Keystoker Shut-off Problem

[johnms]

I have a Keystoker coal stove (not sure of model) which intermittently either goes out or almost goes out. When this happens, it stops feeding coal onto the grate and my thermostat shuts off (its digital, the LED display actually turns off). There are 3 fans on the back, all of which continue to run. If I catch it in time, I manually shake the bolt on the back of the stove to push fresh coal onto the grate. After a while, the stove begins to run properly again and the thermostat turns back on. If I don't catch it, the fire goes out, then once it resets itself, it begins to push fresh coal into my ash bucket (followed by much swearing and taking it out on my kids and poor dog).

I replaced the thermostat and continue to have the same problem.

I replaced the plastic cam that operates the push block last winter after a hopper fire.

The parts on my stove look slightly similar to the diagram on Keystoker's website, but different enough to be of no use.

Any ideas what could cause the intermittent shut-offs? Overheating, clogging, etc?

 

[JimWalshin845]

I know you replaced the thermostat, but when LEDs go into a sleep mode, usually that is telling you the battery is dying. Did you replace the battery with a fresh one?

 

[johnms]

I did not replace a battery in the thermostat (I don't think it has one, but I will try it). The thermostat is wired to the coal stove. When I unplug the coal stove from the wall, the thermostat loses power also and turns off (this is normal). The unusual thing I'm experiencing is that the stove stays plugged in, the fans operate, but something is shutting off the power to the push block and the thermostat. So I figure it is either some kind of safety switch or a bad electrical part somewhere.

Thank you.

P.S. I checked the photo gallery listed in your post, the old tire over a tree stump for chopping wood is genius.

 

[johnms]

Okay, I pinpointed the problem, I just don't know the solution. There is a White-Rodgers fan limit control switch on the back of the stove. This is at the temp limit, and is shutting off power to the coal feed and thermostat. If i turn the dial manually, it resets and powers the stove back up (temporarily). Anyone have any ideas?

 

[johnms]

I took off the blower and fan this morning and found the air intake was totally blocked with thick dust (strange since I pay to have my stove serviced every other year). I cleaned the blower and fan a reassembled, the stove works like new again.

Since the blower takes heat away from the fire and blows it into the room, my guess is that with no blower, the stove was overheating.

 

[Gooserider]

Might be worth calling the place that does the service and seeing what they have to say about that... Based on how they respond, I might make a decision about just how much of a value paying for a stranger to come service a stove that they aren't dependent on is worth...

I know we used to pay to have our swimming pool openned and closed - after having the service guy's screw it up a couple times, I now do it myself - saves several hundred $$ and haven't had a problem since, It takes me a lot longer, but so what...

Gooserider

 

[JimWalshin845]

Great that you did your own diagnostics and found the problem. Since most fan units are optional I doubt you overfired unless you were purposely cranking the stove. Does the thermostat still go into sleep mode or was it being shorted out by all the dust?