Koker Owners Question

I have a Koker.

I am wondering what type of cleaning and how often other Koker owners perform on their Koker during the heating season?

Most interested in the exhaust tubes.

Looking for a better way.

Do you guys shut her down for any of this?

Thanks!

I went from October 2nd until just after Christmas when it went out due to being gone for 3 days. I then pulled it all apart to clean. Flue pipes as well as exhaust tubes. I then should have done it during spring break when we went to Myrtle Beach but didn't. We ended up having trouble in early May. Not sure if we lost draft, or it was the crappy 2nd load of coal I got. There were a LOT of fines and I had also put the timer down to 4 pins due to warm temps. It was my fault I think. I guess I would say shut down and clean every 3 months or so.

I just wait for hopefully a warmer day about half way thru the heating season & do a quick brush job on my exhaust(direct vent) & clean the bottom out extra well near the tubes without shutting down. I take the motor off the vent as quick as possible & do a fast cleaning job on that as well then reseal the joints. I wait until the end of season to do a good cleaning, except this past winter I was laid up for awhile so I still have a small amount of cleaning & oil to do before start up. For the motor I just shut the power off for a few minutes, never lost the fire yet.

During my 4 years of running my Koker, I learned having a Dwyer manometer was essential to keeping the stove running properly. Just a glance at the manometer would indicate when it was time for cleaning the Koker's internal exhaust tubes; and, the horizontal run to my flue. Run your Koker with a manometer; and, you'll always know if she's breathing properly.

Thanks all!

Dewey, I actually had purchased a magnahelic about two years ago and it has been awesome for spot checking my draft.

What draft indicators signal a cleaning is warranted? Simply a reduction in draft measurement over time?

I have not been able to pick up on any indicators from the Magnahelic that indicate a cleaning is warranted.

Back when I was looking to install the Koker you were a huge help in finalizing my installation direction, appreciated that, best thing I ever did was install the Koker!

Hope you and yours are well!

This will be my first year running a koker. My dealer suggested cleaning the exhaust tubes every couple months. If you position your barometric damper directly on top of your stove (damper facing one of the sides of the stove), you can just pull the damper off the tee (while the stove is not firing) and run a flexible handled brush down each exhaust tube (they should be visible through the tee). Then just vacuum the bottom of the exhaust tubes through the ash door.

Running my Koker, I found the Dyer 25 manometer extremely sensitive; and, just a slight dip in draft told me it was time to clean the tubes... The first time my draft took a "dip" I didn't understand what was going on; then, I started getting some CO on warm days... Then I discovered the root cause of the problem---fly ash build-up both in the Koker and in my horizontal run. I learned from that experience to listen to what my Dyer manometer was telling me. When the draft goes down; even slightly, there's a reason.

Happy Burning!

Really basic questions here. I am literally on day 2 of running my new Koker Direct Vent. Love it already!

Where does a manometer get installed? Needed on a Direct Vent?
The installers sealed the SS pipe with a red substance around the pipe joints. So what is the best way to maintain the brushing of these while it is still running? From the outside of the house toward the inside?
Some have said to remove the fan quickly when doing periodic maintenance. Is that what others do?
What kind of thermometers do others typically purchase, and where are the best places to mount them?

Any other basic questions I should be asking about maintenance? Granted, it should not need it for a while yet, but I'd rather get familiar now rather than when I really need to do this.

Try to keep the inside clean. I vacuum (brush on a wet/dry vac) the inside at each ash pan change. Probably over kill, but ash build up on the walls insulates them, you need to have clean steel to maximize the transfer of heat through the steel, so it can be picked up by the convection air as it blows by it. I also keep the internal exhaust tubes brushed out every month or so, again for the same reason. A lot of heat transfer occurs at the tubes. My koker is connected to a chimney so I am not sure how to go about cleaning them in your case with a direct vent. My damper sits right on top of the stove collar, so when I pull it out of the tee, the tubes are right there.

All told, I can change the ash pan, vacuum the inside and clean the tubes in about 4-5 minutes. Easily done before the fire even thinks about going out. I also have my combustion fan on a switch so I shut it down when I do all this. This way fumes aren't being blown out the doors as I am working.

So you open the firebox, too, to vacuum inside there? I have a direct vent Koker, so I'll turn it off and get in and out quickly, huh?

Welcome to the forum Chris.
I too am running a direct vent Koker and I really like it.
A characteristic of the direct vent design is that the vent fan becomes clogged with ash, drawn up with the exhaust air. The bonnet on top of the furnace must occasionally be opened up and ash vacuumed out in order to maintain your draft. There is a sliding door provided for access to the fan. Loosen two screws and slide it up and you'll see the fan blades rotating. Do this cleaning when the stoker is idling and exhaust gases relatively cool and nothing needs to be shutdown. It can be done easily and quickly.
Here's a photo of the sliding door and screws It was recommended to me that this be done each time a ton of coal has been burned.
Monitoring your draft with a manometer will show you when a cleaning is due. A loss of draft is an indication the the fan is becoming clogged.
I hope this is some help to you.
-Len

The way I installed my manometer was to run a copper line thru a hole in the side of the ash door near the handle, connected to compression fittings with a barbed end which I then connected to the rubber hose leading up to the manometer mounted on the side of the hopper.Here are a few photos:

CoaLen,

Very helpful, thanks! It looks like the guys that installed my Koker have that sliding panel (access to the fan) directly facing the piece that feeds the ductwork, not realizing that ready access to it would be necessary. I see it now, though, and it's still accessible, just tight. Photos are wonderful helps, too. Thanks again.

I also emptied the ash pan for the first time last night. I expected rather fine dust, and what I got was some fine dust, and lots (??) of more-solid pieces. Is this normal? And will that depend on how hot it is running? It's been near 60 outside, so it's not having to work very hard yet.

ChrisS wrote:So you open the firebox, too, to vacuum inside there? I have a direct vent Koker, so I'll turn it off and get in and out quickly, huh?

That is correct, having both doors open isn't a problem as long as you turn your combustion fan off. And another step I take is to crack the ash door open slightly, for a minute or so, after turning off the comb fan to let the draft clear a good portion of the concentrated fumes out of the stove prior to going after the pan. There will still be fumes coming out the door but it isn't quite as bad. If I am just changing ash pans and vacuuming the inside, it only takes about 2 minutes of having the stove off. Usually the walls will have a light powder coating on them, and that is about the extent of my buildup.

In terms of your ash, if it looks like granola/oatmeal than that is fine. I believe only the hand fed guys get the true powder type ash because their coal gets burned more thoroughly. You may also see what looks like black unburnt coal. Often times it is pieces of shale mixed in or coal that did give off its combustion products but didn't turn white. Many have tried, but if you try to burn those black pieces again, they won't burn, they have already given up their heat energy.

I mentioned it elsewhere, I am really looking forward to being able to look back at my newbie questions someday and realize how much I have learned. This is a great forum, people learning, passing along knowledge, more people learning, it's a great cycle. I already appreciate the wealth of that knowledge here.