Fix existing kiln or buy new?

[C Darden]

Hi, I got a free Duncan kiln from a friend. It turns out it needs new coils.

The electrician said it would cost 600.00 for the parts and 600.00 labor. Do you think I should just bite the bullet and buy a new kiln?

Thanks for any help you might have.

CD

[oldlady]

that electrician does not want the job.  new kilns are in the thousands of dollars these days and there is a backlog of orders for them.

one of our members, neil estrick, is a kiln distributor and has helped many people work on their own kilns.   if you post the actual electrical data on the metal plate including model numbers and all the rest, you may be in luck.   how did you determine that it needs new elements?   take a photo with your camera down inside the kiln.  get a shot of several rows of elements.  

if you have the funds for a new kiln, buy one.  even if you do that you should be familiar with how they work.  there have been several people with problems in Duncan kilns lately.  look for them and see what has happened to them.

[C Darden]

There was one electric coil sticking out from the kiln. I tried to put it back in it's slot and it literally fell apart.

Thank you for replying.

Cheri

 

[neilestrick]

Is the electrician a kiln tech or an electrician? In general, electricians don't know how to work on kilns.

What model is the kiln?

$600 for the elements is probably correct. Duncan elements only loop once, so in a kiln that would normally have 6 elements at $58 each and each loops twice, it's got 12 elements at about $50 each. That alone is a good reason to consider not keeping the kiln. I'm assuming it's a 27" tall kiln? If it's not that tall and he's saying $600 then something is not right about that price.

$600 to do the labor is ridiculously high since replacing the elements shouldn't take more than 2 hours. If there's other work to be done on the kiln then maybe 3 hours max. So unless he's charging $200-$300 per hour he's gouging you. And at $200-$300 per hour he's gouging you. I charge $85 per hour.