Old Alaska Kodiak Stoker II Rebuild

arcticcatmatt · Post by **arcticcatmatt** » Fri. Oct. 03, 2008 12:42 pm

^ The switch is a great idea! I was just going to unplug it

I will wire in a switch next week and tear into that fan.

Seems that the efficiency of this stove could be increased if air blowed all around it and not just the top.

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Fri. Oct. 03, 2008 12:59 pm

I have five of those fan units brand new sitting on the shelf should you have a failure.

arcticcatmatt · Post by **arcticcatmatt** » Fri. Oct. 03, 2008 2:05 pm

^ The fan unit on top of the stove or the little fan I just replaced?

Good to know!

Rick 386 · Post by **Rick 386** » Fri. Oct. 03, 2008 2:38 pm

[quote}Seems that the efficiency of this stove could be increased if air blowed all around it and not just the top.[/quote]

Matt,

I built a ductwork to pull the heat off the sides of the stove. I took sheets of 22 gauge steel and bent them in a "U" shape the size of the sides and stitch welded them to the front and back sides of the stove. In between the stitch welds I used RTV sealant. Then I built a collector cap to adapt to 8x14 ductwork. I cut holes in the sides of the ductwork to install squirrel cage blowers to push the air up and over the stove into the ductwork. You could also get an inline fan to suck the heat off of it sorta like the LL hot air jacket for the Hyfire II.

When I get home tonight and if I don't have too many beers,

I'll take a few pics for you.

---------------------------------------------------------

Rick

Adamiscold · Post by **Adamiscold** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 7:59 am

Someone must of had too many beers last night

Rick 386 · Post by **Rick 386** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 12:19 pm

Adam,

I did have a few while firing up my SIL's Cast Console II for her. Had to baby sit that thing until 10PM just trying to get it set and explaining everything to her (she's a blonde

)

I'll go out and take some pics while I paint it and before I have some more.

-----------------------------------------------------

Rick

Adamiscold · Post by **Adamiscold** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 2:57 pm

Have to watch out for those blonde's.

arcticcatmatt · Post by **arcticcatmatt** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 9:46 pm

I look forward to the pictures! Thanks! How does it work? Worth the extra work?

Holy crap, that stove I posted a page back that is the same as mine on ebay is up to 1500 bucks. It has a power vent thats 8 years old but still.

**Broken Link(s) Removed**

ScottD · Post by **ScottD** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:24 pm

I give arcticcatmatt credit on his coal stove and all his endeavors, however, don't give him too much credit on those 100lb bags. I was sympathetic for him until he posted pics with him unloading the coal. How old are you?

We older guys wouldn't fair as well.

(actually, that would be an insult to us older guys. I shoveled and wheelbarrowed almost 5 tons to my bin and there are more tales like that!)
Any way, just kidding and good luck in your coal adventure!
Had to light my stoker stove tonight as the kids were (in thier words) frozen!

traderfjp · Post by **traderfjp** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:57 pm

You're working your butt off but you'll be smiling all winter long when you have those extra dollars to take the wife out for fun. I'm very impressed with the rehab on the stove and your ability to fix things. I'm exactly the same way and really enjoy all the projects that I've done over the years. Many times I was under the gun so I really didn't get to enjoy the process as I wanted to. I can't wait to see your pics. It sounds like you built a small enclosure to capture the radiant heat and then send it into the duct for heating upstairs. Coal stoves get really hot so it'll be interesting to see how your setup holds up. You may decide that coal is easier than wood too. There is also a device called a Coaltrol that will keep your house at one temp. That is something you might want to consider in the future. However, if you have a blower on a thermostat I guess you could control most of the heat like that but I might be concerned about the metal case that you're building overheating when the hot air has no place to go. I'm not sure of your setup so I could be off base. In any event it sounds cool.

Rick 386 · Post by **Rick 386** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 11:11 pm

Matt, here you go.

I have the pics in large format in case you want to zoom in on them. PM me and I'll send them your way.

I basically took flat sheets of sheet metal (22 Gauge) that I get to make rust repair panels in my auto body shop. I bent them using our sheet metal brake. For the sides, I just bent the sheets into a "U" shape and stitch welded them directly to the front and rear sides of the stove. For the top, I bent the front edge in a tight "U" shape to fit around the top panel. I added 2 pieces of old scrap "U" channel pieces laying around the shop to make a spacer for the top panel to sit upon. I driled holes in this top "U" bracket to allow air flow to get toward the collector. I made the collector buy just bending 90 * flanges to fit over the side duct pieces. I then cut a hole the dimension of a store bought conversion piece to connect the 8" x 14" standard ductwork. I bent flanges upwards to allow me to install screws to hole the ductwork in place. Wherever there was a gap, I filled it with RTV hi temp automotive sealant.

The fans were just store bought fans. Both are the same size to keep the airflow uniform. I cut holes in the sides of my custom ductwork to attach the fans which blow into the ductwork exiting up at the top. Originally I had them hooked up to a rheostat but that wouldn't really push the heat unless they were on high speed. What I eventually did was to turn the stove down 4 cam lobes in at night and disconnect the side fans. In the morning, I would increase the feed, and plug in the fans for the entire day. I would go from idle to max of 5 cam lobe turns to max.

The only drawback is that there is no way to put filters in this system. My ductwork got very dirty at times. But as this was out in the shop, and not in a house, it may not be a problem for you. I was pushing heat in about 40 feet of duct out into the open garage.

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Now where is my

Adam, It took me all night to put this together.........Too many of them !!!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rick

Matthaus · Post by **Matthaus** » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 11:43 pm

arcticcatmatt wrote:^ The fan unit on top of the stove or the little fan I just replaced?

Good to know!

The convection fan on top that distributes the heat.

Adamiscold · Post by **Adamiscold** » Sun. Oct. 05, 2008 8:36 am

Adam, It took me all night to put this together.........Too many of them !!!!!!

Sounds like you need to learn how to pace yourself

Great job with the cover, it looks like you sealed her up really good.

arcticcatmatt · Post by **arcticcatmatt** » Sun. Oct. 05, 2008 9:31 am

ScottD- I am 47, I just look young! haha j/k. I am 28.

Rick 386 - Thanks for the information and the pictures! Did you weld the heat jacket to your stove? Looks great! I do not have air ducting in my house of course but I would like to do something like that heat jacket, that's exactly what I was thinking. Whats the CFM of the fans your running?

I would like to blow hot air behind my unit as my stove is pretty much located in the center of my basement. I might pick up a couple more of those little fans and design a jacket as those fans are only 13 watts. Any idea what the fans your running run on? Ideally, I would like to keep my stove running on as few watts as possible. My area is 14.5 KPH

I am 4 hrs away at the moment doing my last multi thousand pound wood run again. I got self drillers while I am here and I will finish the pipe when I get home. I may work on this air jacket while I am heating with my mason stove

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Sun. Oct. 05, 2008 9:54 am

If someone is going to build the same or similar ductwork, build a box around each fan on the sides,, sized to take a comercially available air filter, and run an 8" duct into the box, through the filter.. hook the duct to the cold air returns of your existiing FA ductwork, or make a few of your own cold air returns in the far corners of the heates spaces of the house.. you will greatly improve your heat distribution by making the stove as much like an actual furnace as possilbe..
The air circulation loop is all-important for efficient heating , filtering and reheating the air.

Nice job on the ductwork on the stove,, it looks factory..

Greg L