First time coal burner with some questions.

you have a 90 or 110K Keystoker

This will help you out, http://www.keystoker.com/service-manuals.php

Wiz wrote:

you have a 90 or 110K Keystoker

This will help you out, http://www.keystoker.com/service-manuals.php

Thank you very much. It's odd that link didn't show up in my Google search just lots of places looking to sell keystoker.

If it's an easy fix that's fine but I need to be able to sleep at night knowing we are all safe and DIY on a coal stove doesn't really seem to fit that bill. Are there instructions online on how to do this or at least pictures of the parts and what needs to be fixed?

I scared the cr ap out of you - good, now you are paying attention. You were smart enough to work out that anthracite is the worlds greatest fuel, you bought a good stove that will serve you well and you found this board. That already makes you one of the elite. Put fear behind you as you have done the hard part.

Now this is an easy fix, if you can caulk a window you can fix this. If this noob can do it so can you. When the stove is cool clean off the coal and ashes, empty the hopper of coal with a shovel (this is the hardest part). Lift out the very heavy iron bed thingy with the holes in that the coal moves over, it sort of lifts up at the front and out. It if is sealed good (which I doubt) a flat screwdriver may help. Pull it out and turn it over. Clean it up with a flat screwdriver. Also the iron edge that it sits on needs to be clean. We need to make a seal here.

Whilst you have the top off vacuum up the underneath. My guess is that you bought it second hand as the glass looks like it has seen some war years so eventually you may need to give it a little service. Guidance available here, if needed. For now we just have to seal this sucker and get you back in business. Go to a hardware store and get a tube of 2000F fireplace cement. You don't know what to look for? Write back or phone keystoker (google the term). Now just like caulking a tile, squirt it around the edge as a continuous bead and drop the iron thingy back into the fire and you are done. Problem fixed. You are now a freshman in coal college as we all were once. Move on to graduation. Save a tone of money, pay taxes, buy a boat but don't give up you are nearly there.

Get a manual from keystoker, search the term on this board and read. There you made it - welcome aboard.

Welcome to the forum!! You have made the best decision regarding heat, especially since you have electric heat, you will be saving a lot of money. The electric can kick in as a backup if you are away or are sick for a few days.

First, I prefer to let the coal dry out a little bit. I have only ever had trouble with the coal feeding through the hopper once and it was because it was wet.

Second, get a couple Kidde Nighthawk digital display CO monitors. They are good for about 5-7 years, I recommend getting a third in about 3 years and then swapping out one of your original two in five years, then the next in 7, then the third you bought, etc.etc.etc. This way all of your detectors are not getting to end of life at the same time.

Third, you can easily get the guidance from this forum to seal the grate edges, replace stove door gaskets, seal flue pipe, install a manometer, balance a barometric damper, etc etc. I have found the folks on here are not condescending in any way like many other forums are toward newbies. Pics help out a great deal so if you have a question on sealing the grates, take a pic of it and somebody will highlight the areas. There are a number of coal burners in your area, so if a house call is necessary for additional help you will also have volunteers for that.

Title has made many good points. Photos will help us help you. One additional sealing point is that the back of the iron thingy should also have a gasket seal to the stove, this needs to be air tight. These things often get disturbed when the stove is moved. Here is a point of operation check. Note where the holes in the bed starts, it's about an inch or so along - the fire should move forward from there not back. That is the whole principle of the keystoker. If the fire moves back to the base of the hopper you have not made a good seal. A pic will let us know if all is well. Be of good cheer you have bought a nice little stove and you wait until it really gets cold, it will really punch out the heat and amaze you. My guess from the look of it is that it is a 90K stove.

More idle observations now I have some time. Is that a thermometer box on the floor? I know there is automatic and thermostat operation as options, I have only used automatic. Perhaps someone can help me out here. Is the little white button on the side in or out.

IOERROR wrote:Yeah I did a little reading on the issue and it seems more like maintenance not repairs. I just got a little freaked out thinking my house would burn down. I'd never had anything but electric heat so open flames still scare me. Haha

I admire your caution sorry if we startled you!
Trust when we say, you will love coal and wonder why everyone else on the planet isn't using it

Ok well I took the stoker nearly completely apart and cleaned it from top to bottom. The plate holes were all clear so I'm assuming the owner before me cleaned it before shutting it down. There was ash in the horizontal pipe and when I took it off I found that the section leading into the chimney didn't have a good seal. To seal it I added some rope gasket around it. I don't know what fixed the problem with the sulfur smell but it's gone now. It might have been a combination of everything.

The only issue I have no is adjusting the coal feed. I believe when not in demand it's pushing too much coal because I can't get the heat below 68 degrees. Also I notice the ash is very chunky as if it didn't burn very well. I'm not sure if that is normal or if it's because the feeder is pushing so much coal. Other than that it's working well.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Congrats IO, you are on your way. During the shoulder weeks you will notice many members complaining about their homes being too warm. The Keystoker is not one of the best at running in a superlow mode but it more than makes up for it when the SHTF. Don't worry, do your best and just open a window or two. Bleeding heat is not so bad when the energy is so cheap. Just be patient bad stuff is just around the corner, I promise. Great coal burning times coming and you will doubt your sanity for ever heating with electric. You will learn to love that Keystoker. Remember no smells ever if the system is running right.

Little late to this posting and you may have figured out a lot by now, I have the Keystoker also. It sits in my basement plumbed into the hot air venting system off my oil furnace and heats the whole house (well, mostly). One way to cut back on heat is to slide the cover on the combustion fan up so it covers more of the opening and thus gives less air to the fire. Just remember to open it again when you want more heat. I have mine hooked up to a thermostat on the first floor, so it is more or less automatic. Blower fan set to automatic (white button on the side pulled out) it only blows when there is sufficient heat built up in the firebox. I have never messed with the pin setting from the factory, seems to work for me. Best of luck!

What direction are the ends of the smoke pipes installed ? This may cause a odor too. Male end into female leaving the stove.