Hey guys! First off, thanks for all the help getting me set up! I got it all buttoned up and ran it for the first time yesterday. It being a Englander 25PDVC. So, since this is my first time ever using a pellet stove I was constantly watching it, trying to figure out if ever thing was going well and checking the forums. It seemed to have burnt very well, even with what seems to be a "junk" pellet. But, I ran it on 2 for about 3 hours and then knocked it down to 1 because it got really warm in here (which in no way am I complaining about) but my bag of pellets only lasted about 12 hours. The temp outside was 25-33, and the sun was shining in so I'm sure that helped with the warm up. But is this running too hot and eating too many pellets? I read a lot of posts about a bag lasting a day in the dead of Winter. With being on the lowest setting and it running that hot and using that many pellets, what adjustments should I make? My bottom 3 are set at 6-4-1. I adjusted it to 5-3-1 but the burn got dirty and since it was running clean and seemed to be burning all the pellets I went back to how it was. Thanks for any help in advance!
Englander stove pellet use
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CladMaster
Minister of Fire
With the stove in Mode 'd', burn time per bag of pellets (this depends on the brand of pellets).
Low settings --- 24 - 36 hours per bag
Mid settings --- 18 - 26 hours per bag
Hi settings -- 8 - 12 hours per bag
Inside the hopper there is a restrictor plate that has a screw that holds it in place, this plate allows you to adjust the fuel feed rate from the hopper, the bigger the opening, the more pellets are fed into the fire chamber via the top auger screw. Mine is set with the screw at the midway point in the slot on this plate.
Make sure your stove is 'd' mode.
Perform a Control Board Reset as follows .....
Do this when the stove is cold.
Unplug the stove from the power outlet.
Plug the power lead back in, and at the same time press and hold the bottom 3 buttons all at the same time within 4 seconds and wait 3 seconds and then release buttons.
Wait 5 - 10 seconds for the F 5 readout in the top display to go blank.
Unplug power lead.
Setting the Heat Mode
Heat Mode, the default setting is 'd' for the 25-PDVC, but some control boards default to 'A' when a reset is done. Do not run the stove in 'A' or 'b' mode, the stove is not designed to run in 'A' or 'b' mode.
Plug power lead back in and press both the up and down blower speed buttons at the same time within 4 - 5 seconds, you should now see a letter (A, b, c or d) in the left digital display under heat range, you need to change this to 'd' or 'c' using the up / down buttons below that readout, once set to 'd' or 'c' wait 10 - 15 seconds then unplug the power again and wait 5 seconds. (Sometimes the mode that you want does not set and defaults back to the mode that it was in before, repeat this step to make sure the mode that you want is set, 'c' or 'd'.)
Plug power back in, then set the lower three (3) buttons to read 6 4 1 from left to right. These settings allow fine adjustment of the burn (pellets to air ratio), the last number (far right) '1' must never be changed.
Clean out the stove and reload with pellets and fire it up. Set the heat range to 2. Set the blower speed to 3 or 4 and then leave the stove alone for 60 - 90 minutes. After 60 - 90 minutes have passed, set the heat and blower to the numbers that you want.
Low settings --- 24 - 36 hours per bag
Mid settings --- 18 - 26 hours per bag
Hi settings -- 8 - 12 hours per bag
Inside the hopper there is a restrictor plate that has a screw that holds it in place, this plate allows you to adjust the fuel feed rate from the hopper, the bigger the opening, the more pellets are fed into the fire chamber via the top auger screw. Mine is set with the screw at the midway point in the slot on this plate.
Make sure your stove is 'd' mode.
Perform a Control Board Reset as follows .....
Do this when the stove is cold.
Unplug the stove from the power outlet.
Plug the power lead back in, and at the same time press and hold the bottom 3 buttons all at the same time within 4 seconds and wait 3 seconds and then release buttons.
Wait 5 - 10 seconds for the F 5 readout in the top display to go blank.
Unplug power lead.
Setting the Heat Mode
Heat Mode, the default setting is 'd' for the 25-PDVC, but some control boards default to 'A' when a reset is done. Do not run the stove in 'A' or 'b' mode, the stove is not designed to run in 'A' or 'b' mode.
Plug power lead back in and press both the up and down blower speed buttons at the same time within 4 - 5 seconds, you should now see a letter (A, b, c or d) in the left digital display under heat range, you need to change this to 'd' or 'c' using the up / down buttons below that readout, once set to 'd' or 'c' wait 10 - 15 seconds then unplug the power again and wait 5 seconds. (Sometimes the mode that you want does not set and defaults back to the mode that it was in before, repeat this step to make sure the mode that you want is set, 'c' or 'd'.)
