PDVC vs PDV

I hope someone will help you out with your pellet consumption question and which stove to buy. Out of curiosity I looked at the manuals to see if any differences jumped out at me. They seem fairly similar. The wiring diagrams looked identical. I compared the parts lists and it looks as though the only differences I could see (other than maybe trim) was the following...The PDV had:

- Nickel or brass louvers
- Different burn pots
- Newer convection blower
- Different auger bearing gasket
- Remote thermostat vs wall thermostat

I'll be upfront with you, I know nothing about these stoves, but since you have had no replies yet, I thought I would help point you in some areas that you might want to look at and compare to your current stove. Good luck!

My neighbor kinda wishes he bought the smaller one since the larger one puts out too much heat even on low.
We think that the smaller one might run at a lower level and use less pellets and yet throw enough heat when it really gets cold...

I burned about 3 1/2 tons here in wis. last year. I usually run the stove 24/7 once it starts to get a little cooler outside, and burn anywhere from less than 1, to 2 bags per day when it is colder outside. I try to keep the house around the 70 degree range.

If I was gonna exchange the stove, I probably would go with the larger model 25-pdv. It has a larger hopper, which is nice, and it will heat a bigger space as well. It was mentioned that a future move is possible, and I think that I would rather have a stove that throws off more heat, rather than a stove that might not be able to keep up with my needs.

As far as pellet consumption goes, I'm not sure, but I think the controls may be the same on both stoves. You may be able to find out more about this on the englander website, or maybe someone that knows for sure will chime in.

Our house is 1500 sq ft. and this stove so far I can only put on 1 or 2 setting and end up shutting it off before bed or middle of the night because it gets too warm. Heats the whole house. 40 lb. hopper is no problem to keep filled. Just fill it in morning and at night (not empty), no big deal.

well, the last 2 posts really say it all in my opinion.

first post , the member is getting a lot of heat (actually a lot more heat retention would be my guess) and the second is stating that he isnt getting the same performance but did state that our first poster must have better insulation.

the bottom line , simple , as our second poster alluded to and i expect is true , the first poster may well have a better insluation factor. he may also have a house which is more open and better suited for a point source heater like a wood or pellet stove.

as for the big/little pdv/pdvc question. personally i believe the pdvc is underrated with its 1500 sq ft max capacity. the pdv has a better PM reading and actually came in a bit better in the efficiency testing we did in house. but the design of the pdve actually allows for a higher transfer rate due to a higher percentage of the outer hull(outer skin of the stove) being part of the combustion chamber. the pdv has a bigger blower , but a larger heat exchange setup which actually causes more resistance to the airflow and a wider area for the air to eascape into the room , so the velocity is not hugely higher , actually it feels quite similar in velocity , but the volume is higher so you will still push more air at similar temps into the room. the pdv will do up to 2200 sq ft , but under the right conditions i actually believe the pdvc can do close to that as well. as for the "c model" it was debuted in 1998 and since we have produced almost 90 thousand of them. it might just be the most popular, if not the most prolific pellet stove in use in the United States today. i own one of those 90 thousand myself and have heated my house with it burning approximately 2 ton a season as a stand alone heat source in my home since 2004. the unit has run flawlessly with nothing done other than the required cleaning and a couple gaskets which are wear items anyway.

Actually, my house rooms are all walled off up and down stairs. I do believe this is a very well insulated house as the person who lived here prior to us was a home builder. Just a guess though.

sydney1963 said:

Actually, my house rooms are all walled off up and down stairs. I do believe this is a very well insulated house as the person who lived here prior to us was a home builder. Just a guess though.

Click to expand...

do you have higher temps in the stove room but temp dropoffs as you exit the room (like walking into a wall of cool air?, you might find a few doorway fans will help equalize temps in the house. less open floor plans tend to be less easily heated than open ones and air movement is a real key to equalizing heat

What I am saying is, yes the room the stove is in is warmer but also it is heating the whole house even though rooms are walled off( no extreme differences room to room). I am very pleased with the stove, not complaining at all. Just giving my version of how it heats a walled off ( my home) vs. open design.

I'd take the risk myself. These stoves do put out the heat, of course only if they're working properly, and maintainance is simple. And besides you have the Hearth Forum to help you out

The OAK sounds good, but the room air fan should make a noticeable change when the speed increases/decreases.

Somebody has to be that guy ;-)

Contact Englander and go through the steps to troubleshoot the fan issue. If the heat is good and there's no other issues it should be an easy fix. I'd guess it's a board problem myself, but what the hell do I know.

Is the air coming out any faster when you increase the fan speed?

I too have the same issues with the blower settings...if you get the problem resolved please post. My stove is in the basement...1500 sq feet, 50% insulated. I run it on 9 if the stove is on all the time. It does get nice and toastey down there...more insulation will get me more heat I'm sure but if it's on 9 or 4 it seems to blow the same.

EW