Koker Fire-Up Questions

just ran her for the first time, all seems well , I see on the grate -first 3 inches are ash- the next 2 inches are burning ok then the next couple of inches toward hopper has the blue flame allmost to the grate input.. is this too close to the hopper? the metal near the feed motor is hot ..and is there a cure? otherwise this thing works amazing fan cycles right on temp, blows strong.

Everything is fine. I felt the same way I first fired mine up, but the dealer assured me that it was normal. Good luck with the Koker. It really is a fine furnace.

The next time you have the unit shut down, and the grate cleaned off, note where the holes in the grate start.. this is where the combustion air is getting to the coal fire.. you should not have fire above the top of the holes. If you do have fire on the grate above the holes, then combustion air is getting to the coal from somewhere..
This unwanted air can come from the joint where the cast iron grate joins the coal chute from the coal-feed mechanism.. this joint is supposed to be sealed with furnace cement and often a thin fireproof gasket.. Or the air can be coming through the coal hopper, if the coal level is very low and you have very strong draft.

Hope this helps.. Greg L

thanks guys I will give that a once over, all worked great, just getting used to it.