Opinions on buying a cheap, old automatic gas kiln? (Concerns on HV burner noise, repairs etc.)

[krknn]

Hello!

I have been planning on getting a gas kiln for quite some time. My idea has been to buy (or eventually build, if I don't find any, as gas kilns are rare where I live) a kind of a basic small kiln, preferably down-draft with a couple of venturi burners with a size of approximately 200-300 liters. I have a little bit of experience on gas firings, but not too much. One of my hopes with my own one would actually be to learn more, along with being able to produce the type of work I can't make with an electric kiln.

I finally came across an used kiln, but while it in theory seems that it would be good when everything is finally up and running, I have some concerns. It is an old automatic/microprocessor controlled 300l kiln with one high velocity burner, and it needs quite a bit of repairing. Basically from what the seller told me, all the pipings should be dismantled and partly replaced, and there's a lot of figuring out to do with all the electronics and programming. There are also gas sensors and many other kinds of components about which I know nothing about at this stage. Structurally the actual chamber etc it is in relatively good condition. The kiln is quite cheap, and the replacement parts for pipes and transport would probably cost about as much as the actual kiln. Here is a link to some pictures of the kiln.

Here's a few things that I'm worrying about. I hope someone with more expertise could chip in with an opinion.

1. As the kiln has a lot more going on than a usual "dumb" kiln without automatics, there's a lot to learn before I could even figure out how to fire it. Also, I would need to learn quite a bit to be able to properly repair it, as I don't even know what many of the components do. There's both the more complex mechanical gas related components as well as the electronics which also seem like a big weird mess right now. So all this seems quite intimidating and overwhelming. While I'm a DIY person and interested in fixing and learning about things, I'm not sure if this is too big of a bite or not, and if there are also too big safety concerns. I do have a few contacts who could help check things out, but 95% the work would still need to be figured out by myself.

2. I live in a residential area and have a kind of a garden where I have been planning a small shed for situating a kiln in. However, I'm wondering if the high velocity burners could be very loud and disturb the neighbours too much. As the kiln is now just in a storage place and not in use, I don't know how loud it actually is. Any ideas on the noise level of these kinds of kilns? 

3. In long term use being able to make use of the automatics would probably make production relatively effortless. But is it taking away much of the potential for learning that a simpler kiln could offer? On the other hand, while a simple pile of bricks with a few burners seems way more approachable right now, I can also see myself regretting not getting the kiln at some point in the future, haha. 

Any opinions on the kiln and its details, as well as general thoughts about the topic of getting this one VS buying/building a simpler kiln would be very welcome. Thank you! 

[Hulk]

Hi krknn, welcome to the Forum!

Good questions; check back for responses... ...just wanted to add that smoke and fumes may an issue for neighbors as well, if they are close enough that fan noise is a concern.

[High Bridge Pottery]

Looks cool but even if they are giving it away for free I don't think it's worth it. Fiber walls look past their best and learning how all that system works will take a long time.

[Bill Kielb]

I would agree with all above, including the sheer size of the blower motor on top. This seems very industrial for a simple kiln and my guess is you would need to scrap a lot of what they are doing here to likely be used with atmospheric burners. Just curious if you have power available as well, might be three phase by default.