Plug power back in, then set the lower three (3) buttons to read 6 4 1 from left to right. These settings allow fine adjustment of the burn (pellets to air ratio), the last number (far right) '1' must never be changed.
Clean out the stove and reload with pellets and fire it up. Set the heat range to 2. Set the blower speed to 3 or 4 and then leave the stove alone for 60 - 90 minutes. After 60 - 90 minutes have passed, set the heat and blower to the numbers that you want.
I did the factory reset, but when I try to get to the second step and hold both blower speed buttons I'm not getting a letter to come up?
Ok, it came up and I set it to "D". It was set at "A". Was that what the factory default was or was that what mode it would have been running on yesterday? Thanks for the help!
I have the same exact stove and the same exact problem Cladmaster posted the same exact thing to my problem with pellet use I'm getting about 12 hours out of a bag like you on setting 1 or 2. I'm starting to think that 24 hours with a bag is unreachable even though everyone else seems to get that on factory settings
your stove probly just went to A mode when you reset it because I know mine did and I changed it back to "d"
my stove the flame will actually disappear and pellets will relight on the hot embers once they arrive on anything but the factory settings. I've contacted Englander every tech tells you that the previous tech had you on the wrong settings so good luck going that route
I have emailed Mike from Englander he replied very quickly 2 or 3 emails now I haven't heard from him in over a week so good luck there too
ill be watching your thread I hope we get this problem figured out real soon
your stove probly just went to A mode when you reset it because I know mine did and I changed it back to "d"
my stove the flame will actually disappear and pellets will relight on the hot embers once they arrive on anything but the factory settings. I've contacted Englander every tech tells you that the previous tech had you on the wrong settings so good luck going that route
I have emailed Mike from Englander he replied very quickly 2 or 3 emails now I haven't heard from him in over a week so good luck there too
ill be watching your thread I hope we get this problem figured out real soon
Ok, I did everything that CladMaster suggested. Changed the restrictor plate to half way, reset everything and set it to "D" mode....I'm still only getting about 13 hours out of a bag on the lowest setting. Help please! Lol
Not sure of the exact numbers at the moment since I'm not home but I think I've got my lower 3 set to 3-6-1 restrictor plate wide open, mine runs on 1-4 most of the winter since my house is small and I'll go through pretty much a bag a day. It does burn low on the coals for a good hour or so but then has a fire after that.
Michael6268
Minister of Fire
Personally I think a bag a day is a stretch unless its heating a very small space and is super insulated. I could never heat my house on that small amount of btu
TimfromMA
Minister of Fire
I heat an area about 1800sqft in size to 70F and average a bag a day. Some days I go as high as 2 bags but 1 bag is my average.
CladMaster
Minister of Fire
The average for this stove on low settings is 20 - 26 hours, trickle feed, just to keep the stove running, but if your doing just a few hours burn per day just to take the edge off the cold -- (morning and late evenings before and after work) a single bag can last well over 25 hours.
If your running the stove 24 hours none stop -- in the mid heat range, 1 bag of pellets would last around 14 - 18 ish hours.
Full blast a bag will last 8 - 12 hours.
Now before you say bullshit on this ......... This all depends on the pellets that you are feeding the stove, small pellets, more will be fed into the system, this in turn uses more fuel, that is why there is a restrictor plate in the bottom of the hopper, so you can reduce the feed rate of SMALL PELLETS.
If your running the stove 24 hours none stop -- in the mid heat range, 1 bag of pellets would last around 14 - 18 ish hours.
Full blast a bag will last 8 - 12 hours.
Now before you say bullshit on this ......... This all depends on the pellets that you are feeding the stove, small pellets, more will be fed into the system, this in turn uses more fuel, that is why there is a restrictor plate in the bottom of the hopper, so you can reduce the feed rate of SMALL PELLETS.
I've only got 1200 sq. ft built in 1865 24" of fiberglass in the attic, 30yr old cellulose in the walls with a pretty open floor plan, a bag a day keeps the whole place between 66-74 no matter the outdoor temp.
CladMaster, what exactly is a "trickle feed"? I'm going to tinker with my settings to see what I can do to get a bag to last a bit longer. I think it's running really hot for being on setting 1. So I'm thinking I'm getting too many pellets, but I'm still new and not sure what to adjust.
CladMaster
Minister of Fire
Trickle feed -- It's where the stove runs on 1H / 1B (H = Heat B = Blower) so that the stove has red hot embers in the pot, the flames will be high and then die down until the next batch of pellets come in from the lower auger. The temp of the stove will be around 280 - 310F depending on the pellets that you are burning.
