help for keystoker boiler owners

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2358
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. Jan. 27, 2023 11:20 am

Rob R. wrote:
Tue. Jan. 24, 2023 9:07 pm
Perhaps the guys that installed your boiler discarded the plate described by others.

===================================================================================


Hello Rob,

The only steel plate that is anywhere near the hopper of the stoker is the one that is
bolted to the top of the stoker side frame plates that keeps the coal from spilling over
as it exits the hopper.

The kaa-2 kaa-4 have the same 3 bed wide stoker and the same plate.

Keystoker has apparently eliminated the kaa-4 as a boiler offering again.

 
User avatar
oliver power
Member
Posts: 2970
Joined: Sun. Apr. 16, 2006 9:28 am
Location: Near Dansville, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254

Post by oliver power » Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 8:58 pm

Here are a couple pictures of my ash box after a 24 hour run. One picture is just the way I pulled it from the ash pit. The other picture I leveled out the ashes by hand to see how deep the ash is. Without actually measuring, it looks to be about 3".
562E2C78-2AB5-455A-90B7-B2CD267B1F5E.jpeg
.JPEG | 1.2MB | 562E2C78-2AB5-455A-90B7-B2CD267B1F5E.jpeg

Attachments

30A190B8-A589-4687-A6C1-C7648F7073D3.jpeg
.JPEG | 1.2MB | 30A190B8-A589-4687-A6C1-C7648F7073D3.jpeg
Last edited by oliver power on Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 9:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
waytomany?s
Member
Posts: 3687
Joined: Fri. Aug. 16, 2019 3:02 pm
Location: Oneida, N.Y.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmon Mark II
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Looking
Baseburners & Antiques: Looking
Coal Size/Type: Nut
Other Heating: newmac wood/coal combo furnace

Post by waytomany?s » Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 9:00 pm

oliver power wrote:
Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 8:58 pm
Here are a couple pictures of my ash boxes after a 24 hour run. One is just the way I pulled it from the ash pit. The other I leveled out by hand to see how deep the ash is. Without actually measuring, it looks to be about 3".562E2C78-2AB5-455A-90B7-B2CD267B1F5E.jpeg
Out of curiosity, that would be the ash from roughly how many pounds of coal?


 
User avatar
oliver power
Member
Posts: 2970
Joined: Sun. Apr. 16, 2006 9:28 am
Location: Near Dansville, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254

Post by oliver power » Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 9:17 pm

waytomany?s wrote:
Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 9:00 pm
Out of curiosity, that would be the ash from roughly how many pounds of coal?
I dump about 1-1/2 five gallon pails in the hopper every 24 hours. So guessing 60 pounds.

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2358
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. Jan. 27, 2023 10:32 pm

I have been averaging 80 pounds dumped in the hopper every 24 hours and some mornings I find
I have one gallon of ash.

I may leave the same bucket in there for 12 hours and have 3 gallons of ash that I dump in a single
Blashack bag the next day.

 
k-2
Member
Posts: 1744
Joined: Thu. Sep. 28, 2017 10:57 am
Location: Coal Township Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: K2- Keystoker
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Alaska Stoker Stove
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by k-2 » Sat. Jan. 28, 2023 12:30 am

lzaharis wrote:
Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 4:23 pm
I wanted to pass along to keystoker boiler owners what I have experimented with in the last 2 years of burning rice coal in my original kaa-4 hopper and the koker hopper I have now.

fire is roaring and the fire has its narrow band of burning coal and wide band of ash as it is burning as it is supposed to do.
I have often though my coal bed is too thick .One reason is there is always some unburned coal in my ashes. I felt that its most likely the coal riding on the very top of the bed that gets through unburned . I have the older K-2 boiler with the single 5 inch wide grate.The coal rides right up to the top of the sides. I never modified anything but i do go through a pusher motor about every 3-4 yrs
or 12 -16 tons of coal. Only 1 fan in 20 yrs of running.


 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2358
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. Jan. 28, 2023 11:43 am

Hello K-2

Based on my experience with my current Intermatic 30-minute timer settings, the lower high limit temperatures of 170 degrees Fahrenheit high limit temperature, the low limit water temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit with the ten degree differential, the 190 degree Fahrenheit dump zone temperature with the ten degree differential plus the placement of the steel flat stock blocking 4 inches of the hoppers draw point I know you can save fuel, I have saved fuel, money and wear and tear on my coal stoker and my house is warmer.

My stoker motor, gearing and the pusher plate is straining much less from the reduced weight of the coal over the pusher plate as a narrower lighter rectangular weight of rice coal is dropping on the stokers pusher plate at all times.

I replaced my first koker stoker motor last year and I am still using the same combustion blower the boiler came with and I need to purchase a spare to have one on hand.

Based on my past experience by filling half the firebox volume to the breech of my old hand fed wood and coal boiler I will be lining the floor and dry walls of the stoker of the kaa-4-1 boiler with full firebrick to hold even more heat in the boiler which will absorb some of the heat created by the combustion of the rice coal and radiate this heat from the fire brick back into the fire box which will be absorbed by the 2 water walls and the dry walls of the boiler.

With the slower coal flow and my feed rate of 12 threads out I have a very small amount of coal that spills over the sides of the pusher plate and the fire roars when the stoker is operating on a heat call and the fire reaches the bottom of the steam chest.

I will be using 3 inch wide pieces of flat stock in the next heating season if not sooner to test the reduced fuel use using even less rice coal for fuel with my current settings.

If full firebrick mudded in with furnace cement the floor of the Axeman Anderson 130S and 260S I am sure the owners of these units will also save a great deal of Anthracite Pea Coal.


There is a very good reason the old hand fed coal boilers were filled full of firebrick.

I will have fallen off my soap box by now :^)

 
lzaharis
Member
Posts: 2358
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. Jan. 28, 2023 11:44 am

oliver power wrote:
Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 8:58 pm
Here are a couple pictures of my ash box after a 24 hour run. One picture is just the way I pulled it from the ash pit. The other picture I leveled out the ashes by hand to see how deep the ash is. Without actually measuring, it looks to be about 3".562E2C78-2AB5-455A-90B7-B2CD267B1F5E.jpeg
Beautiful!!

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