newbie here with a new 25-pdvc stove. Got a question!

alpinestars96 said:

How long will a bag last on the 9 and 9 setting? Even at lower settings I can't get a full 24 hours out of my stove. Any info would be great.

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I used a 25 pdvc for 3 years.. I could never get my stove to go a full 24 hours on a bag on the lowest heat setting.. 16 hours at the most.. i never ran my stove on high for that long to know how long it would take to burn through a bag when its cranking but i can tell you that it will eat them up pretty quick..

86 toy said:

alpinestars96 said:

How long will a bag last on the 9 and 9 setting? Even at lower settings I can't get a full 24 hours out of my stove. Any info would be great.

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I used a 25 pdvc for 3 years.. I could never get my stove to go a full 24 hours on a bag on the lowest heat setting.. 16 hours at the most.. i never ran my stove on high for that long to know how long it would take to burn through a bag when its cranking but i can tell you that it will eat them up pretty quick..

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x2 Between that and cleaning ash all the time, that's why I bought a Harman.

I have an Englander 25 EP now and at Lowes it is $600 more than the pdvc and well worth every penny! Much much better designed in appearance and function

I have a hopper extension on mine and I can go 2 days on heat setting 3 using 100 pounds.

So about 19ish hours per bag on setting 3.

Also its an older stove.

On heat setting one you can decrease the rate that the pellets go through the stove by reducing the lff below its default settings, be certain to make a corresponding change in the lba as well. It is all in the feed rate and the density of the pellets as to how long a bag will last. Not that I'd want to burn a bag a day in cold weather, the house would get a might chilly.

My stove on its lowest setting burns less than a bag a day. Some stoves do not burn reliably when turned down.

SmokeyTheBear said:

Some stoves do not burn reliably when turned down.

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you can say that again. mine qualifies.

smoke show said:

SmokeyTheBear said:

Some stoves do not burn reliably when turned down.

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you can say that again. mine qualifies.

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Do I hafta boss?

I'd appreciate it.

What is the hopper extension made from.

Thanks

Alec

Hi there, I am on my second full season with the 25 PDV - doubt i would change it for anything! i remember 1/2 way through my 1st winte i noticed more clinkers than i thought there should be. I called Englander and had to wait on hold for almost 40 seconds before the tech support guy walked me through adjusting the feed and air settings. Immediately saw a better burn, No more clinkers either. brand/quality of pellets dictate a lot of how high a feed rate is needed to get the heat you want.

I heat 1700 sq ft split level averaging a bag a day. I use Cubex or NEWP pellets, stay away from the cheap pellets. usually stove is on 2 or 3 while we are home and 1 during the day. sub zero days we have to crank it up to 7 and will go through about 1.5 bags those days. Call Englander and i bet they will fix you right up. you will get the best tech support ever!

I've been tinkering with mine like a 12 year old with a new found friend. First bag lasted 23 hours, 2nd back 22 hours, 3rd bag.....well I'll know when I get home since I filled the stove at 4pm yesterday. I think I went the wrong way with settings as I found my first clinker yesterday.

Alec said:

What is the hopper extension made from.

Thanks

Alec

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/1500-Pellet...162?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415f416baa

My Harman P38 gets up to 40 hrs on a bag on low which is astounding during the shoulder seasons.
I know for sure my 25 PDVC could never go more than 20 hrs on a bag.
The fact that a stove burns more pellets than others in a given period of time wouldn`t necessarily be a problem if it`s heat output was greater but the fact is the 25 PDVC doesn`t produce as much heat per BTU as my P-38 does . That would be a big problem if I had it in the house instead of in the back workshop where it is burned intermittently for a few hours at a time.
It`s all in the design and the 25PDVC design isn`t great with regards to efficiency. It`s a good little low end stove priced where it should be but if you want efficiency you should be looking at other Englander models or a different brand. Given another chance I would be looking at one of Englanders more recent higher end models instead of the ancient designed PDVC. I`m sure the new ones are more efficient.

I was going to buy the 25 PDV, but decided on the 55 SHP22 due to the hopper capacity and the looks.
Glad I went with the larger one...

Now, about that hopper extension, that looks great, but I think the sheet metal that it is made from looks a lot thinner than the metal the stove is made from. Might be worth it to manufacture the extension locally.
Easy enough to draw it out and bring it to a metal shop for welding. It looks like four pieces of metal, each with two bends then welded down the corners for assembly. Add the switch mount and you have a hopper extension.

Bill

smoke show said:

Alec said:

What is the hopper extension made from.

Thanks

Alec

Click to expand...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1500-Pellet...162?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415f416baa

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FWIW, installing one of these extensions does void the warranty on the stove

Give the customer service line at England's Stove Works a call at 1-800-245-6489 when you can be near the stove. Make sure the stove is completely shut down and ask the customer service rep to walk you a complete factory reset on the control board. Specifically, you want to have the stove in Mode "d" and you want to set your Low Fuel Feed to a "3."

bill3rail said:

Now, about that hopper extension, that looks great, but I think the sheet metal that it is made from looks a lot thinner than the metal the stove is made from. Might be worth it to manufacture the extension locally.
Easy enough to draw it out and bring it to a metal shop for welding. It looks like four pieces of metal, each with two bends then welded down the corners for assembly. Add the switch mount and you have a hopper extension.

Bill

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Its one piece, bent and welded at one corner.

You're right probly could be made cheaper locally.

Third year with my 25 PVDC and I get about 18 hours out of a bag with t-stat set to 70 and heat 7 blower 9 and ambient temp around 25,,,,,,. But,,,,,,,,this is all realative,,,,,outside temp, wind, tightness of house, insulation, humidity, cleanliness of the stove, venting,,,,,,all these factors will have a bearing on the fuel consumption of any stove. As long as it heats and makes the family cozy I'm happy!

John

18 hours at level 7 is wicked impressive. what are your bottom 3 settings? "d" mode i assume?

I'll check when I get home, but I think 4-5-1,,,, not sure. But note that I also have t-stat hooked up so when the room is warmed and the t-stat is satisfied the stove goes to heat 1 and just sorta "idles" there until the t-stat calls for more heat, then it reverts to my heat7 blower9 setting. blower stays at 9 all the time. I rean the stove all of my first year and half of last year wothout a t-stat and I will attest to the fact that I use at least 20 -30% less pellets by using the stat. And yes I do have it set to "D" mode.

John

I can easily get 18 hours on 40 lbs on my pdvc, I just wish the full 40 lbs fit in the factory hopper!

i get about 23 hours out of a bag at level 1. my settings have been at 2-1-1, but recently switched to 3-1-1. i think it will help the low levels burn more evenly. the stove would almost go out before