It's Alive!

Post by **Rob R.** » Sat. Oct. 30, 2021 12:16 pm

All done.

CoalisCoolxWarm · Post by **CoalisCoolxWarm** » Sat. Oct. 30, 2021 8:49 pm

Looks good! I like the parallel lines and artistic layout. It speaks to me.

Post by **Rob R.** » Sun. Oct. 31, 2021 8:10 am

The basement has cooled off about 5 degrees. 70-72 down there, perfect for drying the kids hockey gear.

Post by **Rob R.** » Thu. Nov. 11, 2021 9:06 pm

ziggy87 · Post by **ziggy87** » Thu. Nov. 11, 2021 11:02 pm

Very nice Rob! Good clean looking install!

Post by **Rob R.** » Fri. Nov. 12, 2021 3:02 am

We are having some very strong wind gusts and my smoke detector in the boiler area just went off. Wife and kids were not impressed (2:30 am) No odor or CO reading in basement. Chimney drafting very strong, baro maxed out. All I can think of is the wind causing a momentary downdraft. Odd that this was never an issue before. Only thing that has changed is my EFM is using a different chimney, and my smoke/CO detector is new.

I reset the smoke detector and it has stayed off.

HandFire · Post by **HandFire** » Fri. Nov. 12, 2021 11:59 am

Rob R. wrote: ↑
Fri. Nov. 12, 2021 3:02 am

I reset the smoke detector and it has stayed off.

Hopefully it was just taking a cue from this thread title and just saying "I'm Alive!" It could be a combination of particulates and changing air currents. If this is a combo unit, did it alarm on CO or smoke? Over the years on hardwired systems I have had to swap unit locations on new units with no actual fault. The worst was a non addressed install by another truck that gave random alarms at night only that could not be duplicated when I was there. I thought the owner was nuts and she began to agree she was losing her mind. After a lengthy physical inspection of 3 floors and questioning the customer over a period of several service calls I was able to duplicate the problem. A third floor unit near a stairwell was being triggered by air currents from a basement door the homeowner would open only at night before she went to bed so her cat could access a pet door. Swapped out the new unit with another new unit and it stopped.

Dave 1234 · Post by **Dave 1234** » Sat. Nov. 13, 2021 7:32 am

Rob R. wrote: ↑
Fri. Nov. 12, 2021 3:02 am
We are having some very strong wind gusts and my smoke detector in the boiler area just went off. Wife and kids were not impressed (2:30 am) No odor or CO reading in basement. Chimney drafting very strong, baro maxed out. All I can think of is the wind causing a momentary downdraft. Odd that this was never an issue before. Only thing that has changed is my EFM is using a different chimney, and my smoke/CO detector is new.

I reset the smoke detector and it has stayed off.

Morning Rob , I have two Co detectors , one strokes out a couple of times a year for no apparent reason .

CoalHeat · Post by **CoalHeat** » Mon. Nov. 15, 2021 3:37 pm

Had that happen a few times with the Harman on very windy days, for some reason the wind will momentarily gust just the right way and reverse the chimney draft, but only for a second or two. Once I was nearby and saw it happen. For a while I didn't have a cap on the chimney, seems having one helps keep it from happening.

coalkirk · Post by **coalkirk** » Tue. Nov. 16, 2021 11:36 am

Rob, very nice install! One thing I noticed is I believe your feed rate is only 3 teeth. I use the slo-mo video feature on my I-phone to check mine and for the heck of it I did it in your stoker while running in the video. I watched a couple of cycles and it sure looks like it's not grabbing the 4th tooth.

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Nov. 16, 2021 5:27 pm

Nice! I really enjoyed your walk thru video. Very nice setup you have there! How many tons per year are you burning?

Post by **Rob R.** » Tue. Nov. 16, 2021 6:08 pm

I just sat here and manually turned the stoker to count the teeth...it is grabbing 4 per stroke.

Lee, I used to burn about eight tons per winter when coal-only. Then I got carried away with a heat pump, an electric water heater, and last winter the house was torn up for a remodel. Based on what I saw the second half of last winter I'm thinking six to six and a half tons should take care of us (with no help from heat pump or water heater). We will see.

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Nov. 16, 2021 6:12 pm

Rob R. wrote: ↑
Tue. Nov. 16, 2021 6:08 pm
I'm thinking six to six and a half tons should take care of us (with no help from heat pump or water heater). We will see.

Wow that'd be quite a huge cut! It'll be interesting to see how it turns out

Post by **Rob R.** » Tue. Nov. 16, 2021 6:37 pm

Lightning wrote: ↑
Tue. Nov. 16, 2021 6:12 pm
Wow that'd be quite a huge cut! It'll be interesting to see how it turns out

I did a lot of air sealing on the house, and doubled attic insulation. Also increased square footage by 700 sq ft so it will be interesting to see how it shakes out.

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. Nov. 29, 2021 11:04 am

HandFire wrote: ↑
Fri. Nov. 12, 2021 11:59 am
Hopefully it was just taking a cue from this thread title and just saying "I'm Alive!" It could be a combination of particulates and changing air currents. If this is a combo unit, did it alarm on CO or smoke? Over the years on hardwired systems I have had to swap unit locations on new units with no actual fault. The worst was a non addressed install by another truck that gave random alarms at night only that could not be duplicated when I was there. I thought the owner was nuts and she began to agree she was losing her mind. After a lengthy physical inspection of 3 floors and questioning the customer over a period of several service calls I was able to duplicate the problem. A third floor unit near a stairwell was being triggered by air currents from a basement door the homeowner would open only at night before she went to bed so her cat could access a pet door. Swapped out the new unit with another new unit and it stopped.

It is a combination unit (Kiddie model KN-COSM_IBA) and was alarming for smoke, not CO. I blew it out and relocated it about 6 away, thinking it might be an issue with air currents. Made it a week and it went off at 4:30 am. It was dead calm outside, and the battery operated smoke detector I added for a second opinion never went off.

I called technical support at Kiddie, and talked to a man that was very helpful. He said they do not recommend this combination unit for a basement or garage installation due to the issues I am experiencing. They are very sensitive to dust, air currents, etc, and only intended for climate controlled living spaces. He recommended a different unit that is a heat alarm, and won't be fooled by dust - model HD135F. I have one ordered and will rely on my Kidde Nighthawk for CO monitoring.

It's Alive!

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