Electrical Kiln Installation -- Anybody done one of these?

[Jim K.]

I have some experience wiring in new circuits, but this is a new one for me. My wife recently purchased an 8000 watt electrical ceramic kiln, 240V 1 phase power, 33.6 amps.

I am installing in the basement of my home (owner occupant, not in a municipality that requires an electrician's license):

1. 50 amp dedicated breaker in the panel, per kiln manufacturer's recommendation. I have space for it in the existing panel.

2. 8/2 NM wire, per kin manufacturer's recommendation (60 ft run)

3. 6-50 NEMA outlet

Given the power amount we're talking about here and the price of the kiln I'm putting in, I'm trying to make sure I cross all the i's and dot all the t's. Does anybody in the community immediately see anything I should look out for that might be unusual about this job? If you're going to warn me not to fry myself, thanks, but I already knew that.

[David Cruice]

@Jim K. ignore my previous post, I missed the part where you said, "I have space for it in the existing panel".  Could have saved myself a lot of typing!  :-)  No harm though if you want to run 6g wire for that extra peace of mind.

@Mike McCarthy   You are correct in everything you are stating, but I believe the manufacturer is recommending only 8g wire because the kiln only draws a maximum of 33.6 amps.  The difference is subtle in that one is load amps (for the wire gauge) and the other is capacity (the size of the breaker) x 80% rule.  That's why the manufacturer is recommending a 50 amp breaker.  A 45 amp breaker (x 80% = 34 amps) would just be sufficient, but it would be cutting it close.  Plus, most stores prefer to carry 40 and 50 amp breakers; not so much the 45 amp ones.