Can I turn off my secondary blower on my KA-6?

Can this be done & use just the primary blower? Right now my timer is set at 45 seconds every 10 mins. for the primary blower to run. Would that have to be increased if the secondary blower was shut off? If so, would it end up costing me more money in electricity than leaving the little .59 amp secondary blower running?

I believe the Keystoker secondary blower is there to push heat into the chimney to keep the draft going. If the chimney doesn't draft well, this will maintain the draft and keep the fire going.

On the other hand, if your chimney drafts well, there is no need to run this blower. Also by turning this blower off, you are not burning coal between cycles. This could give you some coal savings.

-Don

So should I try do disconnect the secondary, leave the timer alone, & see what happens?

I would try it. But while doing it, monitor the chimney draft during the OFF time. You also might want to close off that blower with some tape or something.

It can't hurt to try.
-Don

I only found the secondary blower necessary in the summer when the chimney draft falls to all but nil. Several years ago my secondary blower crapped out in the winter. I replaced it in the summer after I lost fire due to poor draft.

Thanks for the info!

I would just wire a small switch on the secondary blower - then you can easily choose when it runs.

Good idea!

I have my secondary blower throttled way back using the adjustment 'door' on the side of it.

It doesn't add a lot of air but does so constantly.

Some folks have mentioned it not being necessary during 'normal draft condititions' (aka heating season) but I haven't tried it.

If you're game and ready to catch and re-light your fire (and remove a hopper full of coal from your ash door), please let us know how you make out.

Good luck!