Will Alaska Channing Heat During Spring/Fall

russ2662 · Post by **russ2662** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 8:23 pm

I have a channing as my primary heat and am wondering if it will be okay to heat with it during the inbetween season. I am new at coal heating and find your forum very helpful. The channing has a power vent if that helps with my question.

CoalHeat · Post by **CoalHeat** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 8:30 pm

No reason why it won't that I can think of.

Read about it here:
**Broken Link(s) Removed**
My Kast Console is burning as I write this, heating hot water. As with any stoker stove you can adjust the feed rate to obtain the amount of heat you need.

russ2662 · Post by **russ2662** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 8:41 pm

thank you for the link it answered a couple questions.now, what do you think about this. My channing power vent is controlled by an aftermarket rheostat for fan speed control. What are the goods bads of this and how should I use it during different times of year or heat requirements

CoalHeat · Post by **CoalHeat** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 8:42 pm

That I cannot comment on, as I have no experience with power vents. I'll leave that to the other experts here!

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 8:49 pm

You must install a Manometer [draft guage] on the pipe between the stove and powerventer.. with out some form or guage or meter to measure how much draft the venter is creating, you are just guessing on a setting with the reostat.

A Dwyer Manometer Model 25 MarkII is the most common one with the right draft scale. Look at the manometer loaner program thread for a photo or two of the manometer.

Without a guage to measure the draft, when you turn down the reostat, you could be reducting the draft too far, and have CO leaks into your house.. You do have several Carbon Monoxide detectors in the house right??

Greg L..

CoalHeat · Post by **CoalHeat** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 8:52 pm

You must install a Manometer [draft guage] on the pipe between the stove and powerventer.. with out some form or guage or meter to measure how much draft the venter is creating, you are just guessing on a setting with the reostat.

Exactly. I would have thought of it sooner or later.

russ2662 · Post by **russ2662** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 9:03 pm

i do have one co sensor in the house. What benefits would rheostat give me? I am already concerned about this not having a manometer. Would this manometer be simply for me to read and adjust my fan speed according or is this setup auto. I will need more info to understand this. thanks

russ2662 · Post by **russ2662** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 9:20 pm

Could not find thread on mark II or photos. I now understand that this is a gauge that shows w.c. and my stove wants to be on the negative.

CoalHeat · Post by **CoalHeat** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 9:33 pm

Try here:

Manometer Install

Stokers should run around -.02" of Water Column.

russ2662 · Post by **russ2662** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 9:47 pm

Very informative. I will do much more reading to understand this better.Is a Barometric damper needed in my case?

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Tue. Jul. 15, 2008 9:50 pm

The reason for the reostat is that a stove can have too much draft, so some people put a barometric damper between the stove and the powervent, some people use a reostat to slow down the powervent. The best way is probably to combine the two with a manometer..

If you have too much draft, you just suck the heat out of the stove. If you have too little draft, you will have coal exhaust gasses escaping into your room. So it is important to have the correct amount of draft.

We have had many new members come on the forum looking to cure either burning too much coal or not getting enough heat out of their stove, furnace or boiler. Almost always the problem is too much draft pulling all the heat up the chimney or out the powerventer..

Most stove manufacturers recommend a barometric damper and checking the draft with a guage..

Hope this makes sense.. Greg L