Pellet stove 25-PDVC low fuel feed setting for mild weather!! Do you do this?

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Don2222

Minister of Fire
Feb 1, 2010
9,110
Salem NH
Hello

I have a friend with a 7 year old Englander 25-PDVC with no ignitor.

He normally sets the 3 buttons at the bottom to 6 - 9 - 1 during the winter to keep the house warm and toasty.

Now during the sholder season, he changes the 6 down to 1. This makes the flame really low but it still runs fine and he can keep the house at 70 Deg F and 1 bag of pellets will last 1.5 days!!

This works great and saves alot on wood pellets!

Has anyone else tried this?

P.S. By professionally cleaning the blowers and the stove, he has put Zero money into it for 7 years!! That goes to show how long these stoves last if taken care of properly!!

See control panel diagram pic below!
Click to enlarge!
 

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Hello

I have a friend with a 7 year old Englander 25-PDVC with no ignitor.

He normally sets the 3 buttons at the bottom to 6 - 9 - 1 during the winter to keep the house warm and toasty.

Now during the sholder season, he changes the 6 down to 1. This makes the flame really low but it still runs fine and he can keep the house at 70 Deg F and 1 bag of pellets will last 1.5 days!!

This works great and saves alot on wood pellets!

Has anyone else tried this?

P.S. By professionally cleaning the blowers and the stove, he has put Zero money into it for 7 years!! That goes to show how long these stoves last if taken care of properly!!

See control panel diagram pic below!
Click to enlarge!

Hi Don,
I have the same stove but newer. I run mine at the factory settings of 6-4-1 and usually keep the feed rate at 2 and the blower at 2 also and adjust the lower LFA between 3 and 5 depending on how much heat I need. I can also adjust the main feed and blowers settings up to 3 and 3 or 4 and 4 but haven't found it necessary, even in the sub zero weather. It's in the 30's and 40 up here in Maine right now so I'm running mine 24 hours a day right now and can stretch a bag 1.5 to 2 days depending on how I adjust the LFA.
 
I wouldn't really touch the LFF or LBA , unless it was burning bad and needed more or less air and/or fuel.

If you want less heat? Then turn the heat level down..
 
I wouldn't really touch the LFF or LBA , unless it was burning bad and needed more or less air and/or fuel.

If you want less heat? Then turn the heat level down..

I find that by adjusting the LFF and LBA I can get the best performance out of my 25-PDVC. Each brand of pellet burns differently and that's the way I get the most heat out of my stove. That's why ESW built the fine adjustments into the stove via the control panel. Everyone has their own system for best performance.
 
I find that by adjusting the LFF and LBA I can get the best performance out of my 25-PDVC. Each brand of pellet burns differently and that's the way I get the most heat out of my stove. That's why ESW built the fine adjustments into the stove via the control panel. Everyone has their own system for best performance.
Thats what I meant by burning bad. Each pellet brand may need a tweak....

Altgough ESW really doesn't want owners messing with the bottom 3. If they did. They would have described there function in the owners manual. Instead of saying they are preset from the factory and dont need adjustment.

So I agree with you, but I wouldn't mess with them for heat output (as Don described). To get a certain brand to burn better? O.K.. But thats a small adjustment of one or maybe both LFF and LBA... The stove has 9 heat settings. To go from LFF 6 to LFF 1 is a lot and on a stove that old, it only affects the bottom 2 settings. Only on newer models do the bottom 3 affect all settings.
 
Hi Don,
I have the same stove but newer. I run mine at the factory settings of 6-4-1 and usually keep the feed rate at 2 and the blower at 2 also and adjust the lower LFA between 3 and 5 depending on how much heat I need. I can also adjust the main feed and blowers settings up to 3 and 3 or 4 and 4 but haven't found it necessary, even in the sub zero weather. It's in the 30's and 40 up here in Maine right now so I'm running mine 24 hours a day right now and can stretch a bag 1.5 to 2 days depending on how I adjust the LFA.

Which button do you mean LFF? - The 1st button on the left - Low Fuel Feed or the 2nd button from the left - LBA Low Burn Air?
 
Thats what I meant by burning bad. Each pellet brand may need a tweak....

Altgough ESW really doesn't want owners messing with the bottom 3. If they did. They would have described there function in the owners manual. Instead of saying they are preset from the factory and dont need adjustment.

So I agree with you, but I wouldn't mess with them for heat output (as Don described). To get a certain brand to burn better? O.K.. But thats a small adjustment of one or maybe both LFF and LBA... The stove has 9 heat settings. To go from LFF 6 to LFF 1 is a lot and on a stove that old, it only affects the bottom 2 settings. Only on newer models do the bottom 3 affect all settings.

Hi Dexter

When my neighbor first got his 25-PDVC his wife had all the windows open even on low heat settings. So he called ESW tech support and had him adjust the 3 buttons to 4 - 6 - 1. That worked really good for him so he can turn the heat down so his wife keeps the windows closed. Then if he needs heat he turns the heat settings up.
 
