Keystoker 90 Problems

 
Realtreehunter_3
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90
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Post by Realtreehunter_3 » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 10:29 am

Hey guys I've had this keystoker 90 for about a winter and a half and have been having a bit of trouble with it lately. When it gets down to around 10 and under it can't keep up and the house gets cold. I think I fixed that by opening the combustion motor flap more which has helped. Then this morning we wake up to a chilly 52 in the house(stove is set to 68) and the grate looks like it's just stuck at idle and there was only about half an inch of burning coal. I searched the forum like a mad man for ideas and I decided to take the gear motor and pusher bar out and clean them. The nylon screws were fine but coal was getting on top and bottom of the bar. So I cleaned that out and it seems to be working better. It does squeak a little now and I was wondering if I could hit it with a little wd. Also I read on here dam coal could cause build up and of course my coal is damp due to it being outside. I guess what I'm asking is what should I do further to prevent this and what else could I do to help the efficiency. The stove is hooked into a stainless triple wall chimney, not exactly what I wanted to do but it's the best I can right now. Thanks in advance!


 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
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Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 10:42 am

Take a look at this thread: KAA-2 KA2 Keystoker Feed Adjustment With Pics! Direct Vent

If you are still getting noises from the stoker, you can pull that feed section out completely and then vacuum it all.

The stoker looks the same as the KAA-2 in the link, right?

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 10:51 am

There's been a couple Keystoker threads lately. I think one was the melted cam, another the gasket not sealing well enough and fines causing issues around the pusher block, another was excess fines under the grate and another the grates were not sealed sell enough. All things to check out if you haven't already.

One thing that caught my eye is your increase of combustion air. Do you have a manometer to make sure you are not pushing more air into the firebox than can be exhausted causing it to pressurize? If that happens then the exhaust will look elsewhere to exhaust like the hopper and the fire may burn back too far melting the nylon components.

Make sure your CO monitors are working because a pressurized firebox will get CO into the living space.

 
Realtreehunter_3
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Post by Realtreehunter_3 » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 11:03 am

Hey guys, got an update. Stove is back at idle again. I've talked to my local dealer now that they finally opened. I'm running a test on the blower to see if that is overheating and causing it to go into the overheating mode. I have now decreased the airflow because I don't have a manometer yet but it's in the mail.

And yes I have taken the feed section out and cleaned it all up. Was just wondering if a little wd would hurt it. Thanks guys!

 
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Post by titleist1 » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 11:18 am

Try to get your coal as dry as possible too. The only times I have ever had issues with coal feed was because the coal was too wet. Bring in some extra in a tote or something so it has time to dry out a bit before putting it in the hopper. Try to stay a hopper load ahead if you can.

I am a little skeptical about using the wd. It may get the fines damp enough to cause them to clump up.

 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
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Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 11:45 am

titleist1 wrote:I am a little skeptical about using the wd. It may get the fines damp enough to cause them to clump up.
Agree with this. WD40 won't last anyways.

If you have a spot rubbing, you'll likely get better results by polishing up the rub spots. They are usually pretty obvious marks where they rub.

In the like I posted, be sure to note the gasket material on the sides of the push bar. I found it was loose and binding up on this one. I don't think double-stick tape is a good long term method of securing the material, though that is apparently what the vendor chose (likely already on the gasket material)

 
Realtreehunter_3
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Post by Realtreehunter_3 » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 11:49 am

Are you talkin about the woven material on each side of the pusher bar?

I am now on my way to get a blower motor. I ran a jumper on the two ts and ran it for 30 minutes and the blower motor was very hot to touch.


 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
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Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 12:02 pm

Realtreehunter_3 wrote:Are you talkin about the woven material on each side of the pusher bar?
Yep, that's it.
I am now on my way to get a blower motor. I ran a jumper on the two ts and ran it for 30 minutes and the blower motor was very hot to touch.
Make sure you have thoroughly vacuumed out the area under the feed, where the air blows under the bed. It builds up a bunch of stuff in there and can even backup into/fall into your fan when moving things around. More info in that thread about it.

