Coal Trol, Is It Worth It?

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ad356
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Post by ad356 » Sat. Sep. 01, 2018 9:53 pm

i have been burning coal since 2015. i already have my supply ready for the winter. i have to do some work to the door on my keystoker, and i was thinking about MAYBE buying a coal trol, but im not entirely set on the idea. is it worth it? does it really save what they claim 11% in the bitter cold and aprox 25% in more mild weather. i am reading it eliminates the need for manual stoker adjustment, perhaps this would be an advantage for my wife who does not really like making those adjustments when i am at work. how do i you set up a coal trol on keystoker 90k? im guessing you just rewire all of the motors with plugs?

bottom line, does it make operation more handsfree and simpler, and does it save money in the long run..... is there a payback?
Last edited by Richard S. on Tue. Sep. 04, 2018 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Changed title, please try and use descriptive titles. Thanks.

 
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2001Sierra
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90 Chimney vent
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Other Heating: Buderus Oil Boiler 3115-34

Post by 2001Sierra » Sun. Sep. 02, 2018 8:05 pm

Do you have temperature overshoots now? Do you have trouble with the low fires?
Another feature I like that may be worth the investment is the ability to advance the feed to get a litlle temp lift or the ability to both slow or speed up the convection blower. I also use HLF which is heat loss factor which also changes the way the stove behaves.

 
ad356
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Post by ad356 » Sun. Sep. 02, 2018 9:36 pm

usually i would end up with temperature that is +/- 3 degrees from the setpoint. there are two things i am interested in. the potential to save fuel usage and eliminating the need for readjusting the stroke on the stoker with changing temperatures. i think the ability to run the motors at variable speed gives more flexibility and control. the wife would prefer set and forget type of setup. i just load and unload stove before i go to work.

so is it worth the investment and does it really reduce usage as much as 25% like their literature claims


 
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2001Sierra
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Location: Wynantskill NY, 10 miles from Albany
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90 Chimney vent
Coal Size/Type: Rice
Other Heating: Buderus Oil Boiler 3115-34

Post by 2001Sierra » Sun. Sep. 02, 2018 10:30 pm

I cannot verify coal savings as I purchased by Keystoker 90 with the Coaltrol. The only time I might adjust the stroke is in the dead of winter like below 0 for days. Quite honestly I have my Coaltrol max settings set down a few tics because I don't like to run the stove too hard, although I know it can do it.

 
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WNY
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Post by WNY » Mon. Sep. 03, 2018 9:09 pm

It does work quite well, I have it on my leisure Line hyfire in the basement and can adjust it upstairs. It does vary feed rate and convection blowers to maintain a good constant temperature. some tweaking when setting it up and make small adjustments and let it catch up and even out, but over all, Once it's setup, it works good.

yes you do have to rewire your stove and put plugs on the wires.

My other stove is a 90K keystoker with just a digital thermostat on it. it works pretty good as-is. been running every winter for over 15 years.

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Sep. 04, 2018 7:06 am

Does the Coal Trol monitor temperature "rate of rise" (or fall) in order to forecast (before it happens via the T-Stat hitting its set-point or dropping below it) that the feed rate should be incrementally decreased or increased thereby, and then act accordingly upon the feed rate? This sort of 'derivative' logic would be the only way that I can conceive of by which it would truly be of benefit. And I would say that if it uses such derivative logic, it should be well worth the investment.


 
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WNY
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Post by WNY » Wed. Sep. 05, 2018 7:08 pm

I do believe it has the algorithms in it for temp prediction, etc....

You can check out their site, not sure how much technical info is in the brochure or manual.

http://www.automationcorrect.com/coaltroladvancedplus.htm

good write up from one of the members
Post by traderfjp - Coaltrol Review

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Wed. Sep. 05, 2018 7:16 pm

WNY wrote:
Wed. Sep. 05, 2018 7:08 pm
I do believe it has the algorithms in it for temp prediction, etc....

You can check out their site, not sure how much technical info is in the brochure or manual.

http://www.automationcorrect.com/coaltroladvancedplus.htm

good write up from one of the members
Post by traderfjp - Coaltrol Review
From reading their website data it sounds as if they may simply be using outdoor temperature reset logic. Does a Col-Trol have a probe for monitoring outdoor temperature? I would prefer to have rate of rise derivative logic, but having outdoor temperature reset logic on top of rate of rise logic would make very good sense.

 
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WNY
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Post by WNY » Wed. Sep. 05, 2018 8:04 pm

best bet is talk to Neil or Paul at Coaltrol.
[email protected] 315-299-3589

It does not have external probe or anything for outside temp monitoring. it just uses the thermostat for temp control. you can change min and max feed rates, a bunch of other settings for the blowers, etc....all from the thermostat.

I thought there was a forum thread on here for coaltrol and it's features.

another thread I found.
Post by coalnut - Coal-Trol Experiences

 
jtmalt
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Post by jtmalt » Sat. Sep. 15, 2018 4:33 pm

I converted my Alaska Kast Konsole II to a Coal-Trol a few years ago, so I'll offer my experiences. When I did the conversion, I also added a draft inducer that is independent of the Coal-Trol.

My coal stove is in my basement, and the thermostat is installed on the floor above. We do get temperature overshoots, but overall it keeps things mighty comfortable.

In terms of savings, 25% may be an exaggeration. We do burn less coal, especially in the shoulder season, since the Coal-Trol is able to reduce the flame to the bare minimum. With the added draft inducer, we don't get any backflow of fumes into the house when the stove is on a very low idle, so we're able to run it at "barely there" temperatures during spring and fall.

The main advantage, to us, is the convenience of the ability to control the temperature without having to go down stairs to monkey with the manual stoker adjustments. When the stove isn't catching up to a temperature drop as quickly as we would like, we just give it a "Feed 10", which strokes the carpet continuously for 10 minutes, bringing it up to maximum burn. When we have sustained sub zero temperatures, we use the Coal-Trol to slightly increase the maximum stroking time to allow the stove to burn at its highest rate without pushing red coals into the ash pan. During more seasonal temperatures, we're able to back that down so that the stove never hits its maximum output (reducing overshoots).

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