I have my lower 3 settings at 2-6-1 for this (2 is the pellet feed, 6 is the air feed, 1 is the AOT <<<< this never gets changed, always at 1.
The stove is in mode 'd'.
Ok, so a trickle feed isn't really for heat, just to keep the stove going? Also, when people are saying they're getting a full day out of 1 bag...are they meaning 24 hours, or like 8am-8pm type of thing? I adjusted my lower 3 to 5-4-1 and it seems to have solved the issue of it running way too hot. Instead of it being 80 in here it's 70. BUT, I'm still only going to get about 13 hours out of 1 bag. I'm really stumped and I'm thinking that's all I'm going to average out of a bag. If that's the case I might as well put my settings back at what they were when it was running hot. I'm kinda getting frustrated :/
BUBIBEAR
Burning Hunk
What is your stove set up. Vent pipe and configuration . OUTSIDE AIR CONNECTION where and how long . Where is the stove located . Basement or first floor. Spec. on set up might help in solving your problem.
Stove is set up in the corner of a 1 story ranch style home. Vent pipe set is, stove adapter, 45, 18" pipe, Cleanout T, 4 ft pipe, 90, termination end. Outside air kit is about 10 inches long.
Pete Zahria
Minister of Fire
CladMaster
Minister of Fire
Left side of stove as you look at it head on, 3 - 4 inches down from the top of the stove with one of these or a digital probe gun.
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Dhosh
Member
Also out of curiosity ( 
) Do you know what your exit air temp is? I've just started keeping track of different stove settings to see how they effect the exit room air temp. I gotz to git me one of those stove thermometers, so I can add that to the little spreadsheet. The rate of room airflow should effect the exit air and stove temp, given the same burn rate. My first test didn't bear that out though ... the room air exit temp actually went up, when the room air blower was pushed to 9 .. without changing anything else. ???
) Do you know what your exit air temp is? I've just started keeping track of different stove settings to see how they effect the exit room air temp. I gotz to git me one of those stove thermometers, so I can add that to the little spreadsheet. The rate of room airflow should effect the exit air and stove temp, given the same burn rate. My first test didn't bear that out though ... the room air exit temp actually went up, when the room air blower was pushed to 9 .. without changing anything else. ???
Harvey Schneider
Minister of Fire
Blower setting has nothing to do with combustion or pellet consumption rate.
Higher blower settings increase the efficiency of the heat exchanger. Heat flow in the exchanger is driven by the difference in temperature between the combustion side and the convection side. The bigger the difference the more heat is transferred. Higher blower settings keep the convection side cooler and increase turbulence which also improves heat transfer. I always run the blower at the highest speed that I can tolerate. The tolerance is for noise level.
Regarding the original issue. If it is burning too hot on a heat setting of 1, close down the choke plate in the hopper a little. Mine produces plenty of heat with the plate set at about 1/4 open. Changing the choke plate will interact with the low fuel feed (LFF) and low burn air settings. You can only tune these three adjustments by trial and error, but they are not critical in their settings.
I can't say what my maximum burn time would be because I don't use my stove that way. I use it to heat my basement workshop, and I only light it when I am going to be working down there. It takes about 45 minutes to get the temperature from 50 F to 70 F and then is controlled by a thermostat (1200 sqft and bare concrete walls). Pellet consumption is usually (mid winter) about a bag in 12 hours. I have no doubt that it could do better if it was running at idle all the time, but I also have no experiencial data to confirm that.
Dhosh
Member
Interesting ... I would have thought the slower the room air blower was set to, the hotter the stove surface would get, as it wouldn't be 'cooled off' as much as with a higher blower setting. So much for my (non-existent) knowledge of heat transfer! LOL I was apparently oblivious to the temperature differential between the two sides being so important. Thanks!
My unit doesn't have a choke plate at the bottom of the hopper ... but the original poster's 25-PDVC, likely does. Sorry for my postings creating a drift in the conversation ....
CladMaster
Minister of Fire
I run the stove @ 1/1 for the radiant heat, not the forced heat with a higher blower speed, it will cook me out of the house when the temp outside is above 38F.
Harvey Schneider
Minister of Fire
Exit air temperature is a questionable parameter in evaluating a stove or it's performance. It is dependent on convection air velocity (actually; "mass / unit time" or "density x volume / unit time"), combustion air velocity, intake air temperature and combustion air temperature as well as cleanliness of both pathways. To a smaller extent it is dependent on barometric pressures and humidity since both affect air density.
We get the impression that we are being scientific when we measure all the parameters that we can, but it is meaningless if we don't control all of the parameters that influence the one we are measuring.
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