In a couple of weeks time, I will be traveling a considerable distance to take a look into a used continuous furnace we are looking into buying.

The furnace we are looking into is a Can-Eng Continuous Belt line. It is gas fired. Max temp is 960 C . The line consists of a cold loading entrance, hardening furnace, belt quench, post belt washer/temper. It will be re-bricked prior to shipment.

This will be the first time we buy used machinery, What should we look at when visiting the furnace? and tips on what to pay special attention to? What documentation should we ask the seller to provide?

Is there some kind of "buyers guide"? Maybe a list of questions that should be answered before actually buying the furnace?

All your help is much appreciated!

Thanks

HRF

Belt condition is important, as those can be quite expensive to replace. I would look to see if if there are acess ports for oxygen probes in each zone. Finally, you might want to hold off of the rebrick job until after shipment.

Assuming that it is currently operating:

Try to see it in operation. Talk to the operators, not the manager who is responsible for selling it.

Ask the operators how well the thing works. What they would fix, replace, upgrade if it were still theirs.

Ask the maintenance guy what breaks.

Agree on waiting until it's in its new home before you rebrick.

Have them run a temperature uniformity survey. This will tell you what the temperature uniformity looks like throughout the working zone of the furnace. It should also provide you with a very good idea of what kind of working condition the furnace is actually in, and pinpoint where there might be issues.

Maui

www.EngineeringMetallurgy.com

Belts, drives for the belts, thermal insulation,thermal efficiency,temperature profile in the furnace, frequently replaced parts,like bearings, any signs of scaling or oxidation on the shell,or paint peeling off locally, check past 3 months production and maintenance reports, control panel gauges in order.

Finally the cost of dismantling, transportation and refurbishment if any. Please check,if insurer will provide insurance for used equipments , any new certifications from local bodies etc as it is a gas fired equipment.

A company in India, sourced a multi purpose CNC machining centre. Live demonstration was done online,price negotiated and concluded. The machine was air lifted to India. The surprise element, was cost of removal of the machine and local transportation to a warehouse for packing and onward delivery. The charges was astronomical. In India,we rarely place a cost for this service and hence it was not discussed.

Hope it helps.

_____________________________________
"It's better to die standing than live your whole life on the knees" by Peter Mayle in his book A Good Year

Are the controls and safety equipment all up to currents standards and codes? The rules for gas fired equipment change regularly.

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