Englander 25-EP Hopper Fire?

Had the 25-PDVC for 3 years and not one problem..

In November, decided to "upgrade" and take advantage of the tax credit so we bough the 25-EP or Evolution Pellet. Been nothing be disappointed with this thing so far. Bigger mess to clean up as the ashes land on the door so it all comes out when you open the door, glass blower doesn't do a great job keeping the glass clean. Now for the past Month we've notice the drop shoot getting clogged and catching fire in the shoot. Never been too concerned because the passing air would make the flames come out the front of the stove so we would just clean it and move on.

Well Woke up at 4AM this morning to our smoke detectors going off and the hopper smoldering as the pellets were burning (not full fledge flames, but burning). Our house is now smoke damaged and hoping this didn't damage the kids lungs.

Anyone have any similar issues?

I’m wondering this myself. I'm using NE Wood Pellets this year, it does seem to have a lot of saw dust. My parents have used this brand for years and swear by it. I've used LG Granules in the past which worked pretty well for me but I also had a different stove. I called Englander this morning and spoke to a tech Eric who agreed that it sounds like it’s not getting enough combustible air. So because of this the pellets drop down, burn but then it hardens so the next set of pellets do the same on told of the old and so on so it reaches the top of the burn pot. This usually happens every 16 to 24 hours.

They want me to send pics of the stove. I'm kind of hoping they replace it as this one makes an awful screech sound when the auger turns. Short of pulling the auger out to see if there are any burrs I've just been putting some granite power which works well for 2 or 3 days.

I've used the fake logs with the same thought thatit would help. Only problem is that broke in 1/2 2 days ago.. lol I can't win with this thing.