Keystoker KA6 Boiler Has Arrived...Looking for Wisdom..

iron82 · Post by **iron82** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 11:51 am

I just got a call from the local dealer and my new boiler has come in. It will be replacing an "Energy Kinetics" fuel oil boiler that was installed spring of 95'. Basically all the current boiler does is heat DHW. An Alaskan stove in the LRoom heats the whole house. Over the last couple winters I have been adding radiant floor tubing for the first floor (2 zones). The new boiler will handle a total of 6 zones. (1) DHW (2) 400 sq ft radiant finished basement (3) 1st floor radiant (4) 1st floor radiant (5) upstairs master BR & bath- baseboard (6) upstairs 3 bedrooms-baseboard. The Alaskan will come out of the LRoom. 2 story log home. Basically what I am looking for are "words of wisdom" from people that have done their installs. I will be doing the install with the help of a retired "plumber" type person and some from a neighbor that has done home contracting in the past. I need some good ideas as far as controls. Thermostats, floor sensors, outside sensors, zone valves, ect. ect. Posts that I have read either prefer KISS or high tech.

efo141 · Post by **efo141** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 12:01 pm

iron82
Can I ask when you ordered your boiler. Thanks,Ed

warmwinter09 · Post by **warmwinter09** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 12:11 pm

I just installed my KA-6 in Novenber. Works great, however, I cut a few corners to which I need to undo. Let me know what you need to know, or where your at with the install, and I'll attempt to guide you along. maybe I can save you from making the same mistakes.

iron82 · Post by **iron82** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 12:54 pm

Order date was July 9, 2008 (6 months exactly). One of my first concerns is that I have a 6" ID thimble going through my poured concrete wall and my chimney looks to be a square flue that measures about 7" ID (about 30' tall) . I know that the boiler has an 8" pipe but my dealer said that I could "try it" and if it did not work, to add the $150 draft fan inline.

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 1:30 pm

Always advisable to use the same opening size, for max. draft. If you have to, use 8" all the way to the chimney, then reduce it down, probably put an 8" baro damper too. But, to accurately set it up, you need a draft gauge too.

sterling40man · Post by **sterling40man** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 4:28 pm

iron, did your dealer have a bunch of K6's on order prior to July 9 or did he order yours on that day?

Bob

Complete Heat · Post by **Complete Heat** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 4:58 pm

Iron,

The KA-6 has an 8" collar, but will easily run on a 6" pipe. The 6" thimble going through the foundation, is that a pipe cemented in" If there is a 7" x 7" clay liner on the horizontal run, then you can take out the 6" thimble with a crow bar, install a 7" thimble and run 8" pipe all the way to the thimble with a 7"- 8" reducer for the final connection.

Mike

PS- Go to Barnes & Noble and get a manual on heating fundamentals. I think it is volume 4, it has a black and yellow cover. Well worth the money. There are two chapters you will want to read in there concerning boilers and their various components. With that knowledge and some time, the install is easy.

beatle78 · Post by **beatle78** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 4:59 pm

I just had my KA-4 installed a month ago. It was plumbed in parallel to my oil boiler. It is controlled by a TACO dual stage controller. I just didn't want the boilers in series. Although that's what many prefer.

Got any specific questions?

iron82 · Post by **iron82** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 5:02 pm

I "believe" that he had ordered mine on that day. He went down for a truckload (15' box truck) about mid-December and I checked in when I saw the truck being unloaded. He said that mine would be the next boiler to come home (some of the boilers arrived with out feed mechanisms). They had hoped before Christmas but obviously that did not happen. Mine arrived complete. Hopefully I can get it home in the next few days. With a bad ice storm followed by 6" of snow this weekend, has totally iced my driveway. Making the trip for the skid steer up my driveway totally impossible. Waiting for appliance dolly and 4X4 truck.

"Complete Heat"- 6" thimble is cemented in, especially on the inside. The actual hole through the concrete looks to be about 8". I will check B&N for that info. Thanks.

Complete Heat · Post by **Complete Heat** » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 6:51 pm

It will run fine with 6" pipe, or run 6" to thimble with an 8-6 reducer.

Mike

iron82 · Post by **iron82** » Mon. Jan. 12, 2009 10:31 am

From looking at Taco, Argo, Tekmar, Honeywell ect products do I need an "outside temp sensor" and will it be compatable for the ka-6. It seems like a good idea, but will it work with the manual settings. I am use to watching the weather with my Alaskan. See a cold snap coming, boost it up. Warm day; back it off.

Do I "need" the indirect tank that I have ?? My dealer said one of his customers took 7 back-to-back showers and the manual says that it will provide 200gph of dhw. The tank I have is a 40 gal tank that has its own aquastat and is fired by the oil burner via a plate type exchanger. The tank has been reliable for 15 years.

warmwinter09 · Post by **warmwinter09** » Mon. Jan. 12, 2009 6:01 pm

Iron 82,
Question "From looking at Taco, Argo, Tekmar, Honeywell ect products do I need an "outside temp sensor" and will it be compatable for the ka-6. It seems like a good idea, but will it work with the manual settings. I am use to watching the weather with my Alaskan. See a cold snap coming, boost it up. Warm day; back it off."

Answer: The Honeywell triple aquastat will do all the thinking for you. The new K-6's have a constant airflow, which all but eliminates the need for the timer mechanism (at least in the winter months). The B1 connection to the aquastat (located on the bottom right side) will feed the coal or back it off as needed; it will engage the feed mechanism and blower to stoke the fire. You will NOT need any outside temp to run it. I have one for curiosity and documentation sake. It will take a few days to set your feed correctly, dependant on the size of coal and boiler temps desired. IMPORTANT, any changes you make in feed, make it small and give it 1,2 or even three hours for final results.

efo141 · Post by **efo141** » Mon. Jan. 12, 2009 9:15 pm

Are you talking about a control with a outside sensor that will raise or lower the boiler temp according to the outside temp?

iron82 · Post by **iron82** » Tue. Jan. 13, 2009 1:21 pm

efo141: Yes that is the sensor that I am talking about. Some of the companies offer this as an option.

FingerLakesStoker · Post by **FingerLakesStoker** » Tue. Jan. 27, 2009 7:39 am

I just installed a KA-6 in September and I've been running since the first week of October. I'm running mine in series with a propane boiler although the propane boiler has not kicked on at all since I fired up the KA-6. What I found is that once the temps outside get up to 60°F, the KA-6 throws off so much heat that the house gets up to about 70-75°F. Other wise I have not had to mess around with adjustments on the feed since I dialed it in. It took about a week of adjusting to get it there, but it has been going great. I've used less than 3 tons in the 4 months it has been running and I'm heating a 2400 sq ft. ranch and a 50 gallon indirect hot water tank. Iron82 mentioned about a control that takes the outside temp into consideration to turn down the burn, I would love to know more about that. I even checked with Coal-trol digital about a boiler control because they have an igniter also, but they said it is on the board, but not scheduled.

Mike
P.S. I documented my install from my trailer to fire up with pictures and descriptions if you are interested.