One Year Later and Im Still Stuck..

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boxerbabee
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Post by boxerbabee » Fri. Nov. 06, 2009 6:05 pm

hi ya'll hope everyones staying warm since the temp dropped so early ..well in NEPA it did anyway.
but im writing cause Im really upset with this keystoker I bought. I really figured since the man I bought it off of lived in Ithica NY on top of a mountain in a 5000 plus sqft house that heating my 1300 sqft house would be no problem... not the case. although I have the optional blower with 2 duct attachment I cant seem to keep my house not even 70 in the room where one of the vents come thru. I cleaned everything out with my son to start the season..(hubby refuses to learn anything about this stove) and to begin with...things went fine. 2 nights ago it dropped to 25 outside and I was up and down all night checking the stove. I noticed the flame is as wide as the grate but not even 2 inches high. I checked the preset draft button and noticed that someone screwed with it. I put it back on the preset mark and called Keystoker this am. He advised me to try the blower vent (to let more air in) and that did nothing. I now took the grates apart and am going to recement them in..thinking theres too much air somewhere.??... Im burning coal just to burn coal..it's taking at least 10 plus minutes to reach the 160 to trip the blower on when usually it takes less than 6-07 minutes... I keep telling my husband we are wasting coal but hes fighting with me saying "there's a fire".. he doesnt get it.. I want that foot high fire that throws heat..the way its supposed to. I think Im calling in the local Keystoker rep (85 bucks a service call!!UGH!) just to set this up for me cause I learned what the parts are..and how to clean the stove..even how to change the gear motor blah blah blah.. I just cant figure out how to get the most heat in the most effective way out of this stoker wtih out burning and wasting coal..
Peace
Boxer

 
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ceccil
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Post by ceccil » Fri. Nov. 06, 2009 6:15 pm

One of the first thing I would check is that all of the holes in the grate are clear of any obstructions. If not, you will not get the required air for combustion. Also make sure all of the edges and seams are sealed with furnace cement. You should also have about an inch or so of ash at the end of the gate when stove is at full burn. If you have more, you may need to adjust your feed screw to feed a bit more coal. Let us know how you make out.

Jeff


 
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WNY
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Post by WNY » Fri. Nov. 06, 2009 6:21 pm

5000 sq. ft? Seems a bit large for that stove (maybe thats why he sold it), but if its super insulated, maybe....I would think up to 2000 sq. shouldn't be a problem.

Also, make sure you cleaned Under the grate, you can take the blower motor off the back and vacuum in from the hole, or remove the grates and clean good and clean the holes good to, a piece of wire, drill bit, etc...work good, but you would have to reseal the grates again if you removed them.

Check the feed screw, screw it all the way IN (Clockwise) and back it out 2 full turns (CCW) to start, that should be pretty close to max feed rate.

The cover on the combustion blower should be about 1/2 open (or closed depending on how you look at it). you can open a bit more for more air flow.

As for the convection blower, the black box on the side, the cover can be removed and the middle pin at 160? can be moved to like 140 or a little less if you want it to come on sooner.

Yes, on a good full burn, the flames can touch the top of the inside of the stove.

Baro or direct vent?
Are you running a direct vent? if so, maybe it's turned up too high and sucking all the heat out of stove.
If you have a baro damper, it needs to be calibrated for proper draft (.02-.04) by adjusting the weight and checking it with a draft gauge.

Also, wheres your thermostat located? Maybe have to turn it up to get the stoker to start. Check the wiring, etc.. It might just be on IDLE (Pilot) mode....and asking for heat.

 
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North Candlewood
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Post by North Candlewood » Fri. Nov. 06, 2009 7:28 pm

Sounds like flue issues/too much draft.

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