Review: (Combustioneer, Mark IV) by: Hardwood

I have been running my Combustioneer for 2 months now and would highly recommend this unit for several reasons:
It is conveinent, load coal in the morning, remove clinkers at night
It is efficient, we have just gone through a long period (3-Weeks) of below zero temperatures and this little unit kept the house at 73d 24/7
Wil-Burt is awesome, I sent an e-mail to Wil-Burt asking what the size of allen wrench to use to adjust the timer and got this responce a few days latter

From: Wesman, (Dan) Daniel [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 3:56 PM
To:
Subject: Combustioneer MKIV Furnace

Mr. Wood:
As you may be aware, the MKIV stoker fired furnace was discontinued by Will-Burt approximately 16 years ago. Because we receive very few calls anymore concerning that unit, and also because none of the persons involved with the MKIV development still remain with Will-Burt, we had to conduct a fair amount of research in order to be able to answer your question. Following is what we found...
• The set screw used in the timer cam adjustment is the Will-Burt part number 1335. It is a # 6-32 X 3/16 long, socket cup set screw.
• The Allen wrench used with that item, and provided originally with the furnace, is Will-Burt part number 21666. That wrench is a "short arm" type, 1/16 hex.
The fact that a 1/16 wrench is too small for the set screw in your timer leads me to suspect that the internal hex of the set screw may have become rounded off. If it gets "stripped out" like that, the wrench will no longer be able to grip.

Thank you for your inquiry, Harry. We hope that the explanation above will be of assistance to you.

Dan Wesman

I am very impress that this company would still support their product to this degree 16 years later.

That is very impressive, indeed. Most companies wouldn't even be bothered to respond to you, let alone give you that detailed information.

It is unfortunate, however, that they discontinued the Combustioneer, and likely will never bring it back into production, although I bet they have the drawings still stored, and probably even the tooling.

There is a market for these bituminous stokers still, I believe, and they are the only way to burn some of these coals without excessive soot and smoke.

Chris

On that set screw, you can use a flat faced, hardened punch that covers the diameter of the set screw. A few light smacks should tighten the hex hole up & loosen the screw. Replace it once loose.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that tonight.

I have been in contact with the Will-Burt company as well and recieved the same high quality service.

Dan Wesman searched for any information on my 'Iron Fireman' stoker unit. He was able to find a sales brochure, and sent it to me as a ..PDF file. All very helpfull.

I have to say that I agree that good customer service, even to a non-paying customer is rare, but when experienced is a welcome surprise.

The attached file is what Dan sent me.

Greg L

Hey, Harry, just curious if you're running the Combustioneer again this winter and how is it working out for you? Haven't seen you around on the board lately.

Hi Chris
Yes I am. And she is doing just fine. The coal is much beeter this year, little to no fines or shale. I can only guess that the current mines are better. I got a real pleasant surprise when I got my first load. Coal is still $56.50/Ton.

Great to 'see' you again! Glad to hear you are doing well (and heating well). I ended up going the anthracite route for now, but I'm still trying to figure a way to get a stoker boiler that will burn the local bituminous, which runs about the same price as yours. Do you know where it's mined out of??

Chris

Mine is mined in the hills behind the wash plant. I live in the middle of coal country.