Alaska Kodiak Opinions Wanted

I am looking for feedback from Alaska Kodiak handfed owners , likes , dislikes etc, performance of the stove with and without the hopper. Thanks

I'm quite happy with mine. I've got the hopper. I think there are some on the forum that have used their's both ways, so hopefully they'll chime in. I especially like that it idles very low in warm weather with pea coal. Only negative I can say about it is that I need to get in there with a poker and drag the ashes out of the corners just about every day. (Square stove,. round grates.) But it only takes a minute or less, so its probably no worse than most other stoves in that respect. I think I spend about 5 minutes tending it in the evenings (10 if emptying the ashes) and about 3 minutes in the morning. Burns both pea and nut well. I prefer pea in it until the temps drop below 20, mostly because its easier to shovel. I've been playing around with a used Waterford that I installed at the mother-in-laws, and it made me really appreciate how trouble-free the Kodiak is.

I got mine a couple of months ago and have been burning for around 6 weeks. I prefer a hand-fired due to power outages. So far I'm pleased with it. I have the hopper also. My old stove had one also and it's a great feature. Your don't have to handfeed I also got the blower, which helps a lot...blows out the hot air between the top and load door. I agree with Braindead on the pea in warmer weather. That's what I used and was amazed at how low it would idle and maintain a draft Daily operation of the Kodiak seems almost too easy sometimes.

Only negative I can say about it is that I need to get in there with a poker and drag the ashes out of the corners just about every day. (Square stove,. round grates.) But it only takes a minute or less, so its probably no worse than most other stoves in that respect.

Braindead - Can I please get some "tips" from you? Now that I've been learning the stove I'd like some input. I've read about other Kodiak users that get their stoves warmer than what I've been able to. I have thermos on my stove pipe and stove. Stove pipe temp is usually 120-200 and stove about 100 degrees hotter respectively. What should they be at when it's warmer or colder out? The other day - stove was going fine, but didn't seem to be putting out heat - the house was 60. My coal is burning well, ash is powdery, draft is good. I'm shaking like I should and poke every now and then. Is there a trick to poking? It's different doing it through the hopper.
Also, how where should the front drafts be set under different conditions? Got the bi-metal thermostat, but don't really understand it, so I've only been using the front draft.
One more, been tending twice a day. Can I get away with that when it gets real cold - like zero? or does it need to be shook 3x a day?
Sorry, for so many questions, just trying to compare others experience to mine.
Lola - feel free to write if you read this.

I believe the key to getting the stove to put out heat is indeed getting the air up and thru the coal.

depending on quality and size I found that they perform when you shake the ash off of them!

and a straight 1/2" to 5/8" steel rod bout 3 ft long when shoved/wiggled down thru and to the grate, 2-3 spots to the left and right of the hopper as well as 3 spots in the front ALWAYS improved the burn.

I'm starting on my second heating season with mine, and I've been pleased with it's performance so far. I'll agree with the other comments from Braindead regarding the ash buildup in the corners. I made myself a poking rod with a 90 degree bend on the end to poke up through the bottom of the grate in the corners of the stationary piece. I also poke down through the top loading door as Perky and Poconoeagle mentioned.
I haven't burned anything but chestnut, so I can't comment on using pea. I've thought about buying a few bags to try , but haven't done so yet.

Perky, glad to hear the Kodiak is working well for you. When it gets really cold, (0 or less) you should still be able to tend twice a day, as long as you fill the hopper so it has plenty of fuel. That said, I usually tend mine 3 times a day because my schedule allows me to. I have let it go longer, and there's no danger of it burning out, although the heat output may start to drop off some with the longer span between tending. Just have to give it more air so the output increases with the colder weather. You will have to dump ashes more often, because of the increased coal consumption.
So if your schedule only allows you two tendings per day, you should be OK.

Long time lurker and first time poster here.Lots of great info on here.I bought my Kodiak back in September and it's been going with 1 match ever since.I don't have the hopper in mine but I agree with having to poke the ashes from below.Mostly the corners.My routine is get up in morning,open up draft and while the fire is building a bit I take the ashes out that I shook down from the night before.Put ash pan back and shake down.Poke the corners and also the dump part of the grate since shaking doesn't seem to get them all.By now fire is really rippin and I open the top and poke the coal down from the top a bit so it settles.Load back up with 1 hod full of nut and wait about 10 min for it to build again.I also keep the slide door open for the shaker handle.Put another hod of coal in and let it take off then close slide and cut down the draft to about 1/4 for my stove.Then about 9pm I do the same thing all over again .Real strenuous isn't it .Very happy with it.Also I went away for 3 days and when I got home there was still a fire going in it preserving my 1 match status

I used to burn wood to go along with the oil burner but as has been said by so many like myself never again,why didn't I switch sooner .I also just bought and installed an old Kodiak wood/coal convertable stove.It's pretty much the size of Harmans SF-250.I'll post some pics of it on another post.

Mike

I got mine last year without a hopper and later installed the hopper. Here is the story Alaska Kodiak Hopper?. I keep meaning to type up detailed observations but haven't gotten around to it. To keep it short - or maybe not - I heartily recommend the hopper. Burn is much more consistent, especially if you don't let it get more than half empty. I was getting swings of 100-200F when adding coal, now it is maybe 50F. Keep your coal dry. Shaking is much more effective due to the weight of the unburned coal, we also developed a lot of ash high in the stove before the hopper was installed. Now getting a much more complete burn, almost no unburned coal with the hopper (I assume from better air flow), there was quite a bit without.

