Draft Question

I have a draft question I hope someone can help me with. I just had installed a Koker 160 and I am confused on proper draft settings. I get a reading of .02 at a full burn and then it goes to a .05 at an idle. Is this right or do I need to adjust. Right now the outside air temp is in the mid 50 during the day and 40 at night. was not windy when I took these readings. Just want to get this right before it gets to cold. Please help.

Sounds opposite, normally when it burning HOT, it normally has more draft (-.03 to -.06), most stokers should run between -.02 to -.04. How and where are you measuring it? what type of baro damper do you have?
Measurement should be between the stove and baro I assume?

Usually on idle, the draft will be less like around -.02

The baro should be adjusted when its burning hot, it should regulate the draft on the stove correctly and be open a certain amount.

review the thread on Manometer install and you can see what we are talking about.
Manometer Install

I am guessing at full burn the blower is running and at idle it is not? I am not familiar with the Koker but if you force more air through the fire you will see a drop in draft reading.

What does Keystoker recommend for draft? .05 sounds a bit high. Should it not be more like .02 - .04, better check you don’t want too much draft in a Keystoker.

The stove is a direct vent. Blower is always running. I take the draft reading from the small hole in the ash pan door where the directions say to take it. Not sure what to do .I am new to this and seem confused. I know it has not been very cold lately so maybe it will be hard to adjust. Have only been running for a week but the temps in the house are 75 plus at an idle and it has only called twice for the convection fan to run. Maybe I am way off with an adjustment. The stack temp runs around 120 just off the stove. Not sure exactly what to do so any help would be appreciated.

First give me some info..

1. How many turns out is the screw in the back set?

2. When you say blower is always on, you mean the little blower in the back that sends air under the coal grates?, not the big dayton duckwork blower right?

3. Is the air shutter in back 1/2 open?

also, how many pins are set for each group in the timer?

are you sure that the convection blower (big dayton in back) is set for automatic on the honeywell fan limit switch (pulled out I believe)

My Direct Vent doesn't vary much if at all. I have it set at .04 and it stays there most of the time, even at idle or full burn.
I am running 4-5 turns out on the feeder screw and have about a 115 Degree temp in the Exhaust about 8' from the stove. It is mostly idling right now.

ON the Keystoker Direct Vents, there should be a T-Handle with a setscrew on the Inlet of the DV plate. This adjusts the draft of the stove. It slides back and forth and changes the suction of the DV which in turn changes the draft on the stove.

The Combustion blower cover should be about 1/2 way closed.

Here is my setup. I take the reading directly from the stove.

Am I using a good draft guage? It is a Bacharah 13-7019 MZF high sensory draft guage. Is this the same as a manometer.

It works differently but does the same job, it is a very good instrument.

Hopefully I will get this figured out. I will try adjusting the feed screw and see what happens. Right now at an idle, I have little flame and the hot bed of coal is near the back and not very large

Ok, adjusted feed screw out 8 full turns ccw from full in, air shutter 1/2 open, 4 pins in each group, turned t stat up to 80 and let stove run for a good hour. Have full bed of coals except for maybe last 3 inches, .stack temp around 180 and front top face of stove just above glass running around 325. Set draft at -.02 and let stove run a little longer. reached 80 in house and convection blower would cycle like it should. Turned t stat down to 68 and waited about 45 min to an hour and re checked draft and now itis at -.04 is this right or am I doing soemthing wrong. Will the draft settings vary like that or am I doing soemthing wrong. This is a koker 160 direct vent so no baro damper just the t bar adjustment. Any help would be great

Dave is right ( as usual). The Koker with a direct vent system should not vary on draft at all until you get ash build-up, and even then it won't change based on the amount of coal burning. The draft simply becomes less and less until you clean out the vent motor.
I suggest you check the seal and latch on your ash door. Make sure the seal isn't twisted or loose. Make sure the set screw in the ash door handle is tight and the door is closing tight. You're taking the draft measurement next to the door and any leaks in that door may produce a strange draft reading and could vary based on the size of the fire.
Good luck,
-Len

Looks like you are on your way, the Feed adjustment should set (8 turns seems pretty high), You should only have about 1" of ash when burning full. You may have to readjust your feed when it starts getting colder. The draft is directly proportional to the heat output, so when it's running hotter, it will have more draft, OR if it's colder outside, it will have more draft, regardless of your feed turn screw setting. Also, with a direct vent, it shouldn't vary much. If you are between .02-.04, you should be good.