How do I use my Keystoker Lite efficiently?

 
mdprincipal
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Post by mdprincipal » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 9:12 pm

Hi all,
I am very new to this forum- I don't even know how to post a question, but my worry is the same as what was asked in this web. I am currently burning wood upstairs because my Keystoker Lite runs constantly if I don't. When it runs, it is loud and keeps me awake. The cold air return comes from a tiny vent in my room. It really sounds like a jet taking off. The person who installed it gave it maintenance in the fall and said that it was tip-top. I have my doubts since I am burning wood to keep it from blowing all day and night. I tried to dial it in, but I am frustrated and am considering getting rid of it. I have a 1600 sq. ft. ranch, and from reading here, it should adequately heat my home, but it doesn't. I used a manometer to see what draft it was pulling, but I don't think I am using it correctly. Please let me know if I am out of my league with this thing. I really just want to go back to wood. Oh, I bought the house this year with the Keystoker already installed. Ugh, I hate it.

I am at 3 tons used this winter while burning wood at the same time. I am putting far too much effort into heating my house. Any help is greatly appreciated.


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 9:41 pm

Be patient M, these Keystoker guys will get ya where you need to be. :)

 
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StokerDon
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Post by StokerDon » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 9:42 pm

Sounds like you may have more than one problem. Let's see if we can pick this apart and figure out what is going on.

1) Runs constantly. Do you mean the distribution blower or the stoker? If it's the distribution blower, the fan switch cut-off may be set to high.

2) It really sounds like a jet taking off. You probably don't have enough return air going back to the blower. This also leads to an inability to distribute all the heat that is made.

3) Manometer. If you don't have this right you will either have a lot of CO and coal stink or dump a lot of heat out the chimney. Do you have a chimney or is this direct vent?

4) 3 tons over the whole Winter is actually pretty good fuel mileage, depending on what part of the world you are in.

You can also call Keystoker. They have been making furnaces, stoves and boilers for a very, very long time and can answer your questions.

If connected properly and running property, this unit should easily heat your 1600 sq ft house. Unless you have no insulation and leave all the windows open.

-Don

 
mdprincipal
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Post by mdprincipal » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:21 pm

Hi Don,

Thank you for the update. My house was built in 1986, NW PA and is properly insulated. The furnace is direct vent. There is no CO smell, and I suspect that I am venting heat.

- It is the distribution fan that runs all night. I replaced the limiter switch and set it to 110 minimum, 150 shutoff, 150 shutdown. Before replacing and readjusting the limiter, the fan would short cycle on and off every couple of minutes. Now, it just runs and runs, but does not produce good heat.

-When I attached the manometer it said 0.12 (I believe that it was on the wrong side of the instrument and that it should have been -0.12). From my research, I need -0.02, but I can't get it there.

-I have an adjustable flap (don't know what to call it) and above it is a larger steel door that I can adjust by lowering it after loosening an Alan screw. I also did suspect that it needs more cold air return, but not sure.

Can I get more heat by lowering the draft? I can play with the weight on the flap and by lowering the steel door. I know that I shouldn't pull in basement air, and I don't know how much is too much.

The three tons is also with burning wood in a fireplace insert to keep the thermostat from tripping so that it doesn't run all day. The heat from the registers is minimal, but will satisfy the thermostat if the wood burner is lit.

I wish I knew how to share the pictures that I have, but maybe this explanation is enough.

Thanks again

 
mdprincipal
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Post by mdprincipal » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:26 pm

I should have said 105 shut off and 200 shut down on the limiter switch.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:43 pm

mdprincipal wrote:
Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:21 pm
wish I knew how to share the pictures that I have, but maybe this explanation is enough.
Click "full editor and preview" under the reply entry box, then click "attachments", click "add files", go to the folder your pics are in and click the one you want to share.

How "tiny" is your cold air return vent? Dimensions?

 
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Post by StokerDon » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:52 pm

105 is to low for something that always has a fire in it. I would bump it up to 120 or 130. The idea is when there is a call for heat from the thermostat, the stoker will ramp up tripping the blower ON. When the heat call is over, the stoker ramps down, the blower blows the remaining heat into the house then shuts off.

