KA6 Keeping up Without a Problem

Rob R. wrote:

coalkirk wrote:Oliver couldn't agree more. If your boiler is loafing today, you have an oversized boiler.

Or a stoker set too aggressively.

I forgot to mention, when I went down to turn up my feed by one turn, I also checked the ash at the end of grates. It was within 1-1/4 from the end. I would say the Kaa-2 was also very near it's capacity, yet holding it's own.

Rob R. wrote:Does the KAA-2 produce your domestic hot water also?

No! The primary loop is plumbed for it, circulator and all. The feed water is also ready. All I need is the tank, and run a line over to the in-feed of the hot water tank. Electric hot water tank works so well, I may, or may not ever buy the in-direct hot water tank. If I were heating hot water with the Kaa-2, it might have fallen on it's face today. Maybe, maybe not. It will be on a priority switch.

EarthWindandFire wrote:My Grandfather always used the simple rule-of-thumb that you need 35 BTU's for every square foot. Its surprisingly accurate, Oliver for example needs about 59,500 BTU's according to the rule. His KAA-2 generates 76,000 net BTU's based on Keystokers information. The KA-6 is much larger at 122,000 net BTU's and has double the water capacity.

That's similar to the old 10 Watts per sq-ft rule of thumb for all electric homes in Ohio. There are 3.412 BTU's in one Watt.

But depending upon the age of the home, the tightness of the home (insulation levels, windows, doors, etc...), and the location of the home this can more realistically run anywhere from 12 Watts to 6 Watts per sq-ft.

I have learned a great deal reading all the posts you guys put on here . I now know at least the 110 is enough boiler for my heat and dhw , the problem I had last night with a -14 and a pretty good wind, the temp. went from 72 down to 67 or so . The boiler had no problem keeping up to 185 where I now have it set ,but I just don't have enough baseboard for that extreme weather . It doesn't help any that wife has put book cases , chairs etc. in front of the baseboard I'm sure . The wind is still blowing but the temp is now -5 and the house is back up to the 70 plus area .

hcarlow wrote:I have learned a great deal reading all the posts you guys put on here . I now know at least the 110 is enough boiler for my heat and dhw , the problem I had last night with a -14 and a pretty good wind, the temp. went from 72 down to 67 or so . The boiler had no problem keeping up to 185 where I now have it set ,but I just don't have enough baseboard for that extreme weather . It doesn't help any that wife has put book cases , chairs etc. in front of the baseboard I'm sure . The wind is still blowing but the temp is now -5 and the house is back up to the 70 plus area .

I have all of the same problems. Only enough feet of baseboards to deliver about 77,000 BTU's (with some of that for the garage zone loop), and furniture in front of many of the baseboards.

hcarlow wrote:I have learned a great deal reading all the posts you guys put on here . I now know at least the 110 is enough boiler for my heat and dhw , the problem I had last night with a -14 and a pretty good wind, the temp. went from 72 down to 67 or so . The boiler had no problem keeping up to 185 where I now have it set ,but I just don't have enough baseboard for that extreme weather . It doesn't help any that wife has put book cases , chairs etc. in front of the baseboard I'm sure . The wind is still blowing but the temp is now -5 and the house is back up to the 70 plus area .

My wife also has the book cases, curtains, file cabinets, furniture, and anything else you can think of, blocking the radiation. It doesn't bother her. As long as the house stays warm, why poke the hornets nest. Maybe that's why John Siegenthaler says to take out 15% heat factor when figuring radiation.

Great to hear yer plenty warm C12! I had the hand fed loaded to gills this morning at 2:30am. Still hammering out the Btus. I had the female unit open the primary up some around 7:00 this morning.

CoalKirk, is that remote bbq the best thing since sliced bread or what!! I'm sure you've noticed I use that same one. Love it!

