KAA-4-1

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2366
Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:23 pm

Well, with a cold house and after a few days of cleaning the stoker and the flue pipes and in finding that the cover plate over the flue breech was not welded in place which I found when I was scooping out the ash and scale from scraping the buildup off wet wall and the steam chest.

I removed the oil burner(no oil anyway and it really stinks up the house when burning as the fumes back up into the air box of the Riello burner) and reinstalled the oil burner port cover plate and a new adjustable elbow stove pipe we have begun the heating season.

I had to deal with a stubborn pusher plate too; I figure if I have to replace the nylon screws again I am just going drill them out and cement them all in place in the holes as they were a )(*&^%^&*() in the )(*&^%$#%^&*( to remove.

The existing flat gaskets fell right off the sides of the pusher plate and I called keystoker about getting some new ones but they said to just use 5/8 flat stove gasket. I tried that and the pusher plate would not even move by hand through the stokers feed length so off they came.

The KAA-4-1 is working, The Low water cut off is working and the boiler is making heat so I am not too worried it will just take a day or two to heat the house up.

I am concerned about the blower as the fire is not very high; I oiled the blower twice and ran it before I fired the stoker up today. The draft is at .02 the flue pipes are completely clean and I have no leakage at the stove pipe joints

I am burning a buckwheat, rice mix today for the first time so I will see how that does and I still have some rice coal left from last year to throw in the hopper later today

SO my heating season begins anew.
Last edited by lzaharis on Fri. Oct. 19, 2018 2:22 am, edited 2 times in total.


 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2366
Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:25 pm

lzaharis wrote:
Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:23 pm
Well, with a cold house and after a few days of cleaning the stoker and the flue pipes, and finding that the cover plate That I thought was welded over the flue breech was not welded in place.

I found that out when I was scooping out the ash and scale from scraping the buildup off wet wall and the steam chest and it moved while I was scooping up the flyash and the coall soot off the boiler walls.

I removed the oil burner(no oil anyway and it really stinks up the house when burning as the fumes back up into the air box of the Riello burner) and reinstalling the oil burner port cover plate and a new adjustable elbow stove pipe we have begun the heating season.

I had to deal with a stubborn pusher plate too; I figure if I have to replace the nylon screws again I am just going drill them out and cement them all in place in the holes as they were a )(*&^%^&*() in the )(*&^%$#%^&*( to remove.

The existing flat gaskets fell right off the sides and I called keystoker about getting some new ones but they said to just use 5/8 flat stove gasket, I tried that and the pusher plate would not even move by hand though the stoker so off they came.

The KAA-4-1 is working, The Low water cut off is working and the boiler is making heat so I am not too worried it will just take a day or two to heat the house up.

I am concerned about the blower as the fire is not very high; I oiled the blower twice and ran it before I fired the stoker up today. The draft is at .02 the flue pipes are completely clean and I have no leakage at the stove pipe joints

I am burning a buckwheat, rice mix today for the first time so I will see how that does and I still have some rice coal left from last year to throw in the hopper later today

SO my heating season begins anew.

 
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lsayre
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Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:35 pm

Leon, I hope all will be well with you and yours and the KAA-4 this winter. You've had enough problems with boiler issues to deserve a nice run of no problem years going forward.

 
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nepacoal
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Posts: 1696
Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
Location: Coal Country
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
Coal Size/Type: Buck

Post by nepacoal » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:55 pm

lsayre wrote:
Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:35 pm
Leon, I hope all will be well with you and yours and the KAA-4 this winter. You've had enough problems with boiler issues to deserve a nice run of no problem years going forward.
I second that Leon... when I see you post your troubles I always hesitate to say how well my kaa-4 works. It has been running 24/7 for almost 3 years with no trouble at all. I think your installer caused 99% of your issues. Good luck this year!

 
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nepacoal
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Posts: 1696
Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
Location: Coal Country
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
Coal Size/Type: Buck

Post by nepacoal » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 8:07 pm

Have you ever cleaned the fan blades on the combustion fan? A sluggish flame can be a symptom of dirty fan blades. I take the fan apart to expose the little squirrel cage each fall and vacuum or wipe off each blade. There are two screws to take off the cover...

 
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Rob R.
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Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 8:12 pm

It should not be that hard.

 
Olllotj
Member
Posts: 558
Joined: Thu. Sep. 04, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Western NY 14141
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KB-8
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat
Other Heating: Utica Propane Hot Water

Post by Olllotj » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 8:28 pm

If we are talking about the same part, I think the plate over the flu breech on my larger keystoker boiler is hinged


 
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nepacoal
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Posts: 1696
Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
Location: Coal Country
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
Coal Size/Type: Buck

Post by nepacoal » Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 8:45 pm

The flu breech cover on my kaa-4 just sits in a u channel and is easily removed to vacuum the breech. I pop it off and vacuum the breech every month or two depending on how much we've burned.

