 15 amps max.
You will not be able to run it at max temp in your apartment.
You might be able to run it at lower settings.
Hopefully the breakers for your apartment are in your apartment and you can do some test runs to see what settings will not trip the breaker.
Be careful with this. If the wiring in your apartment is not up to handling this kind of load, you’re looking at a potential fire hazard.
Good luck and don’t leave this running while you’re not there - just in case.

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@mosii - IDK if you’re thinking about running this on your balcony or if you have power out there … but please consider that an extension cord is also a fire hazard, especially an improperly sized one. 20W is a huge current draw esp. for an extension cord.

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This is helpful, thank you so much!

Thank you all for your input. And guess what I’ve concluded? My apartment will NOT be able to handle a running kiln. Such a Bummer. On the bright side, my lease is up in 4 months and I will make sure the new place I move into is wired and can handle a small test kiln. I should’ve made sure before making the purchase :slight_smile:

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I would also suggest you read up on the recommended ventilation for whatever types of firings you intend to do and get a carbon monoxide alarm. Manganese is also problematic along with other colorants.

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I didn’t realize having a small kiln would be so complex! And here I was thinking I could just plug it in the wall and go lol

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Don’t feel bad. I did the same thing with a small space heater, not stopping to check that virtually all space heaters require a dedicated 15A circuit (and appropriate wiring).

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This just in from left field:

I would be concerned about the amount of heat inside an apartment doing a 8+ hour firing cycle.

Eh. Generally speaking, the outside of a kiln doesn’t get that hot. Granted, one would probably prefer to run it during the winter.

Whatever you do…do not run it indoors without some type of vent… the firing releases toxic fumes…i tried to run a doll kiln inside with 2 fans aimed at it and all windows open…the fumes killed all the plants in the room… like 10 plants just literally died from the off gasing… I’ve read that it will corrode appliances too