Old Alaska Kodiak Stoker II Rebuild

 
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traderfjp
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Post by traderfjp » Thu. Sep. 18, 2008 11:01 pm

Road flares are more fun. Charcoal works good. I would use band iron bent into a horsehoe shape at the bottom of the grate to keep the charcoal from sliding off. Now get back in there and get that fire lit. toothy


 
syncmaster
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Post by syncmaster » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 6:40 am

It's interesting looking at the picture on page 2 of your old burning grate vs. the new one.
the old one looks curved like the grate on my Harman VF30000..... the new grate looks flat.

I'll post a picture of my Harman VF3000 grate

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Post by traderfjp » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 6:48 am

The grate also looks a lot larger than my Alaska 3. That sucker must really throw out the heat. What is the BTU ratings.

 
syncmaster
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Post by syncmaster » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 8:02 am

The area with the holes measures 9.25 wide by 7 inches deep.
The specs say 5k- 95K +

 
arcticcatmatt
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Post by arcticcatmatt » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 2:10 pm

my old grate is identical to the new one. Its just the discoloration that makes it look "bent".

Everyone is out of "mice". They said the supplier's machine broke and he is making them by hand and is behind.

A place 30 mins away had some crap in bags. I bought 3 and will give it a shot tonight with pictures haha.

I am shocked how this stove works, the top blower just blows air over the top of the stove. Seems like there would be a more efficient way than that.

 
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Rick 386
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Post by Rick 386 » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 5:46 pm

Matt,

As I told you, I have one of those old Stoker II's.

I light mine this way: I first lay down a piece of newspaper to keep the floor clean. Then I take 3 charcoal brickets and smash them with a heavy hammer into pieces similar in size to rice. I fold up the newspaper to make a "V" to dump the broken pieces into a ziplock bag. I add some lighter fluid or kero or diesel to them and she=ake the bag to cover everything.

Then I take that piece of newspaper and use that to preheat the chimney. I then dump some of the brickets on the coal shovel. Light them and put the shovel by the flue to get them burning well. About 1-2 minutes is all that is needed. After the charcoal is burning, I dump that on the grate. Add some coal on top of the charcoal, close the door, and turn on the combustion fan. (You will see why as sparks shoot towards the door) Make sure that you are indeed feeding coal with the stoker mechanism. Then sit by the door and watch the fire. In about a total of 10 minutes you will have the whole width of the grate burning.

Really simple.

I PM'd you my cell number. Call me tonight if you are having any problems. I'll be heading to Delaware for the weekend and will only have cell access.

Rick

 
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Post by arcticcatmatt » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 10:31 pm

^Thanks! I will give that a shot next time! Cell not needed... check out the good stuff :)

I burnt up one of those bags from the store and got "some" coal going. I had the fans going but it just would not take. It also sounded louder than it needed to be. I tore what you guys are calling the squirrel cage (it has the stoker mechnism on it) apart on my workbench. I lubed the center shaft and cleaned the unit out. I put it back together and plugged in and what do you know it works 10x better.

I got another bag of stuff and lit it up.. 15 mins later I took these!
Image
Image
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I am wondering about the little fan by the electronics. What makes that turn on and why would it? I am also seeing coal on the rear part of the stoker part that slides in and out. Its on the rear of it and when it pulls out, there is coal on it, when it pushes in, some falls off on the floor behind the stove. You might be able to see it in this picture.
Image

All the new gaskets went in with ease of course. I failed to take a picture of that. The glass.. well that I just used a wire wheel on the inside. I don't need to see a fire, but now I can see a glow at least. While the unit was heating the paint was smoking. The top 50% of the stove even looked wet, then dry (just as someone told me it would do). The bottom still looks the same. Maybe with more heating it will all even out.

I have a few ideas for this stove that could make it more efficient. I am thinking if you blow more air across the top it will be more efficient. Maybe even around the sides of it. I am also going to do the intake fan mod and post pictures. I found the fan at the store the other night.

I have to get some exhaust pipe for the house to go into the chimney. I need to find out if single wall is ok or do I need double wall. That post above about preheating the chimney, never heard of that. Does everyone do that?

I now have 650 into the unit and I know I could get more than that out of it any day of the week.

Thanks for the words from everyone. I am excited to run this and I am excited to keep trying to come up with improvements for it. I am a designer after all so maybe something good will come out of me having this thing. Ordering coal next month. I just got wood for my Russian fireplace (masonry fireplace).