The downsides are less heat. Without the hopper I was getting a stove temp of 650F was no problem, 500-550F is all I can get with the hopper, although the risk of over fire ( is that the term ) is less. This was only noticeable if it was extremely cold (<15) and windy. It won't burn as long with the hopper, it holds less coal. Produces more dust. As for cleaning, the hopper is in the way, no getting around it . This year instead of proudly burning from Nov through March, I will let the stove go out once a month and clear the grate and rear baffle ( need to pull the pipe).

We've been using the stove as our primary heat source, with a fan behind it. While we do keep the house cool , furnace thermostat set to 64F, we used less than an eighth of a tank of oil last year. Heating 1900 sq/ft farmhouse and for most of the winter it was near 70F. It was not easy to convince my wife this stove was economical/safe/easy to care for, now she cuddles up to it more than she does me .

These remarks resemble my stove! I just noticed this discussion and I'll throw my two bits in. With a rough start in September, (repeated thanks to my mentors here), my Alaska hopper model has been burning away as my sole source of heat. Among lessons learned is that ash is the enemy. Twice a day I shake, poke, shake again. I find the two shaking cycles are necessary to expel all the ash--the first to get rid of what has accumulated on the bottom of the fire, and the second to expel the ash that was delivered to the bottom of the fire by poking. My esteemed tutor showed me how to poke with the intent of driving the ash down to the grate. This method has allowed me to maintain a respectable fire of stove temp 500 to 700 when needed. With one shaking before poking it seemed 200 to 300 was the norm.

I've also opted to keep the stove top up for more heat delivery. Perhaps if I had the fan option, this would not be necessary. As it is, I've got a small fan behind the fireplace-installed stove set back into the fireplace cavity blowing outwards into the room. That makes a difference.

Perky, the way I use the bi-metal is this: I find the level at which I want it to idle, (for me, the little screw on the knob points to 3 o'clock). The way I found that level was monitor the tension on the chain connected to the door when the fire was burning on a good idle, and when it was just on the verge of pulling, that was the setting. I never touched the bi-metal after that. I adjust the draft with the two front vents when I'm home, and close the front vents completely when I leave for work, relying on the bi-metal to "keep the home fires burning." This routine has been working so well, I've even stopped looking through the front window as soon as I get home to make sure the fire's still going.

Sound like a good idea to have an L-shaped poker to occasionally poke from the bottom. I've been using a device which doesn't allow full access to the grates--a knitting needle!

I'mna run home today, whip that ash door open, shake like a banshee, relentlessly poke, and shake again leaving the ash door open for a bit. Its gittin down right COLD!

Any one know what the blower costs to add?
Ours gets tended twice a day until it gets cold. Then it is three to four times a day to keep the temp from dropping.

Thanks to all for the poking tips - nice and comfy now
Lola - I have my bi-metal setting at 12 o'clock and leave my front draft open just a touch when at work or out. Guess I sort of knew what I was doing Know what you mean about "looking through the front window as soon as I get home to make sure the fire's still going". Did that for years with my old stove. I'm still doing that, but am quite pleasantly surprised when I do.

Any one know what the blower costs to add?

I have the blower, ordered it with the stove. Cost $120. Works great - blows the hot air from between the top and load door. Really circulates it well. I use mine as my heat source also. Stove is in basement, so I don't even hear it. Even use it to dry my hair

I replaced my EFEL KAMINAR after 20 years of trouble free operation. I was getting concerned about the cemented joints, and 2 years ago some kind of stimulus check came in for $1400 so I figured I'd spend it here in PA by buying a Alaska Kodiak. Great decision! Each has its strong points, I think the EFEL was more efficient due to the design, stack temp was never more than 200 degrees due to the exhaust design, but was WAY dirtier due to the slicing knife method of shaking.
The Kodiak took a little time to adjust to, but with all the help in this forum I now am comfortable with it and it works FOR ME, not the other way around...
The biggest key to shaking (for me) is to poke the corners down, then shake until some red coals drop. I'm in Allentown PA, and so far this year I only need to do this once per day. Ash pan is emptied after 2 days. SERIOUSLY. It was fussier before when I shook it morning and night. I have a 26 inch box fan behind it with a clear plastic plenum I made to mate to the intake for the back panel. I also fitted a dimmer to the fan to further slow the speed, as a result it can barely be heard. It's in our family room, and not even noticeable while watching TV.
I have a 62' X 48' ranch/single floor house. It is almost dead center, and takes care of most of the heat. Oil comes on in the morning w/timers till we leave for work.
I have the hopper installed, as that's what I was used to w/the EFEL. I use slightly less than 2 tons of pea same as the EFEL, a big difference is that the KODIAK IS MUCH CLEANER!!! It's simple design is much nicer also. I like the one piece window, stays clean. The EFEL had around 24 slats of glass, they yellowed quickly and needed replacement too often. The EFEL had a thermostat and an automatic air intake door that was really foolproof, and that's probably the only thing I miss.
Had my first bark-back this week, I closed the ash door too soon after shaking. Kinda unnerving, found all the answers I needed again on this GREAT FORUM!