Canaan coal man wrote:I notice a faint smell when I come in from out side, but its not strong and it dosnet smell sullfurish?? could be the stickers on the new black pipe bakeing off. my co detectors read 0.
This is the same thing I am noticing. When you walk in from outside you can smell it but it's not super strong.
coalnewbie wrote:I think I have your answer, you have a 90 or 110K Keystoker, yes? Firstly, amend your profile to let us know where you are and what your stove is - clairvoyance is a coal burners weak suit. Secondly,the only stove I ever had a problem with was this keystoker and it was the beginnings of a hopper fire with a strong sulfur smell - CO detectors clanging. I would bet that is what is happening and it is very serious. ALERT, ALERT - pay attention. This is what I pinned it down to, Keystoker claims you can't have a fire as the road is flat and the coal is pushed out AND the air comes from under the coal bed and through the back through of the hopper - the hopper has open air vents for that reason. They even have a patent on this design. All well and good unless you fail to seal that fire road well during maintenance and it leaks up the back as the combustion fan pushes through the coal bed and starts a reverse air flow. Can't happen? It did to me and thx to this board I learned I was in trouble - you are in trouble as when you push the heat up things WILL get worse. Shut it down now, cool it down, clean it up and reseal that fire road with hi temp cement - make sure the back is sealed real well. Do it NOW as this is arguably the most serious coal burning problem you can have as it is non-obvious.
PS, only listen to keystoker or people on this board on this issue. The internet is full of dolts that think they know about coal - trust me they don't have a clue as a rule.
OK you have me a little freaked out now to the point I'm about to go back to electric heat only. I'm very handy but I'm a complete noob when it comes to coal. From the sounds of it, it sounds like I should just get a new heater and if that's the case I'll go propane. I have 3 boys in my house and I'm not sure I would trust their lives with my skills of cementing something.
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?