Make sure the fan isn't blocked or contaminated with junk. Having a backup is never a mistake 8-)

 
Realtreehunter_3
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Post by Realtreehunter_3 » Tue. Jan. 10, 2017 1:08 pm

So I've cleaned out everything as good as I can without taking off the grates. Every time I want to take me off I actually have a good fire. It's like my stove is being moody right now. Sometimes it works well and other it isn't. I have yet to blow out the fans, in guessing I should do that but I decided to wait on getting the blower due to the price and I checked out a couple other guys stoves and the fans were just as hot, so I'm not taking it off the list yet but I don't believe that's it. I'm at a point where I don't know what else to do with it. I've now put a jumper on again to see if she'll go nuts but it didn't. I just check to see how fast the gear was moving for the feed and. It took approx 54 seconds for one revolution. There is some black stuff on the plastic gear but I'm guessing. It's fines. How would I tell if that was melted? I feel like I'm going in circles here...

 
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2001Sierra
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Post by 2001Sierra » Tue. Jan. 10, 2017 1:15 pm

I think they are 1 RPM motors so that would be correct. I will try to check mine tonite.

 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
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Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Tue. Jan. 10, 2017 1:43 pm

Realtreehunter_3 wrote:So I've cleaned out everything as good as I can without taking off the grates. Every time I want to take me off I actually have a good fire. It's like my stove is being moody right now. Sometimes it works well and other it isn't. I have yet to blow out the fans, in guessing I should do that but I decided to wait on getting the blower due to the price and I checked out a couple other guys stoves and the fans were just as hot, so I'm not taking it off the list yet but I don't believe that's it. I'm at a point where I don't know what else to do with it. I've now put a jumper on again to see if she'll go nuts but it didn't. I just check to see how fast the gear was moving for the feed and. It took approx 54 seconds for one revolution. There is some black stuff on the plastic gear but I'm guessing. It's fines. How would I tell if that was melted? I feel like I'm going in circles here...
Best way to get that answer is to take a few pics for us. Otherwise we're just guessing based on your description ;)

Now let me get this right. You are talking about your combustion fan that blows on the fire, or the convection fans that circulate air in the rooms?

 
Realtreehunter_3
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90
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Post by Realtreehunter_3 » Tue. Jan. 10, 2017 4:05 pm

The fan that blows on the fire is the one I took off and then cleaned under the grates. The fan that blows air into the house is the one I was told could be bad but I don't think it's that.

I wish I had taken pictures but I'm at work now.

Problem; stove will run for a little get a big enough fire to kick the circulation fan on ( the bigger one) but cannot maintain it and it goes back down to a small fire about an 1/2 - 3/4 like it would be if it wasn't calling for any fire.

What ive done so far;
Taken the pusher bar and gear motor off and cleaned and put back in.
Removed hopper and cleaner all that to see if there was an obstruction
Taken the small fan off (the one blowing on the fire) and cleaned under the fire grates as best I could without taking the grates off
Cleaned out bottom of the inside of the stove
Jumped the wires at the thermostat to see if it was the thermostat - problem still occurs
Jumped the two ts at the bottom relay box I believe it is where the thermostat wire connects - problem still occurs


I will try and get pictures tonight

 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
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Other Heating: Oil Boiler

Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Tue. Jan. 10, 2017 4:16 pm

Do you have a tube with a box on the end, next to where the stoker attaches to the stove?
overtemp.jpg
.JPG | 73.5KB | overtemp.jpg

 
Realtreehunter_3
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90
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Post by Realtreehunter_3 » Tue. Jan. 10, 2017 5:49 pm

No I don't believe so, I have a keystoker 90,000 top vent. I don't believe they have that..

 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
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Coal Size/Type: Anthracite Buckwheat
Other Heating: Oil Boiler

Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Tue. Jan. 10, 2017 6:02 pm

Realtreehunter_3 wrote:No I don't believe so, I have a keystoker 90,000 top vent. I don't believe they have that..
Okay. This is the first one I've seen one installed on. Some open tube to the firebox with a thermostat box that hooks on the end.

I was wondering if yours might be misreading and shutting down the stoker, thinking it was overheating?


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