How to price a kiln with a broken controller

[Prism7513]

I acquired an older Evenheat kiln years ago with a Perfect Fire module (model 2329). I never tried it out, and I have decided that I probably will never use it myself, so I would like to sell it. However, since I never tested it, I decided to do so so that I can tell customers with confidence that it does, indeed, work. Well, I'm not sure if sitting in my basement is what did it in, but the 30 year old technology is definitely not working. I replaced the thermocouple, and the kiln turns on, but the display just has a "temperature" based in Farenheit that is quite inaccurate (1 to 2 degrees, in a room that is at least 50), and nothing happens when I press any of the buttons. So I'm not sure what exactly is broke, but it ain't firing.

SOOOO....I really don't want to buy a new rampmaster just to try to sell it, so how much so I sell it for as long as the rest of it is in good condition? The bricks are great, the elements seem fine (there's no way to know for SURE since I can't fire it, but they look decent enough compared to when I've seen elements go bad on my other kiln.) I don't want to rip anyone off, but would like to get what the kiln itself is worth, as if you just buy a controller it should be fine. Or someone could convert to gas, etc. But just not sure what price to put on it. If I knew the fix to the controller was an easy and cheap one, I'd try that just to get it running, but I'm just not sure what part isn't conveying.

Thank you for any advice,

Debbie

[Arnold Howard]

If you have time, obtain a multimeter and find out what is wrong with the kiln. You will learn about kilns and will discover that they are simple to work on.

Arnold Howard

[neilestrick]

The selling price will depend entirely on what's wrong with the kiln. If it's the controller, it's going to cost a few hundred to replace it. If it's the elements, it's going to cost a few hundred to replace them. If it's both, it's going to cost a lot to get it running. Without knowing for sure, you're basically looking at just selling it as a kiln body, which won't fetch all that much. It sounds like the controller is probably shot since it won't respond to pushing buttons. You'll need to talk to Evenheat and see what it would take to replace it with a modern controller. The issue may be that a new controller doesn't fit into the old hole.