Horrible Furnace Problems

The nylon cam on the stoker motor is clearly broken. The shaft probably is turning and the pin holding the cam in place is probably producing some range of motion of the push block.

There is no excuse for your coal and coal stove/furnace dealers behavior in my opinion. It would have been very easy to diagnose this if they had made the effort to visit you after you called them if they installed it for you.

It might be a good idea for you to post your problems on the coal quality/coal dealer section of the forum as well as posting this dealers name here as this would be a huge opportunity to expose and influence this "dealer" due to their poor customer service and force them to help you if they value "their business and potential loss of goodwill" in the marketplace.

If that does not work, a call to the manufacturer at "Keystoker" in Schuykill Haven PA. will get you the help you need the same day you call. Here is there main number for your use 1-570-385-3873.
I am unsure if they are open this Monday with the Christmas holiday being on Sunday.

Thank you! so after many go rounds with did you do this or that, is it this or that the company said if I wanted to send the burner unit back they would rebuild it. Well a lot of good that's going to do me since we are in the middle of winter I would have no heat. My dealer is now trying to get them to send me a new unit then I return the old unit, one caveat? they want my credit card so if it doesn't fall under warranty I get billed.

Oh Merry Christmas to me. Never Ever buy a Keystoker Lite furnace it's garbage, or maybe I'm just the lucky one and got the lemon.

Let's see what happens here with the dealer and manufacturer. Bashing them is not likely to solve your problem. Anthracite devices are incredibly rugged and reliable by nature, Keystokers fit in that catagory. The problems you experienced are either environmental or maintenance (lack of) induced. I wish you the best of luck.

Stokers are pretty good. Getting them dialed in properly is often a challenge that many are not prepared for when they purchase one.

Can you imagine how many folks (including me) come to this site and don't have a permanent manometer installed on their stoves? Air in, draft out, feed rate and cycle. Once these are setup properly, just monitor and maintain.

Then all you pretty much have to do is feed it coal and get rid of the ashes.

If you've noticed how eager everyone is to help, it's because most of us have been there, done that, got that trophy

If you can be patient and work through the initial setup and dialing in/troubleshooting, you will be rewarded with a very reliable and solid heat that is fairly reasonable to operate and has many of the conveniences of other fuels- turn the thermostat up or down, be happy.

I just joined here last night to look for information with a similar problem. I'll post mine seperately in a little while so I don't hijack your post but couldn't resist jumping in and sympathizing. A couple mornings ago I woke up to find my fire burning way up the ramp to under the hopper, a big thick pile of ash on the ramp that hadn't been pushed down and a totally melted cam. I feel a bit "taken" as I've only used the stove for 2 weeks, bought it "fully rebuilt with new parts" from a local dealer whose first solution when I called was that he'll take it back and bring me a new stove for another $800 which I don't have. I asked him please, can't it be fixed but it sounds like it might cost as much to fix it. He said I'll be responsible for the service call, labor, parts, etc. Oh and that is when he can come because I live in the "boonies" and my driveway is probably too rutty and snowy and icy for his van and he says he can't help much if his tools are way out by the road. I want to curl up in a ball and cry. LOL

raen wrote:I just joined here last night to look for information with a similar problem. I'll post mine seperately in a little while so I don't hijack your post but couldn't resist jumping in and sympathizing. A couple mornings ago I woke up to find my fire burning way up the ramp to under the hopper, a big thick pile of ash on the ramp that hadn't been pushed down and a totally melted cam. I feel a bit "taken" as I've only used the stove for 2 weeks, bought it "fully rebuilt with new parts" from a local dealer whose first solution when I called was that he'll take it back and bring me a new stove for another $800 which I don't have. I asked him please, can't it be fixed but it sounds like it might cost as much to fix it. He said I'll be responsible for the service call, labor, parts, etc. Oh and that is when he can come because I live in the "boonies" and my driveway is probably too rutty and snowy and icy for his van and he says he can't help much if his tools are way out by the road. I want to curl up in a ball and cry. LOL

Welcome, yes please start another thread.
That stinks, sounds like it wasn't thoroughly checked, could be a gasket/seal problem by the sounds of it, the back of the grate and seams need to be sealed properly, or the grates had some rough rust spots or something that didn't allow the ash to push off the grate. The draft/baro damper needs to be set correctly also. I've had keystoker for 15 years and never had a problem with it burning back. A lot of little things that need to be checked/adjusted for proper operation.