 
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Post by traderfjp » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 10:37 pm

Russian fireplaces are very cool. I remember reading about them. Congrats on getting your stove fired. Let me know how the paint inside the stove held up. The stove looks tremendous compared to what it looked like in the beginning. That sucker is going to sweat you out of the house. Enjoy!

 
arcticcatmatt
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Post by arcticcatmatt » Fri. Sep. 19, 2008 10:40 pm

^Thanks!

I will check the inside paint tomorrow. I bet it flaked off...

I forgot to add, I am going to tear apart the fan that blows across the top of the stove too. I want that to work better. I got my camera and will continue taking more.. don't want to bore anyone.

 
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CoalHeat
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Post by CoalHeat » Sat. Sep. 20, 2008 8:00 am

That sideways mounted fan cools the stoker mechanism, it should be running all the time.

If you see coal on top the the moving piece of the stoker (the "carpet") check just inside the housing where the carpet slides. There should be a "wiper" in there that prevents coal from exiting when the carpet moves outwards.

Fines regularly fall out of my stove's stoker from the underside of the carpet and fall onto the floor, I vacuum it up every so often. It's in the cellar so it's not a problem, but it would annoy me if it was happening if the stove was upstairs.

 
Matthaus
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Post by Matthaus » Sat. Sep. 20, 2008 8:06 am

A small tip on fines escaping from the space where the carpet and the frame that supports the hopper meet:

Remove the hopper, then take a piece of flat fiberglass window gasket material and RTV it to the area above where the carpet moves back and forth. This will effectively plug the gap and keep the coal in the stove. This area originally had a wiper with metal edge installed from the factory, but this pis usually long gone by the time any of us get the stove! :D

 
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CoalHeat
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Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
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Post by CoalHeat » Sat. Sep. 20, 2008 9:32 am

Mine still has it, but how effective it is--who knows? The fines on my stove seem to be exiting from under the carpet, I'll check it to be sure.

It's about due for a shut down to clean the stove/pipes and I'll pull the stoker to lube everything and check it over.

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arcticcatmatt
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Post by arcticcatmatt » Sat. Sep. 20, 2008 12:35 pm

Thanks for the information about the "wiper". I will see if I can fab something in there. If I can't, I will buy new.

That little fan never runs. I will see if I can remove it and get testing it. I may need to replace that.

About the russian fireplace (slight side track). 61 degrees in the house this morning ment time to get that a little warmed up.
Image
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I am now trying to decide on single wall or double wall pipe. I am trying to find out what code is.

 
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CoalHeat
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Baseburners & Antiques: Sears Signal Oak 15 & Andes Kitchen Range
Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
Other Heating: Fisher Fireplace Insert

Post by CoalHeat » Sat. Sep. 20, 2008 9:32 pm

How does that fireplace work? Are there air vents for heat? Interesting.

 
arcticcatmatt
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Post by arcticcatmatt » Mon. Sep. 22, 2008 10:44 am

^ The fireplace works by capturing the heat. I just bought the house 4 months ago and this is the first time I have used the stove. I have spoken to others with one and they say they are amazing and efficient. The guy that I bought the house from said he loved it and its efficient.

You start a short, hot fire in the morning with the draft gate open and door open. When its reduced to almost coals, you bank them towards the back and almost close the draft gate. Leave about an inch so the light smoke can still get out.

I started that small fire there and 2 hrs later it was out and coals. I banked them and closed the door and the draft gate.. 10 hrs later I still had coals! The brick was still HOT also. You have to start out with small fires so you don't crack the brick and you take your time getting it up to temp. Its super efficient because even though there is no fire, its emitting heat all day.

The only bad part is that it takes awhile to get it up to temp. Its not a good stove to take a little chill off because it takes almost one day for the bricks to get hot. I also had to find a chimney place that would clean it. They are coming in a month and charge 175 an hour.

They burn squat for wood. I guess they work great until you get into the super cold days.. then it has problems keeping up and needs help. I added a coal stove to the basement for those times. Its neat to see the fire go out at 9 a.m. and at 7 p.m. the brick is still hot and radiating heat. I can't wait to really test it. I am done firing it for now. I just did 3 small fires here in the past 2-3 days to test it a little.

My brother in law has a regular wood stove and burns 30+ face cord. He always has to keep the fire going. Not with this. The guy told me he burned 7 face cord a year.

The diagrams online show the insides of one.. they are like a maze.


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