CO emitting from stack of Keystoker 105

 
seth928
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Post by seth928 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 10:58 am

Hello, for starters i am brand new to heating with coal (only 1 month into it). I bought a used keystoker 105 that is in good condition. Everything appears to be operating normal. However i am getting 25 PPM of CO from the stack. I do not have it hooked to duct work, it just free flows out of the top of the stack at the stove into my basement. It is a direct vent out of the rear of the stove. Burning Rice coal.

I have checked with a CO meter all around the stove and there appears to be no leaks anywhere around the stove, the CO is about 20 around the stove but highest (25) where the heat blows out of the stack. CO ranges from 7-22 PPM throughout the house, so i need to fix this.

I am in Syracuse, NY the weather has been anywhere from 0-40 degrees F. However it is direct vent so i dont think the weather should affect the vent.

how can i fix this?

Thank you in advance


 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 11:06 am

If the direct vent blower is at the stove, then anything beyond that blower is under positive pressure and must be perfectly sealed. I would coat all vent pipe connections with high temp silicone.

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 11:09 am

Welcome to the forum Seth....You are correct to be very concerned about this!!

Please shut it down until you get a manometer so you can measure draft and set the direct vent and combustion blower correctly.

In addition to what Franco said about sealing the flue pipe...

It is a matter of not putting more air into the firebox via the combustion fan than you can exhaust through the direct vent and you need to be able to measure this rather than guess at the settings.

A dwyer Mark II manometer is what you want to get and we can help you set it up and get the stoker dialed in!

 
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Post by franco b » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 11:13 am

Just to add to that good advice, the draft readings should be taken over the fire, the place that counts and may differ from readings at other locations.

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 11:26 am

If you are getting CO out the warm air duct (stack as you call it), it would seem to me that either the heat distribution fan is pulling CO from a leak at the rear of the stove..... OR.... hopefully not...... you did say that you got this used..... it could be that the unit was way over-fired & split the combustion chamber metal somewhere,allowing the CO into the hot air section of the unit.

 
seth928
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Post by seth928 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 11:48 am

Thank you for the help. I have shut down the stove and cleaned it all out. I will seal the vent pipe with high temp silicone and I just ordered a Manometer. I will let you guys know if that solves the issue.

Thanks again for the advice and help. Nice to know there are good people out there still!
Have a good one

Seth

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 11:53 am

I am not familiar with the combustion fan on a 105. Is there a plate over the intake of the fan that rotates to cover it to limit the amount of air it can blow into the firebox? If so how far open is it and if not maybe you could use duct tape or a refrigerator magnet to cover it a little?

And on the exhaust side, was the direct vent unit cleaned thoroughly before you started using it to make sure it is allowing max air flow?

Again....kudos to having a CO monitor and being careful!! :clap:


 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 2:17 pm

windyhill4.2 wrote:
Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 11:26 am
If you are getting CO out the warm air duct (stack as you call it), it would seem to me that either the heat distribution fan is pulling CO from a leak at the rear of the stove..... OR.... hopefully not...... you did say that you got this used..... it could be that the unit was way over-fired & split the combustion chamber metal somewhere,allowing the CO into the hot air section of the unit.
This was my first thought too, but the convection air moving around the furnace should be under positive pressure compared to the burn chamber. So even if a leak like that exists, it would push convection air into the burn chamber instead of the opposite.

 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 4:35 pm

http://www.keystoker.com/manuals/2017/servicemanuel5.pdf

If you don't have a manual, here is a link to it at keystoker. Page 12 has the procedure and draft specs. Once you get your manometer it should be a simple procedure.

 
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Post by McGiever » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 9:36 pm

Is 20-25ppm anything to worry about?

How do we all know we don't have that?

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Fri. Feb. 16, 2018 8:37 am

My CO monitor stays at 0 unless there is a reason. It is within a couple feet of the stoker and catches the distribution airflow from the stove. The upstairs monitors stay at 0 too, except for that one time a lot of hairspray was used in the near vicinity of the one monitor.

Usually the reason it moves off 0 is because i'll take about 30 seconds to vacuum out the flue pipe fly ash while the stove is in a long period of idle mode! :lol: Apparently the bag filter doesn't catch the CO! :o It will hit 25 or 30 but comes back down within a couple minutes as it disperses.

 
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David...
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Post by David... » Fri. Feb. 16, 2018 8:48 am

My house is 0 CO even if I run an unvented kerosene heater or use my LP stove. I have checked the flue gas of my hand fed boiler and stove and found the CO over 5000 ppm.

David

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Fri. Feb. 16, 2018 9:07 am

I must admit I must of 'breezed over' the detail of OP gets 7-22ppm throughout the home...that's not good!
I mistakenly thought it was a pocket or near stove issue only...My Bad.

These direct-vent and power-vent type venters have new users at a dangerous disadvantage w/o knowledge of proper and critical set up procedures.

In this case it was caught or discovered early on by a good working CO detector and a DV operator who had the where with all to stop and get answers.

Let this be an example for others.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Fri. Feb. 16, 2018 9:26 am

David... wrote:
Fri. Feb. 16, 2018 8:48 am
My house is 0 CO even if I run an unvented kerosene heater or use my LP stove. I have checked the flue gas of my hand fed boiler and stove and found the CO over 5000 ppm.

David
Do you have a flue gas analyzer? What other readings can you get?

 
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David...
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Post by David... » Fri. Feb. 16, 2018 9:35 am

The readings are O2, CO, and temp. The CO2 level can be given but is calculated from the O2 level. The efficiency can also be calculated. My newer one has anthracite listed as a fuel. Unfortunately the high CO levels cause the meter to shut down to protect the sensor.

David


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