Alask Company Old Kodiac Coal Fireplace Insert

A friend gave me his old Alaska Company Kodiac Coal fireplace insert.

I cannot find a model number, but it has two doors with glass.

I am looking for an owner's manual or someone that knows how the stove operates.

Specifically, the damper. I see that it is manual, but do not see how it would work if I used a chimney liner since there are not holes in the collar of the opening where the damper goes.

Welcome to the FORUM jr. Post some pix & I'd bet you'll get the issue resolved in short order.

Thank for your suggestion

As suggested from last email, am uploading side, top, and back pics.

The back pic is dark, but there is nothing to note on the back, it is solid not attachments.

OK--2 holes in front for grates shaker handle ??? Grates move freely?? The old Kodiac's had baffles inside & the old timers probably did not use a damper--MPD or other wise--I'm not a fan of chimney liners if your chimney is in decent shape--just getting it above the smoke shelf & packing the excess space w/ insulation has been tried & true--OR--cut a template out of metal & cut a hole for the pipe to go through--make sure all gaskets are replaced. The only way you'll see how she works is--wait for it---DO IT. Make sure you've got a couple CO sensors installed jr She should do well for what you're looking for.

I don't see anything sealing that ash pan area.

Me either Richard. It looks like a slide out ash pan with primary vents in it? I guess it could work but would have to fit tightly in order to not have any air leaks and give you decent control. Lets see a pix with the doors open, of the grates.

Trying to remember--I'm thinking there is a track for a rope gasket on the ash door--KODIAK built a real fine old school stove--ash door does not warp & I believe gives a real good fit to the stove body--AGAIN--that's what I'm remembering & Richard, we know how that goes sometimes Plus pix of inside of ash door if you would. That is a real sweet insert & would be real nice to get it set up safely--God knows there's enough knowledge on here to help with that--BUT--final evaluation will be yours

Thanks to all for replying.

The ash pan as a gasket along the inside top and down the sides.

There is a rope gasket around the frame that the doors contact.

There is a hole for an MPD, but have not found one to replace the one that seems to be missing in my parts pile.

I do have the motor, but no manual to show me how the motor connects.

I have purchased a liner kit, my flue does have cracks, and would be afraid I would void my fire insurance it I did not use a liner.

I want prime and paint before I install.

Keep us updated with pix jr

Update

Posting a picture of the stove installed in the fireplace and how it looks after painting.

I had to cut about a three inch wide 1/2 inch deep vertical track in the fire brick on both sides of the firebox to get the insert far enough back to connect the steel flue liner.

I then pulled it back about two inches to install the surround.

It took one day of labor over three weekend for about six hours to complete the install.

I almost did not get the liner connected. There was no clearance between the fire box opening and the flange on stove where the surround connected to reach in and position the liner for the connection. The fire shelf caused the liner to angle out. I had to put a piece of wood down the flue on a rope in order to help guide the connection.

I also found it was a real help to put a metal sheet down on the floor of the firebox to aide in sliding the insert in and out.

Need help!!

After all this work, I have not been able to keep a fire going.

I must be doing something wrong on using the dampers.

There is one large knob on each door, and two dampers on the front of the ash pan.

I was told by the previous owner after getting the coals going to close all dampers. The fire went out.

The owner of Old Fashion Heat in New Cumberland, PA told be to leave the door knobs slightly open and close the dampers on the ash pan. The fire went out.

Tonight, I left the dampers on the ash pan open and closed the damper on the doors. The fire went out in less than an hour.

I then restarted the fire and placed a fan near by on low pointed to the floor. The fire went out.

What could I be doing wrong? I have a big green egg the uses lump charcoal and is controlled by a lower damper and upper damper. I an set the lower damper 3/4 closed and not have to do any thing for nearly 24 hrs.

I would think the same principle would apply on the coal insert.

I have draft in the chamber, when I open the door I can hear the draw. Could my house be too tight? I know my front door lets in air, which is just on the other side of wall. There is no inner door between the foyer and the room where the insert is installed.

Hi jreeves54
First off your install looks great. I'm not directly familiar with your stove but a few observations. I suspect the large knobs on each of the glass doors are to allow over the fire air. This allows for wood burning and also results in more efficient burning of the volatile gas that the heated coal gives off. They may also help to keep the glass cleaner while burning. They should be fully open when burning wood and just slightly open while burning coal. The ash pan vent knobs control the under fire air feed and are the most critical to control the rate of coal burn and subsequently the stove temp and duration of burn. I did not see a built in manual damper on this stove to control chimney draft. The larger the vent openings, the more air fed, the hotter the fire. These should never be completely closed as this will starve the fire. Once the fire is burning well I would shut them down to 1/2 and the adjust up or down from there depending on stove and house temp. You should get a stove thermo if you don't have one yet. I assume you have a good draft and the correct grates to burn coal. Also check on line or call the Alaska company to see if you can get a manual for this stove.
Hope this helps
Gian4

The slides on the ash door are there to let air come in from under the grates and coal bed. This is how you control your burn with coal. The spins on the door should be closed when burning coal. The air slides on the ash door should be open all the way when starting a fire. When the fire is going good you can gradually build up the coal bed to where it should be. Now you can adjust the air slides on the ash door. You will have to see what the best setting is for the air slides on the ash door as you go along.

Thank you Gian and Buck, your information is appreciated and will be hlepful

Especially the information on how the door spins work.

I have contacted the Alaska Co but they say the stove is obsolete and are not open to any discussion on how to use the stove.

Last night I finally got a good fire going with larger size stove coal. I was previously using nut coal and most of the coal was falling through the grates, but that is what the previous owner used.

I think the info on the door spins for starting the wood fire will help. I had to use, I think, a lot of wood to get the coal ignited.

One thing that I am not comfortable with is how to position the wood to allow a flat stable platform to start laying the coal.

But, since I had the door spins closed, that might not have been allowing the fire to get as hot as it should be. The smaller pieces burned okay, but the larger pieces were difficult to keep them burning.

How to you add more coal without diminishing the fire?

I am using, now, the larger stove coal. The sizes are about the size of a closed fist for the larger pieces and half that for smaller pieces.

Can I use a shovel to make the bed spread out and then add pieces to that, or will that cause the fire to starve out.