Fire Damaged Equipment?

[woodrail]

I've got a piece of equipment on-hold waiting for my inspection. The issue is that it was in a structure fire.

The bed has rust from non-use and general siitting around, the rest of the unit and case has smoke damaged and is generally filthy.

I am concerned if the heat has caused issues. The bed is flat. The motor runs, and the plastic parts are not deformed. This leads me to believe the tempature probably didn't get too high.

Looks like the whole thing was just badly smoked.

What should I look for? Any tell-tale signs to determine if the castings are ok?

As a reference, the price is about 20%-30% of a "undamaged" unit. I'm more concerned with wasting my effort.

 

[CNGsaves]

 

[signcrafter]

What equipment are we talking about here?

If the plastic parts and wiring didn't melt I would say the castings are fine. You will just have to deal with the smoke smell which is very hard to get rid of. 20-30% off new sounds pretty steep for being fire damaged depending on what it is. I would be looking at more around 50% of new.

 

[Murphy4570]

What equipment are we talking about here?

If the plastic parts and wiring didn't melt I would say the castings are fine. You will just have to deal with the smoke smell which is very hard to get rid of. 20-30% off new sounds pretty steep for being fire damaged depending on what it is. I would be looking at more around 50% of new.

The man said it was priced at 20-30% of new, not off new.

I'd say 70-80% cheaper than retail price is a good price, but that's just me.

 

[woodrail]

Priced offered is off a typical "used" price. New = $4,000 +/-, used about $1,500, Fire damaged $350+/-.

I'll do a whole restoration thread once/if the cash is exchanged!

I've been am American Red Cross Disaster Team Member for years. I've had to evaluate fire/smoke damaged houses and am well aware of how smoke smells! Given the almost the entire unit, short of the wiring and plastic knobs, is steel, I'm fairly confident I can rid the smoke smell. Worst case, I'll pretend its campfire colonge.

 

[RCStocker]

You want advice but don't say what kind of equipment.
Heat can cause plastic to get brittle even if it does not melt.

If there are any electronic components heat can dammage them as well. That is why computers all have one or two fans.

How long will it take to clean the equipment and get the smoke smell off. Some things never loose the fire smell.

Do you really want or need it. Don't expect to flip it.

I have been buying and seling sense 1962. I got burned on one fire sale and I will not touch another one. Unless it is a very expensive piece of equipment I would say don't bother. Tractors and construction equipment can be power wash. Machinery takes for ever to clean.

I am more puzzled at what you want to buy and why than any damage form a fire. One can not really give advice without knowing what they are refering to.,

If the pice of equipment is a fancy *** machine build your own. LOL
I would say no more than 25 cents on the Dollar at most.

I am a general contractor and architect and I will not touch a rebuild or remodle job that has fire damage. It is 3 times the work and no money in it. Then again I only build custom homes and comercial buildings that I finance myself. There is no money in remodeling and small jobs.

 

[JeepinMike]

Remember, soot == carbon == conductive. Depending on how much got inside, it may not function for long.

-mike

 

[78Bird]

could it be parted out and/or scrapped for it's non fire damageable parts for what you'd have in it?

if yes, get it, if no....

 

[signcrafter]

The man said it was priced at 20-30% of new, not off new.

I'd say 70-80% cheaper than retail price is a good price, but that's just me.

Sorry misread it. That sounds like a good deal then.

 

[woody 73]

Anytime you bring heat into the picture all sorts of variables come into play; Without much to go on we can only guess at this point in time.

 

[G_P]

Assume any lubricants in the machine are gone now. Grease thins out with heat and probably burned off or ran out.

 

[Provincial]

Assume any lubricants in the machine are gone now. Grease thins out with heat and probably burned off or ran out.

This goes for the bearings, as well. Plan on all new bearings and be happy if you escape replacing any.

At the price you report, the machine could be parted out if things go south.

It sounds like a lathe. It doesn't take much rust on the ways to affect performance. Most ways can be reground, but it is expensive and may grind through the surface hardened layer.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Is this a mill? A lathe? A large bunny rabbit?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Priced offered is off a typical "used" price. New = $4,000 +/-, used about $1,500, Fire damaged $350+/-.

I'll do a whole restoration thread once/if the cash is exchanged!

The fact that the machine runs is a big bonus ! I would worry about bearings and feed screws. If they got wet, there is rust.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

speaking only to the odor of smoke. Metal will clean off simply. But fabrics, materials, plastics etc, you can easily get rid of the smoke smell by ozoning it. An ozone machine. Any local contractor that does water/fire damage will have one. Maybe you have a friend in the business.

That's how we remove smoke odor from structures and contents. And vehicles for that matter.

 

[CNGsaves]

Is this a mill? A lathe? A large bunny rabbit?

It is a wabbit . . . . . Elmer Fudd tried to smoke him out . . . but it didn't work.

Now . . . he MUST Kill the Wabbit . . . !!

 

[woodrail]

The story and restoration continues here...:

Unisaw Restoration