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Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:21 am

Hi, I am new to the forum, but have been heating my residence The Neshanic Mill for 12 years now with a Keystoker 90 DV. with some assistance from natural gas stoves I need to use on occasion when the temps really dropand I still want to keep the house at 70 . I use no other heating system.
I noticed this year I have to keep my stoker adjuster cranked down to max to keep a decent size fire going. Does the cam on the feeder wear out after years of use . I have not replaced anything on the stove in 12 years with the exception of the vent fan which I find the blades corode after a couple years,

Matthaus · By: **Matthaus** On: Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:05 am

Welcome Dennis.

A couple factors can contribute to changes in the way a stove operates. I assume (and you know what that gets you and me! :lol:

) that the timer settings and other controls have not changed. If you short across the Tstat terminals and make the stove run constantly does the fire get bigger? if not you may have a bad relay.

Typically if the stove requires max feed to get a decent fire then you are restricted on either the amount of coal being pushed or the amount of air to burn the coal. as you suggested the cam could be worn out, especially after 12 years, so a thorough inspection would be the first thing to perform. Then there are a few other things to consider, such as:
One item that can choke off a fire is the small pieces of coal or "fines" as they are called that fall into the plenum under the grates. This can clog the air flow which may contribute to having to supply more coal to get the same size fire, this would also lead to some unburned coal in the ash pan. Have you ever cleaned that area out?
Another issue affecting burn can be your coal supply, has your coal supplier changed or maybe he is getting coal from a different source?
You said you replace the vent fan. do you mean the combustion fan or the fan that blows hot air out of your stove (convection fan)?

The main thing is don't give up, your stove is having a problem and you will definitely be abel to figure it out with a little patience.

WNY · By: **WNY** On: Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:27 am

I believe the cam's are nylon and can wear out, 12 years, that's pretty good service. !!

Do you take everything apart and clean after every heating season? It could have coal fine particles in the gears/stoker assembly, limiting travel or something might be jammed (large piece/rock, etc..)

Also under the burn grate will fill up with fines/ash and limit the air flow (combustion air) causing limited air for burning.
Reference: Cleaning & Sealing Burn Grate

Have you check your draft also, even on a direct vent it needs to be adjusted properly. Is your DV (Direct Vent) mounted on the back of the stove? YOu are correct, the DV blades to corrode really bad after a while.

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:15 am

Thanks guys,
Under grate is cleaned and always done .
Never took the stoker apart just emptied bin and vacuumed feed area .
Ye,s the Direct vent exhaust fan is what I am speaking about. Why don't they make stainless blades?
Never tested the draft with a gauge except at the draft hole with a match,
Tried several adjustments on the stoker blower 2/3 open seems best.
The fire is keeping the heat up enough for it not to cycle although I feel I have had bigger and hotter burns before." The ole back of the hand test in front of the blower"
I think next cleaning I will emory cloth the grate it did seem alittle rough this season.
Thanks again stay warm.

WNY · By: **WNY** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:25 am

Yes, the direct vent blades really cake up with junk.

Not sure on yours, but my DV has a moveable plate with a setscrew to increase/decrease the draft on the stove.

Mine has a hex plug / hole in the ash pan door that is used to check the stove draft. I checked ti and mine was actually a bit high, so I adjusted the DV vent plate a bit.

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:19 am

Yes , mine has the same movable draft plate. It also has draft hole in front of the stove.

I always wondered if a DV90 could be converted to a DV110 by drilling out the holes in the grate andn changing the appropriate fans and blowers. Have no idea if it is the same stove body or any of the parts interchange. I am heating a really large space and any extra BTU's would help. Luckly its an open floor plant.

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:24 am

Here are some shots of the area I am heating, This is an angle of the second floor . The stove works best in open floor designs

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:25 am

Here is another view of the kitchen area

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:38 am

This is a library on the third floor . There are four bedrooms on the third floor which I leave the doors open . One large bedroom is not heated by closing the door because I never got around to finishing it. Each floor is 40X60' I am heating approximately 3800 sq feet of the 2nd and third floors,including open hallways.

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:41 am

This is the first floor summer room, although finished we really don't live down there and use it as kind of a finished basement during the non winter season.
I have 2 natural gas stoves on the first floor, that I keep on very low for the first floor. It seves only as a foyer ,workshop, front porch and kind of a summer room of to the deck. The gas stoves are ventless and add heat to the wood floors above too the second floor. So any heat that I loose goes right up to the 2nd and third floor living space. If I need more heat on the first floor for use I just crank the gas up temporarily. On warmer days the gas stays off because the settings are set lower than the coal stove thermostat

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:45 am

Stairway from the second floor to the first floor foyer. Thgere is a gas stove down at the bottom that I may crank up when its really cold for some extra BTU's . I know when I need this when the coal stove will only keep the heat up to the low to mid 60's ., I need only to use some gas to get maybe a couple more degrees. I think this would have been the Ideal spot for the coal stove ,but it has no outside walls. I have no chimnies in the house and I think it would have been painfully expensive to run the piping required for this house. It is actualy very tall. I have been restoring this building for
12 years now and although it was already converted to a residence when I bought it. I am not rich and put a lot of sweat equity into it. Actually the reason why I went to coal was the house was converted to residence by the former owner in the 70's and electric was cheap in Jersey back than and the house was all electric. When I bought the house in 1995 I started restoring it. I didn't have enough money for the Natural Gas heating system I wanted to put in. I did a little research on coal took a gamble and bought my Keystoker and a couple of affordable Gas stoves for backup . I didn't even know anyone that burnt coal back then. Well it worked, Back then I was able to buy rice coal for 120.00 a ton delivered and even if I used my gas full bore the bill was never over 200.00 plus the rest of the houseuse gas for cooking stove, hotwater heater and dryer .
So I was heating approx 7,200 toasty. Now gas has risen severly and I never use it like that anymore just sparingly

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:43 pm

I think I got carried away with my posts and off the subject so here two last shot of my House one from the river side and one from the roadway and drive. So you get the idea of what I am heating . The fourth floor is an attic and unheated.

gambler · By: **gambler** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:28 pm

WOW!! All that I can say is, that is an absolutely beautiful home, but I am glad it is you heating it and not me.

Dennis S · By: **Dennis S** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 3:08 pm

Thanks , My stoker generaly burns a ton a month and some gas when the temps are below freezing. A hell of lot less than homes around my neck of the woods burning oil that are not as big

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:19 pm

Hi Dennis, really nice house. A few questions about your stove. Is the fire burning all the way down the grate, with only an inch or so of ash at the end of the grate?? If not, then your cam is probably worn, or the adjustment is corroded, and even though it feels like you have it turned all the way up, it isn't because of the corroded adjusting bolt.

When you clean your grate each year, do you poke something through each air hole in the grate?? I found that fines often get in the hole and jam in the hole, blocking it. I used a piece of wire for most, a small drill bit for the stubborn ones.

As for your idea of enlargint the holes and trying to get more BTU's out of the stove, I think if your pusher/stoker mechanism is getting fulll stroke, you will be getting the maximum you can out of that grate size. A higher BTU stoker has a bigger [larger area] grate.

The older Keystoker stoves have a double wall construction that tends to trap fly ash in the areas at the top of the firebox. Forum member europachris has an older keystoker, and pulled buckets of ash out of his stove when he laid it on it's sides and moved it around. So you may have some areas that are so well insulated by accumulated fly ash that the heat isn't getting out of the stove, but going out the flue.

I'll see if I can get Chris to reply to this thread.

Greg L

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