Hey Don, whatever works is OK in my book, although his cold weather setting of 9 for the LBA is a little extreme. I think something like 7 should be enough air. When you start raising the LBA too high, you're really just sending the hot air through the stove too fast and up the exhaust pipe......too much heat is lost.....IMO.
 
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Hello

I have a friend with a 7 year old Englander 25-PDVC with no ignitor.

He normally sets the 3 buttons at the bottom to 6 - 9 - 1 during the winter to keep the house warm and toasty.

Now during the sholder season, he changes the 6 down to 1. This makes the flame really low but it still runs fine and he can keep the house at 70 Deg F and 1 bag of pellets will last 1.5 days!!

This works great and saves alot on wood pellets!

Has anyone else tried this?

P.S. By professionally cleaning the blowers and the stove, he has put Zero money into it for 7 years!! That goes to show how long these stoves last if taken care of properly!!

See control panel diagram pic below!
Click to enlarge!


What are the top 2 buttons set at?
 
Thats what I meant by burning bad. Each pellet brand may need a tweak....

Altgough ESW really doesn't want owners messing with the bottom 3. If they did. They would have described there function in the owners manual. Instead of saying they are preset from the factory and dont need adjustment.

So I agree with you, but I wouldn't mess with them for heat output (as Don described). To get a certain brand to burn better? O.K.. But thats a small adjustment of one or maybe both LFF and LBA... The stove has 9 heat settings. To go from LFF 6 to LFF 1 is a lot and on a stove that old, it only affects the bottom 2 settings. Only on newer models do the bottom 3 affect all settings.
My stoves Mfg Dts 9 & 10 of 2010, set in D mode. LFF and LBA only adjust on Heat Range (the upper button) 2 or lower..Dexter do you know what date of Mfg that changed to adjustable above 2?
 
My stoves Mfg Dts 9 & 10 of 2010, set in D mode. LFF and LBA only adjust on Heat Range (the upper button) 2 or lower..Dexter do you know what date of Mfg that changed to adjustable above 2?

Hopefully Mike Holton will know. Or possibly imacman. There was a thread not to long ago.
If you run a search, you may find it. Not at home right now (on my phone), otherwise I would find the link.

IIRC if your stove is a 2010 model. Then All heat settings will be affected. I dont know what yr it started. But 2010 should be included. Send Mike a PM or call Englander. Otherwise, I will search when I get home this evening.
 
Hopefully Mike Holton will know. Or possibly imacman. There was a thread not to long ago.
If you run a search, you may find it. Not at home right now (on my phone), otherwise I would find the link.

IIRC if your stove is a 2010 model. Then All heat settings will be affected. I dont know what yr it started. But 2010 should be included. Send Mike a PM or call Englander. Otherwise, I will search when I get home this evening.
Thanks! sent PM so as to not be a high jacker...
 
IIRC if your stove is a 2010 model. Then All heat settings will be affected.

I think that is correct, but if you call Mike at Englander and provide him with the control board revision #, he can tell you for sure.
 
I think you also have to consider not every stove has an identical installation and operates under identical conditions. This would indicate each stove has to be monitored from the beginning to determine exactly what adjustments (if any) should be made to the basic factory settings.
The control panel on the Englander stoves are outright complicated to a new user (mainly the bottom 3 secret mystery pads). The book says almost nothing about them. It should contain much more in formation regarding the control since the market for the stove itself is aimed at do it your self folks who supposedly tend to be gear heads.
 
Hey Don, whatever works is OK in my book, although his cold weather setting of 9 for the LBA is a little extreme. I think something like 7 should be enough air. When you start raising the LBA too high, you're really just sending the hot air through the stove too fast and up the exhaust pipe......too much heat is lost.....IMO.

Thanks Imacman for your expert knowledge.

Mike Holton said the factory settings for this stove is 5 - 9 - 1 Program d

Actually if it only effects heat settings 1 or 2 then 9 is not really that high.

I thought 9 was hi also. So I am trying 6 - 6 - 1 and it seems to be working well !

I ran it on heat and fan settings 1 - 1 last night with 6 - 6 - 1 and it ran great!


See my thread
Englander 25-PDV Room Heat Output
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/englander-25-pdv-room-heat-output.85360/
 
I think that is correct, but if you call Mike at Englander and provide him with the control board revision #, he can tell you for sure.

cant call "me" this time of year, im not in the office, can e mail (see my "homework" addy in sig box) or PM now you CAN call my tech support line and get one of my technicians all of which i have complete confidence in, but this time of year im "playin with fire" in one of the labs or burning stoves in my "trailer' at the south plant http://a.yfrog.com/img875/5403/lgpfr.jpg
 
Whoooeeee! Looks warm in that testing room !
 
Now if he would just post that pic of the new beer can stove...
 
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