K6 Spreader Plate Adjustment

on the keystoker k6 there is a spreader plate that sets the hieght of the coal that is being pushed onto the burn grate . the plate is adjustable . has anyone ever tried to lower the plate when you burn rice coal in the k6 . the factory recommends burning buckwheat , but that is tough for me to get . I am trying to get a little more complete burn of the coal .

Does your Ka6 have the full time combustion blower?? Keystoker has a retrofit kit to add a full time combustion blower to aid in more complete burning and reduce outfires in warmer weather.

I can't see how adjusting the spreader plate will help with more complete burn of you coal. Adjusting the timed stoker burns, the adjustment of the barodamper, and having a minimum amount of continous air to the fire. Increasing combustion air to the idling fire will most likely decrease the amount of unburnt coal.

Greg L

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I do have the contstant air motor on the boiler LS. You said to have min air flow on that at idle ? Thank you for your reply

coalburnin wrote:I do have the contstant air motor on the boiler LS. You said to have min air flow on that at idle ? Thank you for your reply

On my old KA -4 .I found it burned better in the cold weather by removing the constant air motor and reinstalling the original plate back on . The squirrel fan worked better and more efficient that way . The constant air motor was much better during the warm weather. Dave

You can experiment if you wish. I found with buck you can lower it too much to the point that the coal does not feed properly and you can see compression of the spring on the feed rod. I have not experimented with rice. Keep in mind that if you thin the fire out your maximum heat output will most likely go down a bit. If you are adventurous and want to experiment, loosen the two bolts that hold the throat strap and then bump them down or up using a wood block and small hammer. A little bit of time and observation you may find the sweet spot. Good luck

gaw wrote:You can experiment if you wish. I found with buck you can lower it too much to the point that the coal does not feed properly and you can see compression of the spring on the feed rod. I have not experimented with rice. Keep in mind that if you thin the fire out your maximum heat output will most likely go down a bit. If you are adventurous and want to experiment, loosen the two bolts that hold the throat strap and then bump them down or up using a wood block and small hammer. A little bit of time and observation you may find the sweet spot. Good luck

Glen,
Where is your plate set? I notice that mine was down all the way and I am burning buckwheat also. I never realized that it was adjustable. Are there any benefits to having the plate higher?
Thanks,
Jon

My thought was when I started out with this adjustment was to lower the depth of the coal going down the grate . becouse the spreader plate is set to allow for buckwheat , keystoker recommends buck , when I am burning rice the fresh coal coming on the grate was to the top of the side of the grate (sidewall). I keep thinking that air going thru the rice as its burned is slowed becouse of the depth , possibly creating some unburnt coal . evrything else on the boiler is to spec ie baro , drft , ect . A previous reply said they took off the cont. run air motor when it got cold . One thing that has baffled me is that when the main blower went on it seemed like air was coming out around the area of the air intakes , my air door to the continous blower was open all the way . I closed it about half way ( about where it was when I got it ) now when the main blower goes on I can really feel the draw of air into the intake . ill try this and see what it all looks like when I dump the ash pan on sat