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lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2366
Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Fri. Oct. 19, 2018 1:43 am

lsayre wrote:
Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:35 pm
Leon, I hope all will be well with you and yours and the KAA-4 this winter. You've had enough problems with boiler issues to deserve a nice run of no problem years going forward.
===================================================================================================

Hello Larry,

Thanks so much for the vote of confidence and the kind words, I sincerely appreciate them.
So far the buckwheat is burning ok as of 1:30 AM and the house is getting warmer.
The Honeywell L8124L1011 triple aquastat has been performing flawlessly.
I just have to purchase a spare blower so I have it on hand.
The return line pressure and temperature gauge is no longer working so that is on my wish list.
I am glad that I had a tee installed with a ball valve in the sump return line so I could change it when necessary.

Thanks much,

Leon

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2366
Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Fri. Oct. 19, 2018 1:54 am

nepacoal wrote:
Thu. Oct. 18, 2018 6:55 pm
I second that Leon... when I see you post your troubles I always hesitate to say how well my kaa-4 works. It has been running 24/7 for almost 3 years with no trouble at all. I think your installer caused 99% of your issues. Good luck this year!
===================================================================================================

Hello nepacoal,

No worries, thank you for your support. The squirrel cage fan is absolutely clean with no buildup. I made sure of that when I oiled it today.
Its funny as do not remember ever reading about the flue breech cover plate being removable either and I checked the owners and installation manual for the boiler and there is nothing about the flue breech flap in the literature.
I simply assumed that it was a box welded over the flue breech with a narrow slot opening in the bottom of it to hold the flue gasses form oil or coal to pull more heat out the gasses before they were pushed through the breech.

My Dwyer Mark II has been fluctuating between -.01 to -.02 draft.

I am glad your system is working well for you as your annual load for heating and domestic hot water is greater than mine.

Me, I am glad I have a separate low water cut off now along with the mechanical Honeywell L8124L1011 triple aquastat that works and works well.

I will never understand why keystoker stopped using the mechanical triple aquastats and low water cut offs
as they are still available in the market place. If I can buy them, they sure can buy them. They lost a lot of good will when they changed to the hydrolevel digital triple aquastats.

Leon

 
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Rob R.
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Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Fri. Oct. 19, 2018 7:02 am

Did you run the K4 over the summer?

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2366
Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Fri. Oct. 19, 2018 4:48 pm

Hello Rob,

I do not run the KAA-4-1 during the late spring or summer months. I started burning near the middle of November last year. I have the stoker backed off to 7 threads now and and it is burning well with no overshoots.
I will be burning a bulk Blashack buckwheat rice coal mix this heating season as it seems to be be burning much better than the Blashack rice coal alone.

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2366
Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Sat. Oct. 20, 2018 12:11 pm

Greetings fellow coal pail board members,

The KAA-4-1 boiler has been running well and there are no fumes in the house since
I bolted the oil burner port cover plate back on
The boiler has developed about 4 P.S.I.G., and the temperature is 170 degrees Fahrenheit (high limit).
The thermostat is set at 62 degrees Fahrenheit.
I am not using a lot of coal and what i have left in the bagged coal under the tarp
should last me until Wednesday when I can purchase more buckwheat coal.

The dampness in the home is also gone and now I get to listen to "its too hot in here".

I will try pulling a pin from each hold fire cycle when it gets colder to see if we still can
hold a fire in the stoker.

 
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lsayre
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Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Sat. Oct. 20, 2018 1:12 pm

Leon, bump it up to 10-12 PSI. 4 is too low. Might boil the water at some juncture.

10 PSI is for a single story house, 12 PSI is for a 2 story house, and its either 16 or 18 PSI for a 3 story house (I can't remember).

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2366
Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
Location: Ithaca, New York
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Sat. Oct. 20, 2018 5:00 pm

Hello Larry,

Would you believe me when I tell you it is dumping heat right now???????
I have 225 feet+- of 3/4 baseboard in the place on one floor and the thermostat is set at 62.

The 4 inch Marshalltown triple gauge in the boiler steam chest is at 170 degrees Fahrenheit(high limit with a 10 degree differential) and running about 3 P.S.I.G. in the steam chest. Last night early this A.M., it was running up to 8 P.S.I.G. and 180 degrees.

The 2 inch gauge at the outflow of the pump is not registering SO I need to buy a another marshalltown gauge and the sump line pressure and temperature gauge is finally registering and reading 6 P.S.I.G. and 80 degrees Fahrenheit water temperature.

The 15 gallon steel compression tank has 10 gallons of water in it and a 5 gallon air blanket. I believe I figured I had a total of 54 gallons of water in the system

The water flow is quieter than a church mouse and the house is hot running at 12 G.P.M. on speed one of the B+G NRF25 circulator.

I will be back later as I have to go to town.


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