Sulfur Smell from Keystoker Koker

just got my keystoker koker hooked up and running yesterday! (i've been dreaming of this day for many many moons now) It's cranking out heat...although I woke up this morning and it was only 63 degrees in my house and the thermostat was set for 74. and i'm not sure if it's psychosomatic, but I smell sulfur throughout my house (we have a DV) and I feel like i'm nauseous. the co2 is on and is fine.... is this normal? a few questions as well:
-koker in my basement with 3-six inch pipes coming out the top to 3 vents. around the base of the pipes (where they meet the top of the koker) there's a lot of air coming out of them. is that normal? do I call the install team back or can I fix it with some of that dandy aluminum tape stuff?
-with a coal furmace, do I turn the heat down at night? do I continuously leave it at a constant 68?
-do you guys with kokers leave the blower on constant or timer? pros and cons?

thanks. i'm brand new to coal. love the heat! not so crazy about the smell.

You should not smell anything at all!!!
Do you have a meter (monometer) to measure your draft?
Is there any moisture under the hopper lid? and can you smell sulphur (stronger) when you lift the hopper lid?
How far back on the grate is the coal burning? can you see some black unburned coal back toward the hopper inlet?

no, I don't even know that a monometer is! where do I get one and how is it used? the hopper did not come with a lid. although the smell is stronger near the hopper. it's hard to see the coal through the glass...the glass is getting clouded. do I open the door? i'm a newbie and clueless. last night when it was 15 degrees, the house was up to 70. now, it's -2..does this impact the koker cooking heat? poor girl. she's brand new and having to work like a horse in this weather. (yeah, I already gave the koker a gender. no name yet.)

Did you do a pre-burn to get all the Newness smell off it. ?

DO a search in the section on the Manometer/Draft Guage, You will have to get one to set your draft correctly. Since you have a DV, it should be still setup correctly, it could get changed in shipment. YOu can order them online at various vendors.
Hopefully the installers calibrated it?

I wouldn't set it back at night too much maybe 1-2 degrees, but most poeple on here usually keep it a constant temp. Takes a while to come up to temp (an hour or more) depending on your house.

YOur blower should have a temp. switch on it to cycle on/off. I would just leave it as is, the factory setting are usuallly pretty good.

Sounds like they didn't seal the duct work, just get some Aluminum tape at you hardware store and seal the joints

What do you have your feed set at? You may hvae to increase it a bit

i feel like an idiot..thanks guys. my husband was here for the install, and I've been the driving force behind the whole coal conversion. where do I find the feed rate? and how do I increase it? so I can put the tape right on the steel koker?
they did do a pre-burn. so I should smell NO sulfur at all? I definitely can smell it outside, (my neighbors will be thrilled), but I should NOT smell it inside, correct?

I know this is not typical advice coming from a man, however, read the entire manual a couple times first, then follow the instructions for set up and adjustment. Sulpher smell is not OK, even though it doesn't usually contain CO it is a sign of an improperly running stove, with draft being the most usual culprit.

Also it sounded like you have only one CO detector, please go out today and get at least two more, you need one by the stove and two more outside your sleeping areas, better safe than sorry!

Yes, READ the MANUAL, it should explain how to adjust it.

Outside, YES, you will smell the sulpher, but are you sure you are not just smelling WET Coal, if it's wet, it will smell a bit in the hopper, but you shouldn't smell it upstairs, unless the cold air return is not hooked up and just drawing air from around the stove, so it might pull some of the smell thru the ducts. DO you have a digital CO meter and/or others throughout the house? If you have a digital one, put it near the stove and see if there is any reading, you stove may be fine, but just the wet coal smell, mine smells like that sometimes when I fill it up.

The Aluminum tape can be used on the Ductwork, but I would use some hi temp silicone on the duct to the stove connections, since it maybe much hotter on the stove.

Congratulations on getting up and running!
I have a Koker and want to add a couple of comments.
1) make sure your exhaust vent pipe between the DV motor and the outside wall is sealed with high temp silicone. This pipe is (should be) under pressure and will push exhaust gases into your home if not completly sealed.

2) when I load coal in the hopper I do get the faint smell of sulpher from the wet coal (Blaschak). The hopper does not have a cover and the smell goes away quickly as the coal dries.

3) My Koker was delivered with the vent opened to the correct setting. The setscrew at the "T" bar at the top of the vent pipe was tight and the bar was marked with a dot of white paint. My friend's Koker was delivered with the bar not set correctly and not marked. Apparently this setting is a step that can be overlooked at the factory. You must get a manometer and check your draft. Or, borrow the manometer being offered here on the forum.

4) Another issue my friend had with his Koker was the handle on his ash door was loose and the door wasn't sealing. This is an obvious problem and one that I doubt applies to your situation but be aware that the handles are fastened with setscrews and can come loose and fail to seal the doors.
I hope some of this helps you.
-Len

Not to alarm you, but If you don't have a digital readout on your CO detector. Get on like Matthaus stated. Most CO detectors won't alarm until around 70 ppm @ around 2 hours of exposure. The higher the PPM the shorter the time to detect it. So it is very possible to have CO in your house and your detector not go off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poi ... g#Toxicity

The alarm points on carbon monoxide detectors are not a simple alarm level as in smoke detectors but are a concentration-time function. At lower concentrations (eg 100 parts per million) the detector will not sound an alarm for many tens of minutes. At 400 parts per million (PPM), the alarm will sound within a few minutes. This concentration-time function is intended to mimic the uptake of carbon monoxide in the body while also preventing false alarms due to relatively common sources of carbon monoxide such as cigarette smoke.

There are three types of sensors available and they vary in cost, accuracy and speed of response.[6] All three types of sensor elements typically last from 3 to 5 years. At least one CO detector is available which includes a battery and sensor in a replaceable module. Most CO detectors do not have replaceable sensors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_detector

On another Note:

You could be smelling the paint. Even though you said they preburned it. With temps as cold as they are the thing has to burn harder so it could be that.
If it is sulpher (Bad Fart Smell) get an additional CO detector. Even though the smell doesn't always mean there is CO. 9/10 times it does

Is there a 'spec' on ppm of the notorious BFS? I assume it might be defendant upon the type, quantity and quality of fuel being consumed. This is no laughing matter and perhaps Coal Berner will have some history of the BFS. Should there be a portable gas monitor that attaches to the perpetrator directly? I am aware that fresh air supply will help in the short term, but it would be safer to direct vent the source outside the dwelling. Don't take any chances with toxic gases, it can kill you.

Thanks guys. I had the installer come back to check out everything and it's good. the smell is gone and he said that it was the burn-off. I also went out and bought an additional digital co dectector! (we have 3 now)

Great. Glad to hear you are enjoying it!