Need Some Help on Sizing and Value of a Keystoker K6

Ok so I am in the process of buying a foreclosure and I need some assistance.

I found a really nice older Keystoker KA6 (or at least I'm 99% sure that's what it is as the tag on it is blank) that was used only 2 years in the 80's and shut down. It has been disconnected for the last 20 -25 years in a dry basement and looks to be in excellent shape inside and out. It will need some new gaskets and a little cleaning and should be good to go. I think I can purchase it for around $1000 but it will be a bit of a job to get it out of the basement it is in.

first off does this sound like a good deal? From what I have seen I think it's an excellent deal but I need a second or third opinion. Is there anything about the older units that I should look out for? I will post the only pictures I have below.

Secondly do you think it will be big enough for my application?

I can't do a heat loss calculation or anything like that because we haven't closed yet. Everything I know is based on the two inspections we did of the house. The problem is I need to act if I want this boiler.

What I do know is the house is an older 1800+ sqft farm house with little to no insulation currently. I plan to have insulation blown in very soon but right now it doesn't exist. The windows are double pane and the house is plumbed with hot water baseboard on the two main floors and 3 cast iron radiators in the basement. The baseboards are on pretty much every outside wall that is possible. It is zoned in 3 zones, Basement, main floor and upstairs. The current boiler is an old Burnham oil fired unit in the basement that as best I could find was 125,000 BTU.

The current chimney is not in the best of condition so my plan is to put the boiler in the garage about 50 feet away and pipe it into the house with insulated tubing. The garage oddly enough is well insulated.

So what do the experts think?

I would think you would be fine with that. I have a Burnham rated at 133K and used an 80k hand fired boiler for about 15 years, it actually heated the house much better than the oil boiler. Keep in mind that the oil and coal boilers operate in a very different fashion. The oil will operate by starting and stopping to meet demand. The coal will operate at a continuous output so they can be considerably undersized in comparison to conventional appliances and yet out perform them.

That K-6 should do you a real good job. That boiler looks nice. Only change is now they come with a small second blower fan that still runs when the bigger main fan cycles off...this keeps the idle fire better than with the main fan alone.
The K6 boiler vessel alone weighs 900 lbs. stripped and dry.
I know what it's like to move one up a set of basement stairs.

Just checked, that beast is rated 144K.

Thank you for the advice.

I think I'll try and snag it.

That is a lot of boiler for $1000, I'd run it.

What's wrong with the chimney? if it is in poor shape above the roofline, but good below, you should consider having it rebuilt from the roofline up. The coal boiler would keep the basement nice and warm in the winter.

The boiler should work out fine for the situation you describe. Take strong friends, strip off all excess weight, go with the best hand cart you can get and take your time. One other thing ,if there are very old wooden steps involved, take a good flashlight and look them over real hard, don't ask about it just do it. Good Luck, Mike

I have some heavy duty rolling ramps I got a few years ago. They're 8' long and have roller skate wheels all over them. They hook together to make a move long ramp. I used them to get my current Royall hand fired boiler out of the basement it was in and into my current house. That was a REAL pain. The ramps are a life saver when moving anything heavy.

Rob R. wrote: What's wrong with the chimney? if it is in poor shape above the roofline, but good below, you should consider having it rebuilt from the roofline up. The coal boiler would keep the basement nice and warm in the winter.

I'm with Rob on this, repair the chimney and put the K-6 in basement from the start.
If later you find you would like continuious heat in the garage also, then find a way.

The chimney is in poor shape the whole way down and it has no liner in it.

I also would like to put it in the garage to keep the dirt outside and it will make loading coal easier. Heating the garage is an added bonus.

Just remember that gasoline fumes & fire = ,if you put it in the garage with gasoline powered units put it up on a pedestal 18" off the floor.

windyhill4.2 wrote:Just remember that gasoline fumes & fire = ,if you put it in the garage with gasoline powered units put it up on a pedestal 18" off the floor.

The Fire Marshall and insurance company won't buy it no matter how high you put it. You would need a seperate room to put it in the garage. It belongs in the basement and will dry out and warm the basement and floors, boner bonus.

It is actually ok with the ins.co. & fire code in Pa. if it is on a 16 " pedestal but I don't like the fire & gasoline fume reaction & that is why our heating unit is outside. I do not know the codes & requirements for other states.

I know of at least a dozen people with coal boilers in the garage around here.

It actually makes more sense to me. If something were to happen, my garage would burn down and that's it. If something were to happen and it was in the basement, the house would most likely be a total loss.

What about those that use a coal oil combo unit? They usually have the boiler in the same vicinity as one or two large tanks of fuel oil

My garage will be lucky if there is a 5 gal can in there and no cars will be stored in it.

For what it's worth, I vote with Rob that effort to tune up the chimney and put the boiler in your basement would be effort well-spent. It can change (for the better) the whole feel of the house in cold weather, as was the case in our old house. You lose that benefit and introduce costs, inefficiencies and complications by putting the boiler elsewhere.

I also vote with McGiever that moving a KA-6 is serious business. I'd be more comfortable with a small number of people using capable equipment (e.g., an auto wrecker at the bulkhead) than a bunch of tough guys who think they're going to muscle it out. A KA-6 is not only heavy, but also relatively tall and top-heavy.

In addition to the 2nd blower, I think the new units come with an extended flange for mounting the DHW coil. It probably isn't an issue for a lightly-used unit, but as with many boilers some of the older ones need attention if long-term gasket leaks (concealed by the jackets) produce corrosion.

Mike