Cover for Keystoker oil burner - Suggestions

Just installed a Keystoker Kaa-4 with dual fuel oil option. Very happy with the install, but I'm looking for any innovations to eliminate the removal of the oil burner. I want to know if anyone has a setup where they just cover up the end of the oil burner that's inside the firebox instead of removing it completely when burning coal. I understand that removing the burner is necessary to keep it clean due to the fly ash created by the coal, but I'm interested to hear your thoughts, thanks.

rdaubert wrote: ↑

Fri. Sep. 13, 2019 11:05 am

Just installed a Keystoker Kaa-4 with dual fuel oil option. Very happy with the install, but I'm looking for any innovations to eliminate the removal of the oil burner. I want to know if anyone has a setup where they just cover up the end of the oil burner that's inside the firebox instead of removing it completely when burning coal. I understand that removing the burner is necessary to keep it clean due to the fly ash created by the coal, but I'm interested to hear your thoughts, thanks.

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Welcome to my world;

Keystoker states that they want you to use high temperature insulation and pack it in the oil burners air tube.
The coal exhaust fumes will migrate back up the tube into the basement/living space just as the oil fumes will.
Its best to just remove it and reinstall the burner port cover plate.

One of my problems with the oil burner and coal stoker "may" have been that there was a mountain of fly ash behind the removable baffle plate.
There was absolutely no mention of this "fact" in the sales literature or the 2015 owners manual.

Until the oil burner heats the boiler and the chimney you may have flue gas fumes backing up into the home.
IF there is a universal mounting flange for the oil burner it will have a gasket of some type and if its an old gasket removing it and replacing it with a new one is the best option.

I can only tell you from personal experience removing the oil burner and reinstalling the burner port cover plate is the only way to guarantee that you will not have oil burner fumes entering the home at the time the boiler is being fired with oil as the fumes can and will also make their way past the compression flange that holds the oil burner tube in place.

Please make doubly sure the burner tube is flush with the dry sidewall of the boiler to prevent from becoming damaged and cracked.

If you intend to keep it on place you need to make absolutely sure that there is a wedge of high temperature insulation between the oil burner tube and the triple aquastat. You can purchase this insulation from McmasterCarr to protect the triple aquastat from overheating and damaging the computer and the controls in the triple aquastat.

You can purchase sheets of this high temperature insulation and cut into strips and wrap it around the oil burner tube and use high temperature tape to hold the wrapped insulation in place.

If you have a Riello burner you can purchase a much shorter replacement oil burner tube and oil nozzle and electrode mounting frame from Riello dealer and help to eliminate the longer burner tube which may help with the issue of the excess heat and combustion fumes coming off the burner tube through the compression flange and affecting the triple aquastat. If you do this you will still have a tremendous amount of heat rising up and heating the triple aquastat and need to place insulation between the shorter burner tube and the aquastat.

In my case after the second hydrostat 3250 plus failed I replaced with a new Honeywell L8124L1011 horizontal triple aquastat and I have slept well ever since.

If you stuff the high temperature insulation between the triple aquastat and the oil burner tube it should provide adequate heat protection for the triple aquastat.

I do not believe that a sheet metal baffle screwed into the boilers sheet metal skin above the oil burner tube will be enough protection for the triple aquastat.

Remove it.

Yes, Remove it like the manual says to do...anything not in compliance to the way it was built and tested for it's factory UL rating may disturb your insurance underwriter of your home's insurance policy.