Koker - Consumption on Idle

Well, the newbie has a ton of questions this week after my first startup. After lighting the Koker on Thurs p.m. and getting through that cold night, the unit has been pretty much on idle. The radiant heat and the the convection blower kicking on periodically have kept us adequately warm. My question is this. On idle, how much can I expect the Koker to burn. My guess is that I'm using 1 bag per day. Since Thurs, I've only turned it up once and only for about an hour. Otherwise, the therm as been on 60 (and showing a room temp of 76 re: my earlier ? re: radiant heat)

Is it burning too much coal? (I do have someone coming over with a manometer to check the draft)

as always, thanks!
terry mccann

That's is probalby about right, you might be able to back it down a bit, but don't go too low and have it go out on you.

Do you jsut have a thermostat or Coaltrol on it? Do you have a Baro Damper also?

Approx. 50# / 24 hours = 2#/hr, that is very reasonable. When it gets really cold, it will burn more.

Thanks Dave

No baro damper. I have a DV. No Coaltrol, just an analog Honeywell, which I'm getting ready to replace with a Venstar Wireless Them ($200). Bags are 40lb.

Ah, the DV can be adjusted for draft on the stove, most of the time they are pretty close from the factory, but always good to check as not to waste heat up the stack.

40#, Even better, that is only 1.666#/hr.

In my Hyfire, I can go thru 30-50#'s every 12-16 hours when it's really cold outside and both burners running.

I'm told the koker 160 can be as low as 1lb per hour on idle using the coal trol.

for 200 I would suggest you get the coal-trol....

OK. My manometer is reading -.04. I have a 2" fire. (on idle) According to Don (Keystoker) I should burn no more than a pound an hour on idle or 24# per day. If the fire is the right size and the draft is set properly, why am I still burning 40# per day. What am I missing? In theory, this is costing me $60/mo. in coal.

Any thoughts?

t.mccann

2" of fire on the grate is too much for an idle fire. You should be able to cut that in half.
Also with the weather you have been having I will bet your house is calling for heat so therefore you are not at idle anymore.

The tech guy at Keystoker asked if I had a 2" fire. I have my Honeywell turned all the way to the left. The house is not calling for heat. We've only had a few nights in the 30s. Most days are still hovering in mid to high 50s.

I don't own a koker so I guess I should not reply, but I will give you my opinion and you can take it with a grain of salt.
Maybe there is a reason for the 2" idle fire but I can't see why. I think the tech tells people that because at a 2" idle fire the chance of you having idle problems with the coal or CO, draft problems at idle is pretty much nill.

Could it be your draft should be at .02? I am told Keytoker Kokers like that number. .04 may be too strong of a draft?

Yeah. I've got some tweaking to do. I guess that's what year #1 is for. I don't know whether to adjust the feed rate mechanism or adjust the feed frequency. I am going to install a rheostat on the DV motor so I can more easily control the draft. Between all three, I should be able to get the fire down to 1".

But, what I haven't considered, until now, is this. The furnace may be idling too hot but at the same time, it's keeping my house warm w/out fussing with the thermostat. If I screw around and get it to"proper" idle..... my house could then start calling for heat and I could still, with our current weather, end up burning a bog per day? I'm so confused!! I do know that the one time I ramped up the thermostat, the fire was very close to the edge of the grate. So, I suppose I do need to adjust something.

To quote Forest Gump...."I'm not a smart man"!!!

t.mccann

McKoker wrote: If I screw around and get it to"proper" idle..... my house could then start calling for heat and I could still, with our current weather, end up burning a bog per day? I'm so confused!! I do know that the one time I ramped up the thermostat, the fire was very close to the edge of the grate. So, I suppose I do need to adjust something.

To quote Forest Gump...."I'm not a smart man"!!!

t.mccann

No matter what, if you want to keep the house warm you have to burn fuel. I will burn anywhere from #12 to #85 a day depending on the weather. Burning at full burn (Max) your ash should come to within an inch of the end of the grate.

On the Koker there are is a timer on the side, with pins in it. This is for setting the idle time. I believe one pin equals 15 seconds. If I'm not mistaken it comes set from Keystoker with 6 pins in it. That means the stoker will run about 90 seconds every 10 or 15 min.(I can't remember) on idle. You shouldn't have to mess with the timer, that is usually the correct setting. This is for when the thermostat is not calling for heat. It allows the stoker to push just enough coal to keep a minimal fire until thermostat call for heat. There is a relay that switches the stoker between the timer and thermostat. If you turn the Thermostat all the way down, the timer will run the stoker. Turn the thermostat all the way up, and the thermostat will run the stoker until satisfied, then the relay switches the furnace back to the idle timer. If that is not the case, you may have the thermostat wired incorrectly. You should have about 8" of ash from the fire to the end of the grate when on idle. When Thermostat calls for heat and stoker gets up to full fire you should have 2" of ash at the end of grate. If not, then that is when you would adjust your feed rate.Turn the white nut clock-wise to increase the feed rate, counter clock-wise to decrease it. When adjusting your feed rate be patient, only turn rod about 1/4 to 1/2 turn at a time. Wait an hour and re-check it. It may take a while before you get the feed rate dialed in. I hope this helped. Let us know how you made out.

Thanks Redman. I tweaked three things last night. I double-checked the draft and got it to -.03. I pulled one set of clips from the timer and I adjusted the feed rate. I wasn't quite as patient as you suggested but, in the end, I guessed correctly. I ended up backing the white knob off 3 turns....not all at once. This has left me exactly where you just suggested with about 8" of ash and a 1" fire. The house is now comfortable and we can leave our windows closed. I topped off the hopper this morning and will see what happens when I check it in the morning.

I'm thinking I'll have to re-adjust the feed rate when it really gets cold, huh? I'll be more patient going the other way. I have only been at full burn once and the burning coals were 1/4" from the edge. Fortunately, our weather as allowed me to run on idle ever since.

Thanks for your suggestions.

t.mccann