AK-110, Is It for Me?

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 8:25 am

Rob R. wrote:
Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 8:17 am
I think the issue is a combination between your short chimney, and the restrictive air intake you have connected to the blower. Between the length of the PVC piping and the number of bends, it could be starving the stoker for air. A fresh air vent through the wall with a drop close to the floor would provide fresh air to the stoker and baro, and increase the number of air changes in the room.
:?:
He has a gap between the intake pipe & the motor,not connected to each other. The motor can pull air from the pipe & at the same time pull any needed extra air from every window,door,crack,receptacle,switch... etc..


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 8:29 am

Guess I need glasses, it looked like it was piped direct to me.

 
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2biz
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Post by 2biz » Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 8:35 am

With all due respect, how can the PVC be restrictive when its NOT connected to the blower? There is a 3" air gap between the end of the fresh air supply and the inlet to the combustion blower. (See Photo Above)....Since adding the Fresh Air Supply, I have not smelled sulfur since. At 75 CFM (Combustion Blower CFM) and with no fresh air supply, air change occurs, roughly, every 107 minutes in the 1008 sq ft garage with 8' ceiling. Its actually pretty tight, even with (2) sealed 9' x 7' doors....I agree the short chimney can be an issue at idle temps, but having the fresh air supply may be all that's needed to equalize the pressure in the garage. Its going to be a while till the next warm up. Just something that I need to monitor.

 
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Post by 2biz » Wed. Dec. 27, 2017 8:36 am

Sorry, there were previous responses before I hit the submit button!

 
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Post by 2biz » Sat. Jan. 27, 2018 3:05 pm

With a warmup here in Southern Ohio and not wanting to turn the stoker off, I tried a few of the suggestions offered here and other threads to keep the smell from coming through the hopper and out the baro. Yea, still getting the smell...I was even seeing a little moisture on the hopper lid. Cracking a window and door didn't make much of a difference. Originally I had the minimum feed set to 4 on the Coal Trol which allowed the exhaust/pipe to run below 100° even before the baro when temps approach 60° OAT...The chimney was definitely loosing draft indicated by the mano, close to -.01. This Stoker will idle way down without going out!

I was about to pull the trigger on installing a booster today but decided to try and raise the minimum feed first. Raising the minimum to 10 is all it took to keep -.02 to -.03" on the mano and keep the smell from coming up through the hopper.....Too easy?!?! Hope so! I don't think it will effect daily usage that much, but peace of mind is worth more. I see now the object isn't to see how low it will idle, but set an idle temp that doesn't allow the chimney to loose draft.

With a few months running under my belt now, I feel more at ease with making minor adjustments. Thanks to the massive amount of reading and help here on the forum, it makes dialing in these coal burners a lot easier...

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Sat. Jan. 27, 2018 11:15 pm

Warmer outside while getting moisture under hopper lid is definitely a indicator of a under performing chimney.

 
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Post by 2biz » Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 8:08 am

McGiever wrote:
Sat. Jan. 27, 2018 11:15 pm
Warmer outside while getting moisture under hopper lid is definitely a indicator of a under performing chimney.
OR an indicator of minimum feed not set up properly based on what type of chimney I have? With an idle setting of 4, there just wasn't enough heat (with the low exhaust exit of this stoker) to make any draft. I might have had the same issues with a masonry chimney 35' tall...Who knows? Raising the minimum feed per WNY's suggestion was all that was needed. Its helped in more ways than just fixing the draft issue.


 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 8:43 am

2biz wrote:
Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 8:08 am
there just wasn't enough heat (with the low exhaust exit of this stoker) to make any draft.
Heat is not the only thing that makes draft. Chimneys draft without any heat, it’s also the pressure differential.

 
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Post by McGiever » Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 9:54 am

2biz wrote:
Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 8:08 am
OR an indicator of minimum feed not set up properly based on what type of chimney I have? With an idle setting of 4, there just wasn't enough heat (with the low exhaust exit of this stoker) to make any draft. I might have had the same issues with a masonry chimney 35' tall...Who knows? Raising the minimum feed per WNY's suggestion was all that was needed. Its helped in more ways than just fixing the draft issue.

Yes, same thing, but still under performing chimney...just compensated for by adding more heat to get it

Many do know what a 35' masonry chimney would do even w/ your low exhaust output stoker...but let's not debate that. ;)

But in the end you got what works.

 
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Post by hotblast1357 » Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 10:37 am

In my old house, 30’ interior mason chimney flue lined, no vermiculite, I had to run 2 barometric dampeners to maintain proper drafting..

 
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Post by 2biz » Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 12:12 pm

McGiever wrote:
Sun. Jan. 28, 2018 9:54 am
Many do know what a 35' masonry chimney would do even w/ your low exhaust output stoker...but let's not debate that. ;)
Probably a good idea not to debate this! Since Hotblast had to run two baro's to control draft with a 30' chimney, I'll stick with turning up the idle a notch to compensate for my under performing chimney.... :D

 
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Post by 2biz » Sun. Feb. 25, 2018 8:10 pm

Generator Info:

Last night we had a tornado roll through about 10 miles from where I live. It took out a major transmission line that feeds the town I live in...Electric went out at 12 midnight and the battery backup kicked in without skipping a beat. I got a notification on my cell phone from the village administrator that the power was going to be out for a long time because of the circumstances...

So I pulled out the 2200w Generac Pure Sine Wave Ginny after the bad weather cleared. The battery backup makes it nice so you don't have to scramble to get the gen out. You can take your time. ...After switching to the generator, the Generac just idled along just like the AK-110 does...Went back to bed and didn't give it another thought till this morning! This little Generac fits the bill for backup! Its supposed to run about 15 hours on a gallon of gas at low output. Didn't have a single issue with it running the furnace and coal troll...It ran for 13 hours before the electric came back on. Nothing like having the right equipment when you need it.

 
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Post by titleist1 » Sun. Feb. 25, 2018 8:44 pm

:clap: Nice to be prepared!!! I am impressed by the 15 hrs / gal fuel use!

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Sun. Feb. 25, 2018 9:16 pm

On Jan 6 we had 9 hours out and my AK180 ran on a Honda 2000 flawlessly, also a pure sine genny without issues. As both stoves have variable speed dist. fan, the question is will this stove fun on a square wave feed? I say square wave as many cheap modified sine wave gennys/inverters are really no better than square wave generators. At the same time I ran a Harman DVC and a Pocono on a $199 Champion 1400/1800w genny from TSC, also without issue. Who will offer to risk their stove with a $ 89 HF Trailgator/cheap inverter running for weeks.

 
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Post by 2biz » Mon. Feb. 26, 2018 8:08 pm

coalnewbie wrote:
Sun. Feb. 25, 2018 9:16 pm
Who will offer to risk their stove with a $ 89 HF Trailgator/cheap inverter running for weeks.
I have the 2 cycle 10a HF version of the trailgator....It ran the 1800cfm Firechief distribution blower with no problem...But I would never risk it powering a variable speed fan...I have a 5000w genny I plug into the house to power the fridges, a freezer, and lights. And the most important thing, to be able to make coffee! My wife tried to use her NuWave stove top skillet and it didn't like it at all! Led lights work ok....You just have to be selective at what you run with the cheaper Modified Sine Wave Gens.


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