Keystoker Koker smell

 
Liccs
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Post by Liccs » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 12:44 am

So I have this smell coming out of the hopper it’s like steam in the beginning from the wet coal, but when I get home at night and I know it’s dry, it’s still steaming white like a sulfur smelling steam coming out of the hopper, and it stinks up the house also?? Can anyone shed some light on this situation??

And also in the timer how many chips are supposed to be on each 10 min mark I believe 4??

Thanks!!


 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 5:20 am

Wet coal??? That is always a bad idea. Do you have CO detectors? Sulfur smell is leaking exhaust. How does your fire look? A picture of the fire will help diagnosis.

Was the stovepipe and the exhaust path in the stove vacuumed out before you lit off for the season?

For the old style intermatic timer, the first pin is 21 seconds and each subsequent pin adds an additional 15 seconds. I used 3 pins every 10 minutes, but 4 is common, too.

 
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Post by Eab91276 » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 7:18 am

I’m running a Koker as well. Sulfur smell is never a good sign. This most likely indicates a draft issue. Have you checked your draft with a manometer? Do you have a direct vent or are you going into a chimney? The direct vent fan is a common place for ash build up on my Koker. Send us pics or more info and someone will help you out. As for the timer, three sets of three to four pins should work. This just keeps the fire lit when on idle. Last but not least, as you will find on many of the posts on this forum CO detectors are a must. Let us know.

 
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Post by waytomany?s » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 8:16 am

Liccs wrote:
Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 12:44 am
So I have this smell coming out of the hopper it’s like steam in the beginning from the wet coal, but when I get home at night and I know it’s dry, it’s still steaming white like a sulfur smelling steam coming out of the hopper, and it stinks up the house also?? Can anyone shed some light on this situation??

And also in the timer how many chips are supposed to be on each 10 min mark I believe 4??

Thanks!!
I know it's your first post and all, and it was after midnight, but please complete your profile. It really makes it easier for someone who is local to you to offer help or tell you where to get parts, coal etc. All this after getting or checking your CO monitors. Safety first.

 
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Post by Liccs » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 9:59 am

We’ll fire looks good, I’m chimney not DV. It might not be sulfur but just like when the coal is sitting outside it’s damp when I pour it in. It dries but then still steams out of the hopper. I can get a picture later on. And pipes were new etc so I wouldn’t see no issue there. And I vacuumed out the pathway also.

 
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Post by Liccs » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 10:31 am

nepacoal wrote:
Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 5:20 am
Wet coal??? That is always a bad idea. Do you have CO detectors? Sulfur smell is leaking exhaust. How does your fire look? A picture of the fire will help diagnosis.

Was the stovepipe and the exhaust path in the stove vacuumed out before you lit off for the season?

For the old style intermatic timer, the first pin is 21 seconds and each subsequent pin adds an additional 15 seconds. I used 3 pins every 10 minutes, but 4 is common, too.
Yes i vacuumed everything out it was brand new, and it might not be sulfur, its just like steam coming out of the hopper. and i don't mean like soaking wet coal just like damp cause its been outside in the tub, the tub has holes and a valve to drain but. the fire looks good also so I don't know I'm just new to this. i also dont direct vent I chimney it so

 
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Post by Liccs » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 10:33 am

Eab91276 wrote:
Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 7:18 am
I’m running a Koker as well. Sulfur smell is never a good sign. This most likely indicates a draft issue. Have you checked your draft with a manometer? Do you have a direct vent or are you going into a chimney? The direct vent fan is a common place for ash build up on my Koker. Send us pics or more info and someone will help you out. As for the timer, three sets of three to four pins should work. This just keeps the fire lit when on idle. Last but not least, as you will find on many of the posts on this forum CO detectors are a must. Let us know.
It might not be sulfur its just like wet coal smell from damp coal when i pour it in, but after it dries up theres still like white steam coming from the hopper that smells like coal in a sense. i dont know what a manometer is, i do finance LOL!! i can get pics tonight. and i have my furnace in the basement and i have co detectors also. i dont DV i chimney...and my chimney is sealed up tight so i dont know. i wish someone was local so they could help im by the easton area!


 
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Post by waytomany?s » Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 2:44 pm

Short answer. Manometer measures the air flow through the stove.

 
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Post by WNY » Sun. Jan. 22, 2023 5:36 pm

could be too much draft, do you have a baro damper? checked your draft? how tall of a chimney? it can draw too much and burn back towards hopper and cause it to come up thru the hopper. leaking grates towards the back can cause it to burn too far back also.
do you have a working CO detector?

 
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Post by nepacoal » Sun. Jan. 22, 2023 5:45 pm

WNY wrote:
Sun. Jan. 22, 2023 5:36 pm
could be too much draft, do you have a baro damper? checked your draft? how tall of a chimney? it can draw too much and burn back towards hopper and cause it to come up thru the hopper. leaking grates towards the back can cause it to burn too far back also.
do you have a working CO detector?
Been waiting on a picture of the fire to see if that's the case...

 
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Post by Liccs » Mon. Jan. 23, 2023 12:06 am

WNY wrote:
Sun. Jan. 22, 2023 5:36 pm
could be too much draft, do you have a baro damper? checked your draft? how tall of a chimney? it can draw too much and burn back towards hopper and cause it to come up thru the hopper. leaking grates towards the back can cause it to burn too far back also.
do you have a working CO detector?
I have a barometric dampener, set on 4…and the chimney is prob 3+ feet tall and then goes though the wall I’ll get a picture of the fire and setup…and I have a bed of unburnt coal when it’s lit in the back so it should be good. And yes to co there’s no co

 
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Post by Liccs » Mon. Jan. 23, 2023 12:07 am

nepacoal wrote:
Sun. Jan. 22, 2023 5:45 pm
Been waiting on a picture of the fire to see if that's the case...
Getting that pic soon and a pic of the setup…I was out all day and I work a lot, but the smell stopped I don’t know…my theory is When the thermostat kicks on if it’s not hot enough maybe the draft can’t make it up the chimney in a sense

 
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Post by Liccs » Mon. Jan. 23, 2023 12:12 am

So this is the fire when I just turned the thermostat on and it just started calling for heat

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Post by Liccs » Mon. Jan. 23, 2023 12:44 am

Here is her @ 500 degrees stove temp

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Post by nepacoal » Mon. Jan. 23, 2023 5:20 am

Fire actually looks good! You even have some additional capacity if you ever needed more heat. A manometer would be the next logical thing to get so you can check your draft to see what it's doing at the start of a heat call and at idle. On a stoker it's inserted into the stove to check and set over fire air (set after a long run so the chimney is up to temp). I use a magnehelic I found on ebay for $25. The Dwyer mark II 25 is another popular choice here.

Maybe the wet load of coal caused a short term anomaly. Wet coal causes most of the stoker problems we see.

I didn't think to ask, but you do keep your hopper on the full side, right? Letting it get real low could possibly cause it to leak exhaust as the fan first turns on.

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