Concerns About the Fan Noise on Keystoker 90

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scopemounts
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Post by scopemounts » Fri. Apr. 27, 2018 6:35 pm

I have a couple of questions I haven't seen addressed & hope I can get some help. I have (8) 37 year old oil wells on my property that I get gas from. That's the good news! They are getting to the point of developing leaks, freezing up & running out of gas at times. I have a wood stove in my finished basement that is used to supplement the gas supply & that is where we watch TV. I am 74 & don't enjoy the wood cutting process anymore & would like to switch to coal. I was initially looking at a Keystoker 90 stoker because I wanted to idle the coal stove during the day & have a programable thermostat that would turn up the heat at 4:00 pm & back to idle at ? depending on the gas supply. I have researched the Keystoker 90 stoker stove an was ready to purchase one but I keep backing down because of the noise. I can live with the noise but if there is a better choice I would like to find it now & not later. I am NOW thinking about a Keystoker HFH hopper stove. My questions about the HFH hopper stove are: (1) Is this stove capable of running at idle without the fire going out & I don't want much heat at idle as I want to use as much well gas as possible (2) At idle for 24 hrs what amount of coal would I use? (3) Do you think the heat output at idle would be about equal to the Keystoker 90 stoker at idle?
Last edited by scopemounts on Sat. Apr. 28, 2018 12:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
snuffy
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Post by snuffy » Fri. Apr. 27, 2018 7:37 pm

Running a fan (unless convection) will be noisy. Why not consider a used Harman Mark III or a Harman SF 250. I have the SF 250 and although I run the distribution fan late Fall through early Spring I don't necessarily need to run it. In fact over the last week I've had it just about idling and have a fire reducer in place. Keeps a nice balance with a heated daylight basement and warm upstairs floors. I keep having to remind myself to shake it down and add a small amount of nut twice a day (five minutes total). Oh, reminds me, I better clean out the ashes now!

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Fri. Apr. 27, 2018 8:31 pm

S, you're in the right area here--lots of visitors!! :)

 
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WNY
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Post by WNY » Sat. Apr. 28, 2018 6:57 am

I have keystoker 90 and when it gets warm outside, it can idle for days without going out. it doesn't use much coal at idle. i don't the exact amount. maybe 15lbs or so a day. If you get it dialed in and keep an eye on the draft (Mine is a direct vent, so the draft is pretty consistent) it doesn't use much coal on idle.


 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Sat. Apr. 28, 2018 10:25 am

Using the irregularly supplied gas in a warm air furnace?

As for having all the convenience that a stoker can provide, a couple members succesfully have found ways to remotely mount the noisy convection fans or even combustion fans behind walls or even below or above floors, whatever conditions will permit.
Just food for thought. :)

 
xmanjeff
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Post by xmanjeff » Sun. Apr. 29, 2018 11:01 am

believe me , you are long overdue for the switch from wood to coal , you will kick yourself for not doing it sooner , but do your proper planning ahead of time for next season , and it will pay off , as in stove placement , coal handling , and the way heat moves thru the house

 
scopemounts
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Post by scopemounts » Tue. Sep. 11, 2018 9:39 am

I purchased a used Keystoker HF90H hopper hand fired stove for my shop which is 30' x 60' with 16' ceiling. I installed an outside class A stainless chimney & finally fired it yesterday. It was hard to get started & I blame that on low draft in the chimney & because it was 59 degrees outside. I have a Dwyer 2000-00 Pressure Gauge connected to the stove. Prior to firing the stove the gauge read 1 to 1-1/2. After the stove heated up it read 5 to 5-1/2 & I adjusted it down to 3-1/2 to 4 at the barometric damper. It took the stove about 4 hours to get settled. The spinner vent on the ash door was set at 1 turn open & the temperature was set at half open. The stove temp was 700 & the chimney, just above the barometric damper was 275. I turned the temperature setting all the way down & closed the spinner vent and checked the stove in two more hours to find the stove temp dropped to 500 and chimney temp dropped to 225. That is the lowest temp this stove will run at & that to me is too hot for a low setting. I noticed with the temp setting all the way down the draft door was held open about 3/8". I decided to lean a piece of heavy steel against the draft door to completely close it & see if the fire would go out. I don't know how long it took but the fire went out which makes me think the door gaskets are ok. My question is do I need to lengthen the chain that controls the draft door so it will completely close or do you folks have a better solution? I would think 500 deg stove temp & 275 deg chimney pipe is ideal for the maximum the stove should run but I need to be able to adjust the stove to an idle.

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Tue. Sep. 11, 2018 11:27 am

chain may adjust to allow a dime thickness...some would just put a paper clip on draft door, lengthen the chain and leave it.


 
scopemounts
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Post by scopemounts » Tue. Jan. 22, 2019 11:47 am

The first part of November I purchased a used Keystoker 90 direct vent with Coal-troll that I believe was factory installed as it doesn't have any of the mechanical controls. I don't need the direct vent so I removed that to include the fume switch. I intend to sell the direct vent & fume switch. This stove is great other than the noise. It isn't by any means loud but that continuous noise might get to me yet. I have set the Coal-troll digital to a temperature 5 degrees below the gas boiler temperature & set the idle feed minimum at 55 with the maximum at 70. This makes the stove feed at 55 constantly and allows me to use what oil well gas is available. At a feed rate of 55 I burn about a 40 pound bag of coal every 1-1/2 days. The stove temperature stays right at 200 & the stack temperature can't be very hot as I can hold my hand on the pipe. This system works great. I had a few conversations with Coal-troll about the wiring to eliminate the fume switch. Great people to work with & I really like the Coal-troll digital as it is easy to make adjustments. I should have put this stove in years ago.

 
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Pauliewog
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Post by Pauliewog » Tue. Jan. 22, 2019 8:06 pm

Where are you located in NEPA and what are you asking for the direct vent and fume switch ?

Paulie

 
scopemounts
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Post by scopemounts » Wed. Jan. 23, 2019 12:18 pm

Make an offer. Can send pictures if you send email address to [email protected]

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