The thermostats are at set point [71 deg.] the outside temp was at 11 degrees when I got up today and the wind was twisting swirls off the top of the snow. The little KAA2 went thru the coal last night but stood the test. This property is 2450 sq.ft. and has 96 feet of baseboard as I recall. The design temp in the calculation was zero degrees. I suppose I am approaching the limits but one would not know it by the system performance thus far. I can't say enough good things regarding the smallest member of the Keystoker family. Mike

Thanks Lightning! Glad you guys are keeping it warm too! Looks like Tuesday is going to be a 60 Degree Day kind of day. That's going to take about 150 pounds of coal by my calculations

Lightning wrote:Great to hear yer plenty warm C12! I had the hand fed loaded to gills this morning at 2:30am. Still hammering out the Btus. I had the female unit open the primary up some around 7:00 this morning.

CoalKirk, is that remote bbq the best thing since sliced bread or what!! I'm sure you've noticed I use that same one. Love it!

Yes I love that remote BBQ thermometer! I keep it on my night stand most nights. Everytime I woke up last night I looked at to see how the boiler was doing. It's very comforting to see it purring right along. Tonight its supposed to be about 0 here but the wind has stopped.

stovepipemike wrote:The thermostats are at set point [71 deg.] the outside temp was at 11 degrees when I got up today and the wind was twisting swirls off the top of the snow. The little KAA2 went thru the coal last night but stood the test. This property is 2450 sq.ft. and has 96 feet of baseboard as I recall. The design temp in the calculation was zero degrees. I suppose I am approaching the limits but one would not know it by the system performance thus far. I can't say enough good things regarding the smallest member of the Keystoker family. Mike

Hi Mike, I still have all my figures from installing my system. I'm 1700 square feet, and 76 feet of baseboard. I too would have never known by performance. I knew the Kaa-2 was running quite steady. So I started looking at temps, gages, thermostats, and circulating zones. The house temps were very comfortable. Glad to see your Kaa-2 is performing as well. I went through coal as well. However, I'm still 24 hours between tendings, as always this time of year.

Would you guys have bought the KA-4 if it was available instead?

EarthWindandFire wrote:Would you guys have bought the KA-4 if it was available instead?

Yes, the Ka-4 is what I wanted. That's what my neighbor has. KEYSTOKER discontinued it when the Kaa-2 came out. I think KEYSTOKER realizes now that there is still a need for the Ka-4. Something in-between the Kaa-2, and Ka-6. The Ka-6 was way bigger than I needed. So I went with the Kaa-2. I have no complaints what so ever with the Kaa-2. It's been a great little boiler. It still makes me smile. It's just knowing that I'm using close to the full range of it's performance, which is supposed to be good. I know the Ka-4 would handle my house, future garage, as well as the DHW, and still have a little extra. If I were to do things over, I MAY have bought the Ka-6, put it in it's own out building, and heat the house, shop, and future garage. That thought did cross my mind before purchasing the Kaa-2. But, I really didn't want another out building in my yard. Not to mention the Thousands of dollars more to do the Bigger Central Boiler, in it's Own Building. Am I disappointed in my decision?, NO!

hcarlow wrote:I have learned a great deal reading all the posts you guys put on here . I now know at least the 110 is enough boiler for my heat and dhw , the problem I had last night with a -14 and a pretty good wind, the temp. went from 72 down to 67 or so . The boiler had no problem keeping up to 185 where I now have it set ,but I just don't have enough baseboard for that extreme weather . It doesn't help any that wife has put book cases , chairs etc. in front of the baseboard I'm sure . The wind is still blowing but the temp is now -5 and the house is back up to the 70 plus area .

If you have pets, or clean house like I do [once a year, needed or not ], then you probably need to remove the covers off the baseboards, and vacuum the fins clean, even a few 'dust bunnies' will restrict the airflow over the fins.

If you have thick, padded carpeting run right up to the baseboards, it may be restricting the opening under the finned tube.

Hope this helps..
Greg L