Keystoker HF-70 hot

 
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warminmn
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Posts: 8108
Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Wed. Jan. 17, 2018 7:56 am

How deep are you putting the coal? A stove that size should be able to go 24 hrs without going out if it was full on a new fresh load of coal and is burning the coal properly at a low temp setting.

An average size home with average temps is going to burn around 40 pounds a day on average... kind of meaningless but a close guideline. That doesnt mean you just put 20 pounds in the stove at a loading. It needs to be full.

Coal is not wood. Wood heat is often dependent on how much wood is in the stove. Anthracite is not that way and can be filled and will burn better that way. Fill to the top of the firebrick is a general rule, or at least close.

I would wait until you can be there all day. Light it, fill it, watch it, learn from it. Keep a pail of sand nearby for piece of mind in case you need to put it out. Ash will work but is messier. Never water. Once you figure it out you should not have to mess with it more than every 12 hours and it should not go out.

 
Josh
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Posts: 11
Joined: Sun. Jan. 14, 2018 1:56 pm
Location: Maryland US
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Keystoker HF-70

Post by Josh » Thu. Jan. 18, 2018 7:11 pm

I'm putting as much coal in the stove as i can possibly fit in it. I got it to go through the night last night and fed it at 6:00AM. It made it to 6:00PM tonight so I am finally getting somewhere.

I still don't know that it is working correctly for me. To get the 12 hr burn, I shake the ash down till i see a lot of gold come out the bottom. I then fill it as full as I can get it with coal and shut the manual vent all the way. I then make sure the thermostatic vent is shut all the way and set it so it will never open. I'm then able to get a 12 hr burn.

It basically looks like nothing his happening for most of that burn but the stove is giving off heat even though there is no visible flame or anything. Then when the top coals finally get their turn the stove heats up dramatically (as does the room its in).

Does it sound like I'm doing it right? To me this stove seems more like I should be feeding it every 8 hrs with the vents cracked open and visible flame. Unless I'm doing something wrong it just doesn't want to go for 12 hours.

I've enjoyed learning how the stove works and how coal burns. It seems to hold just over 40 lbs of coal. Maybe you have to have the hopper version to get the 12 hr burns?


 
User avatar
warminmn
Member
Posts: 8108
Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Thu. Jan. 18, 2018 9:39 pm

It sounds like you are probably shaking it enough and loading it right. I think you need to get a manometer to measure draft for one thing, just in case you have a huge draft sucking the heat away. Dwyer Mark II is the most commonly used. Maybe $30-40 or cheaper online somewhere.

With the front air intake closed and the rear thermo vent closed it should be just purring along at real low heat from other little leaks, or maybe even going out if air tight, not burning up the way it sounds. Theres still something not right.

What size coal are you burning? Is it completely burning up into fine ash when you shake? How many pounds are you adding per loading, twice a day? 40 pounds a day in a single room it should be very very warm/hot.

Anyone else have any thoughts???

 
Josh
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Posts: 11
Joined: Sun. Jan. 14, 2018 1:56 pm
Location: Maryland US
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Keystoker HF-70

Post by Josh » Sat. Jan. 20, 2018 1:20 pm

I've run the stove for a couple of days now in a row. I really like the stove and heating with coal. I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right now.

The only thing that is wrong with this stove is that it is oversized for our kitchen. That may seem obvious but our insulation is so poor that I thought it might be okay. :)

I probably have about $600 in it so I can probably recoop most of my cost if I decide to get rid of it. I should probably keep it till the end of the Winter because we just can't keep our kitchen warm enough without it. I will probably fire it up any time it is in the 20s or bellow outside.

Maybe I should look out for a smaller coal stove. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it would fit where my wood burner is.

Thank you everybody for your help!

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