Just Hooked up Used Alaska Kodiak Coal Stove

Hello, first time coal burner. I purchased a used Kodiak and my father in law just hooked it up down my basement. It was pretty rusty so I painted it with High Heat Paint. I have a couple questions/concerns: One, it has been running for about 24 hours and the basement seems to have a funky, smoldering smell. At first I thought it was the paint burning off but upon further inspection I found the door gasket is not completly flush to the closing, there is a little open area at the top. I am wondering if this is where the smell is coming from? Does anyone have any experience with this? Also, there is a bit of ash residue near the open area of the door. I have 3 co detectors and all levels are zero. I will try to send pics in a bit. The stove is vented through the basement wall, attached is a barometic damper. Thanks!

Moving this post to the handfeed stove forum for better exposure and response.

Greg L

but is this kodiak a hand fed or a stoker? the tag on the back of my stoker says kodiak

bhisch3 wrote:the basement seems to have a funky, smoldering smell. At first I thought it was the paint burning off but upon further inspection I found the door gasket is not completly flush to the closing, there is a little open area at the top. I am wondering if this is where the smell is coming from?

More than likely, the odor is paint. Check the door with a cigarrette or candle, if the draft is going into the stove it is not the cause of the smell. If the draft is coming out of the stove, fix it right now.

Alaska has used the Kodiak name on both a hopper/gravity feed stove and on early stoker feed stoves.. Just to make things confusing.. JC has a gravity feed Kodiak in his stove collection...

If the owner bhisch3 gets back to us and tells me it is a stoker plugged into the wall socket, then I'll just move it again !

Greg >

it is a stoker

"funky, smoldering smell"

could be you basement getting warm and cooking some mold.
or if the stove has a double wall back and top, could be nest in there, being cooked.

Ok, since it is a stoker I'll move the topic and discussion to the stoker forum. Where it should get the best exposure.

Did you use a draft meter or manometer to set up the barometric damper?? You may have some leakage out of the stove if the draft is too low with the stoker's combustion fan running.

Otherwise I'd go with the paint fumes or damp basement/mold causing the smells.

Greg

Hi bh, sounds like you didn't remove the grates and give the inside of the stove a good cleaning. Probably would be a good idea to do that and seal the back of the grate with self sticking fiberglass gasket or furnace cement. The plenum under the grate probably became filled and needs to be cleaned out. Also the entire inside of the stove needs to be wirebrushed and vacuumed, stoves that sit in basements can get moldy, the fly ash is a perfect place to attract and hold moisture.

Do a search on Wood'nCoal's posts he is rebuilding a stove very similar to yours and has already cleaned the plenum and sealed up his grate. Also as has been suggested, checking the draft is a must to make sure the stove is properly venting the combustion gases.

Have fun with your new (old) stove and make sure you keep us posted on solving your issues, there are many folks on here with experience with your type of stove.

while we are on this subject, my coal hopper seems to be pushing away from the stove any advice?

lincolnmania wrote:while we are on this subject, my coal hopper seems to be pushing away from the stove any advice?

Maybe it's full!

At the bottom by the stoker assembly or where the bolts hold it onto the side of the stove? The bottom has a gasket at one end to keep the coal from coming out of the gap by the carpet. Sometimes the hopper gets pushed out of the recess by being leaned on. Just simply unbolt it and reseat. If not that area then maybe the bolts are coming loose?

thanks for all the insight. The new (old) stove is in the basement of our new home we just built. I didnt really wire brush the inside of it, I hoped it would just burn off from the extreme heat. I have another question. Co level is now reading 47; I have been opening the door quite a bit the past few hours trying to see what size gasket I need for the door. Can this cause the spike in CO level?

Co level should be 0, open a window, shut down the stove and find out what is wrong, you are not getting enough draft or you have a leak. Something is wrong!

BK

bhisch3 wrote:thanks for all the insight. The new (old) stove is in the basement of our new home we just built. I didnt really wire brush the inside of it, I hoped it would just burn off from the extreme heat. I have another question. Co level is now reading 47; I have been opening the door quite a bit the past few hours trying to see what size gasket I need for the door. Can this cause the spike in CO level?

definitely. the door open is a BIG leak

Edit: reset the co meter now that the door has been closed for a while. If it climbs above zero, investigate, and shut down if the levels persist.

But with the other problems you are having, like the coal hopper being loose, and the gasket being warn, you should probably shut it down anyway, and do a thorough maintenance of the entire stove before using it.

replaced the gasket, levels are at zero. thanks! I am sure i'll be writing back soon!