Susquehanna - RSDB-06 Questions

I have a few questions regarding the Susquehanna furnace I just purchased:
1) There seems to be no control for cutting out the stoker in the event that the unit runs too hot - is this true?
2) I have a blocking plate for the hopper (assumed to run only 1 of the 2 stokers) - will this hurt the efficiency of the furnace? - i.e. will the blower pull too much heat from the unit to keep up? Also, will I save coal use by using this plate assuming that I only need half of the furnace's heating BTU's or is it more efficient to run both and not as long per cycle?
3) I assumed the hopper will hold about 120lbs of coal. The manual states that the unit can be set to run 48 hours to 72 hours. Does this mean that on a cold day, I can potentially be burning 120lbs of coal? It seems excessive.
4) The manual states that I should have 1" of ash at the end during a high fire, but how much fire should I have?
5) The manual gives no input on what the fire should look like during an idle fire. I know that I should be stoking enough to stay burning, but how do I know if I'm stoking too much other than unburnt coal in the pan.
6) What is a typical stoker stroke adjustment level for this unit? -there is no rheostat for the stoker control, just stroke

I'm sure I have more questions to come, but these are on my mind right now. I'm not up and running just yet because I'm waitng for ducting to be hooked up. I'm sure I'll know more in a couple of weeks on how it will run.

Hello pccon. if you read some of the 'stokers, boilers, furnaces forum, you will find lots of information pertaining to your Reading stoker.

A stoker stove is pretty limited as to how much heat it can create,, the size of the stokers's firebed [the grate] limits the amount of heat that can be produced...So you really don't need an overheat sensor or control.

The amount of ash at the end of the grate determines the full burn.. you don't want burning coal to drop off the end of the grate.. you want coal to burn fully on the grate... So if your grate is 9" long, subract 1" and that will give you the max fire.. but it is much easier to look at the ash and estimate it's length, since it is the determining item.

An idle fire is usually about 1/2" to 1" of fire, the rest of the grate would be ash..

Most stokers are adjustable for stroke,, this determines how much coal is pushed onto the grate.. Changing the speed is not a good idea with your Triburner, because it changes the fan speed too. you want max fan speed for the most air..

Once you see your unit in opperation, you will be able to determine if you need to use one or both burners.. it will depend on your heating needs.. Look in the stoker forum for posts about the LL Hyfire stoves,, they have two burners too..

Hope this helps.. a lot of your questions will be answered within the first week or two of your first burn.. you will soon have the answers, from experience..

Greg L

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Thanks for the input. I have done some research on here for quite some time. I did just get the thing lit last night and haven't really had a chance to work with it too much just yet. One thing I was worried about though is that when it was idling, I don't see any flames, just red coals. Is this normal? I'm worried about it going out.

Usually you won't see the flames unless you have fresh coal added to the fire, and the combustion fan is running.. with the stoker system your stove has,, the Triburner stoker, there is no combustion blower running when the fire is idling.. just chimney draft is pulling a small amount of air throught the coal bed.

You will see flames only when the stoker is feeding and the fan running. Many people add a full time combustion fan to the Triburner design, to make is more like the other stokers in use in other makes of stoves.. this is NOT a necessity, but it may reduce the amount of unburnt coal in your ash, and increase the stove's efficiency..

A small fire is OK, just as long as your stoker feeds it often enough to keep it 'reved up' and you have enough draft to keep air pulling through the coal.

Greg L

I was in contact with Neil at Coal-Trol and he gave me a dayton blower part number that will fit right over the opening for the full-time combustion fan upgrade. I plan to add the blower and a Coal Trol in the near future, but right now I just want to get some heat into the house and not have to buy propane. I appreciate the help and my next questions will probably be about the ash, but I'm going to continue reading first. Thanks again.

You're welcome, let us know how it is working, and post a before and after photo of the fan install.. there are a lot of Triburner stokers in use.

Greg L