Help With Stoker Stove Setup Please!

Is anyone able to give me some advice with my stove? Please I would appreciate any and all help! Firstly, I just started a fire yesterday and am not feeling much heat. Is the bearometic supposed to be open constantly as I'm using a power vent? Should the stove be noisy and lastly how big should my fire be??? Please help!

First things first, what kind of stove do you have?

Do you have a manometer?
Manometer will prove to be very helpfull in setting both the barometer and the powervent.
Trying to get the draft corrected by eye (flame height) is difficult.

The stove is a 1997 alaska, Channing I top vent stoker. I have not a clue of a "manometer". Also for my power vent all I have done was plug it in and it just runs at a high speed. I think it is sucking all my hot air out of the house as I have had the stove on for over 24 hrs and notice no difference in the room it's in.

Might try turning venter down just a little bit at a time and allow plenty time for new setting to settle in...coal is very slow to respond to changes.

There is no knob or any adjustment on the power vent. How would/do I adjust it?

Look for slideor flap cover on fan air inlet...can make less or more.

Just want to ensure I understand this on the outside of the house take the power vent cover off and adjust from that point?

Derdman wrote:Just want to ensure I understand this on the outside of the house take the power vent cover off and adjust from that point?

NO !!!!!

First off, IF you fill in your general location, it is possible a member here may be able to stop by to show you how to set up your stove.

Now to correct things a little, a power vent is only controlled by speed of the motor. A direct vent uses a slide plate to cut off the air to the motor. They are 2 entirely different animals. A power vent sucks the exhaust out. While a direct vent pushes the exhaust out. A power vent motor sis outside the house on the exterior wall. A direct vent has the motor mounted to the stove.

A power vent should be run with a motor speed controller. Sort of like a dimmer switch but motor controllers are used for controlling motor speed.
They are not interchangeable.

The power vent should be used in conjunction with a baro damper. Using the speed controller and the baro you should be trying to get .04 draft. The only way to tell the draft correctly is with a manometer. Do not rely on the markings on the baro itself.

Running a power vent full speed is almost a sure bet to get yourself a hopper fire !!!!!

If your Alaska has a carpet feed, you will adjust the cam lobe on the carpet feed rod to increase or decrease the amount of carpet travel. The more carpet travel, the more coal is fed to the stove.

Any other questions, fire away........

Rick

Rick, I have a "Power Vent" not a direct vent. I already have it mounted and operating. The power vent I have dose NOT have a "motor speed controller" all it has is the cord attached to the power vent and an extension cord to plug into it, to the power outlet. I have a baro. damper and it is open tilted on this angle \ I believe it is sucking to much and taking heat away but then again I do not know enough to be sure.

As for the "cam lobe" I have figured that out and my problem was that I was not getting enough coal. Now am getting enough coal but how high should I have the flames within the stove? I hope to hear back from you Rick! Thanks in advance!

It's not so much the height of the flames, but the length of the ash - you want about 1" -3" of ash on the end, with no red coals going into the ash pan.

This one is a different animal, but you get the idea ...

The fire can actually come down a bit in this pic (raise feed rate, which is impossible on my unit).

Okay. Thanks for that information! That will be what my goal shall me. So, with that is the flame the amount of heat being produced and the ash being the amount of coal being used?

Edited my post above with additional info and a pic.

The amount of ash tells you your feed rate (and combustion air factors into that too).

Okay that makes sense and the picture definitely helps! Thank you!!!!

Derdman wrote:Rick, I have a "Power Vent" not a direct vent............... I hope to hear back from you Rick! Thanks in advance!

Sorry a little thing like work got in the way of me responding sooner. But I see Smitty filled in rather nicely.

Now as far as your Alaska.......... Is the combustion air running at full blast. That is the air blowing up through the coal. It should be on full blast if you have a rheostat to adjust that. That will give you optimum burning of the coal. Then the only other adjustment to make on the stove is moving that cam lobe to adjust the amount of coal being fed on the carpet and over the grate holes. As Smitty said, maximum burn will allow only 1" of gray ash before falling into the ash pan. Any less than that 1" and you risk pushing hot coals into the ash pan.

Now get a rheostat/motor controller for that powervent as soon as possible. I'm not kidding here.. You must slow down that thing down. Several members have experienced hopper fires due to drawing too much air. It will draw the extra needed air through the hopper and the fire will travel back towards the hopper and the air supply.

As a possible temporary solution, IF you do have a rheostat on the combustion blower, disconnect it and wire the combustion blower direct to 110v. Then wire in the rheostat to the powervent motor. Set the baro to .04 and adjust the powervent speed so that the baro slightly opens. This will get you away from a hopper fire until you can get a manometer to accurately adjust everything.

Notice how much I mention hopper fire ?????

Also check your PM's.

Rick