It sounds like the bigger problem is WAY to much draft and you are just blowing heat out the chimney. I don't know anything about power vents or direct vents, but I know your draft at full fire should be no more than -.05 for almost any coal burner.

What kind of a draft meter do you have and do you leave it hooked up?

-Don


 
mdprincipal
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Post by mdprincipal » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:55 pm

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About 7"x11" in a smaller of three bedrooms.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 11:09 pm

mdprincipal wrote:
Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:55 pm
About 7"x11" in a smaller of three bedrooms.
Only one 7×11 for a cold air return? How many heat registers and how big are they? What is the dimension of the warm air supply out of the furnace?

 
mdprincipal
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Post by mdprincipal » Sun. Mar. 18, 2018 7:58 am

Yes, only the one. There are 5 heat registers that are 4x13 inches. The warm air supply from the furnace is shown in a picuture (I didn't measure it, sorry).
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Also, my manometer reads 0.00, so I'm lost there. I have a picture of what I am using. I would like to close down some draft today, but I don't feel confident that I am using the manometer correctly.
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Post by WNY » Sun. Mar. 18, 2018 8:05 am

on you fan switch on the side of the stove, make sure your WHITE Button is NOT pushed in, that makes it run constantly. adjusting the temp on the dial should make it go on and off at the set temps.

Where your thermostat located in relation to the heat ducts? if it's constantly calling for heat, turn it down a couple degrees and see if it cools down enough to trip the fan off. sometimes if the stove is constantly calling for heat. If adjusted properly, it should run for a while, then turn off, then turn back on once it gets hot enough.

ON your draft, where are you measuring it? The flapper or slider on the direct vent should be adjusted in a bit and then adjust the baro to get around -.02-.04 on your gauge. LIke they said, if you are measuring 0.12, that seems pretty high.
Last edited by WNY on Sun. Mar. 18, 2018 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Sun. Mar. 18, 2018 8:38 am

mdprincipal wrote:
Sat. Mar. 17, 2018 10:21 pm
There is no CO smell, and I suspect that I am venting heat.
CO is odorless, don't bet your life on your nose!

 
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Mar. 18, 2018 8:53 am

To start with, in my opinion the cold air return is WAY too small. Your furnace has a 1000 cfm blower. For comparison, my furnace has twin 550s (total 1100 cfm) and my cold air return duct is 24×8 inches, nearly three times as big as your 11×7. FURTHERMORE, the pipe coming down to the convection blower appears to be only 8 inches in diameter. An 8 inch pipe only has 50 inches of cross sectional area, again for comparison, mine has 224 inches (4.5 times an 8" pipe) and I feel like mine is undersized.

So, I'm afraid your cold air return is GROSSLY undersized. Adding to it will help greatly with heat distribution. It should be your first step in improving this heating system.

Is that a gravity feed hot water coil? Do you leave the tank powered on?

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mdprincipal
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Post by mdprincipal » Sun. Mar. 18, 2018 10:04 am

Thanks Lightning,

It is a gravity fed hot water coil and yes, I keep the tank powered on. I agree with you that I must increase the cold air return. For this I may have to call a professional (not the one who installed this!). Unfortunately, there is nobody local who works with these.

Does anyone use a different meter than the manometer I pictured? I don't think that it is the right one for my application.

After all of the suggestions on here, I think that I have a two-fold issue: cold air return and venting heat. I hate to play with the draft because of CO, even though I have sensors all over the house and basement.

 
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Post by titleist1 » Sun. Mar. 18, 2018 10:21 am

A popular manometer is a dwyer mark II model 25. It has a hi and lo port, most connect the tubing to the lo side so the reading, even though positive, uses the 'wider' side of the scale. Others use a magnehelic style. You just want to get one with a scale that is easy to read in the .01 through .1 range since that is where you want to be.

You don't have to have a coal stoker specific 'pro' do the cold air return for you, any hvac tin knocker can do that. Just be specific and insistent on the size opening and ductwork that you want installed.


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