vcowdrey_MPC Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Our college was gifted a Siegy front-loading gas kiln [Model No. unlisted] in which we are hoping to refurbish. We are in search of a hard copy or digital PDF of the operation manual, as we have been unable to locate one via Siegy Kilns & Equip. or online. Any help to get this kiln operational would be greatly appreciated! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Define refurbish. New bricks? New burner system? Siegy worked for Alpine kilns for many years. Your kiln looks almost exactly like an Alpine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcowdrey_MPC Posted November 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Afternoon Neil, Yes, almost exactly the same control panel as our other Alpines in the studio. Unfortunately we have had little luck trying to swap parts. We were able to ignite the pilots but the blowers, main gas, and solenoid seem to be inoperable because of a corroded electrical system. We have inquired for replacement parts but are not sure how successful as it's quite old. Inside is pristine, mostly having electrical problems. Has anyone had experience retrofitting the electrical to a newer system? Any tips/tricks are appreciated, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 4 hours ago, vcowdrey_MPC said: Afternoon Neil, Yes, almost exactly the same control panel as our other Alpines in the studio. Unfortunately we have had little luck trying to swap parts. We were able to ignite the pilots but the blowers, main gas, and solenoid seem to be inoperable because of a corroded electrical system. We have inquired for replacement parts but are not sure how successful as it's quite old. Inside is pristine, mostly having electrical problems. Has anyone had experience retrofitting the electrical to a newer system? Any tips/tricks are appreciated, thanks! You could either call Alpine and have them build you a new burner system that will bolt on like the olds system, or call Ward Burner. I don't know if Ward will build a whole system like that, or just sell you individual burners. There is nothing on your current burner system that is specific to Siegy kilns. It's all off-the-shelf parts. You should be able to find most of them online. Tearing down the system to replace solenoids and valves can be quite a job if everything is rusted, but it's doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 11/4/2019 at 2:07 PM, vcowdrey_MPC said: Afternoon Neil, Yes, almost exactly the same control panel as our other Alpines in the studio. Unfortunately we have had little luck trying to swap parts. We were able to ignite the pilots but the blowers, main gas, and solenoid seem to be inoperable because of a corroded electrical system. We have inquired for replacement parts but are not sure how successful as it's quite old. Inside is pristine, mostly having electrical problems. Has anyone had experience retrofitting the electrical to a newer system? Any tips/tricks are appreciated, thanks! I have retrofitted with modern day controls. It is easy and affords the opportunity to add safety’s not present on kilns of that age. Most of the parts are very available or at least modern day equivalent parts. The designs originally were super simple and in our case I changed the pilot sensing to flame rectification, installed new blowers with redundant gas valves, prepurge cycle, airflow interlock, pilot regulation, low and high pressure lockout, and redundant high limit to name a few things. ............ Probably cost me 300 - 500 dollars as DIY. If some of those things I mentioned above do not sound familiar, then retrofitting with a new burner package and appropriate pre engineered safety’s might be the ticket. While not difficult, if you do not have someone very familiar with burner control design and safety then something prepackaged likely would be best and safest. The burners in those things were buried inside the kiln which is a not a design plus as well as the flame retention tips were simple ceramic tips also not great. Ward probably would set you up with decent burner design it Just likely will be costly compared to the DIY approach. As a final downside my end result is technically still not certified although that kiln in its stock form brand new is not likely certified by today’s standards either. safety first would be my strong suggestion especially if the above text seems mostly mysterious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 5, 2019 Report Share Posted November 5, 2019 5 hours ago, Bill Kielb said: The burners in those things were buried inside the kiln which is a not a design plus as well as the flame retention tips were simple ceramic tips also not great. One of the things I did with the Alpine design when I was there was to pull the burners out of the ports, extend the burner pipe, and put on proper retention tips. However I don't know if Alpine has continued to do them that way since the company was sold, though. @vcowdrey_MPC I would ask them about that if you talk to Alpine. I don't know how Siegy built his burners, but if they're into the ports without retention tips, you may have to widen out your burner ports a little since retention tips (flame retention nozzles) are wider. I would also ask if they're still using the Fireye system, which uses a UV scanner to check for pilot flame, or if they've switched to a flame rod system (which I prefer, like Bill). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcowdrey_MPC Posted November 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 Thank you all for the help! We are underway with the rehabilitation-- I'll post images once we are up and running. Thanks again! Best, Vanessa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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