Excessive Ash (Or is it?) with new England 25PDVC

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elroyyboy

Member
Sep 10, 2010
17
Nozarks, (Central MO)
Hi,
LONG time lurker, first time pellet stove owner and poster.
I just bought an England 25PDVC and installed it myself in accordance with MFG recommendation, NFC, and local codes. It's in the basement.
I have reviewed some pellets and was astounded on what some folks are paying for pellets. I can buy OHPs for 162/Ton, Somersets for $152/ton (Lowe's w/ 10% military discount), and Greenway's for $180/ton, all prices are picking pellets up myself. My issue is this, I bought 25 bags of Somersets from Lowes (good reviews on pelletreviews.com) and started running my stove at night to keep the house warm and avoid using a really inefficient electric furnace just for the morning chill. I ran my stove on Level 3 (heat and blower) on Sunday night and used nearly an entire bag of pellets in an 11 hour period. Last night I ran it at 2/2 and I would estimate it used 25-30 pounds of pellets. I was under the impression that on the low settings it wouldn't burn this fast. I'm ok with the fast burn (no choice, huh) but I'm concerned about the level of ash in the burn pot following shutdown. I'd estimate the clump of ash to be the size of a baseball.

Is this normal?


Thanks in advance for your replies. Love the site, glad to be on here.



Elroyy
 
What is your venting set-up? Did yoi install the recommended rise in your venting?

Also what are your bottom 3 settings ( LBF LBA AOT ) ? Have you messed with these? (Hoping not) If you have problems, the Head tech from Englander is a Forum member (want to say ESWGuy ) his name is Mike Holton. Call Englander and they can help you. There customer service is one of the best in the industry.

Having some ash left in the burn pot is normal. Can you post a pic? Also the bottom 3 settings can be adjusted to fix some issues, but need to be assessed by a professional before changing them all Willy Nilly.

Try calling 1st... Or post a picto give us a better idea.
 
Ditto on what Dex said above....lower buttons or the heat "program" could be set wrong.....no way that stove should use that many pellets in 11 hours.

Is this a brand new, or "new to you" used stove?

If new, then the call to Englander is in order.....they are the best!
 
Guys,

Thanks very much for the quick response. I haven't touched the buttons at the bottom of the stove. It is brand new, out of the box, into the basement.

Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the ash pile this morning. I will on the next burn.

I did add a 3 foot rise to the outside chimney pipe to ensure better drafting from the horizontal run (only through an 8" foundation wall, using only one 12" connecting pipe to the cleanout T).

I sent England an email with 3 questions this morning. I assumed they'll troll through their emails, research the answers, and get back to me as soon as they can.

Again, thanks. If I don't hear back from England tomorrow, I'll call them.


Elroyy,

Wannabee pellet hog (I've bought all the tools and bullets I can store, it's time for pellets!). :)
 
elroyyboy said:
If I don't hear back from England tomorrow, I'll call them......

Try asking for Mike Holton....he is the senior tech there, and also a member on this forum.
 
elroyyboy said:
Guys,

Thanks very much for the quick response. I haven't touched the buttons at the bottom of the stove. It is brand new, out of the box, into the basement.

Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the ash pile this morning. I will on the next burn.

I did add a 3 foot rise to the outside chimney pipe to ensure better drafting from the horizontal run (only through an 8" foundation wall, using only one 12" connecting pipe to the cleanout T).

I sent England an email with 3 questions this morning. I assumed they'll troll through their emails, research the answers, and get back to me as soon as they can.

Again, thanks. If I don't hear back from England tomorrow, I'll call them.


Elroyy,

Wannabee pellet hog (I've bought all the tools and bullets I can store, it's time for pellets!). :)

The first thing I would do is close the the sliding door (about 1/3 to 1/2) located in the bottom of the hopper. The Somersets I have are smaller pellets, allowing a greater feed to the burn pot. I would definitely give tech support a call. Have the model number, serial number, and manufacture date (all should be on metal plate inside hopper) on hand when you call. Their tech support is great. Good luck and let us know. This is the 7th season for my PDVC and am happy with it, big thanks to Englander tech support.
 
Guys,
I called England today. They had me change one of the settings on the panel for low fuel feed from (Blower) 6 down to 4. He also advised me that when the pellet hopper is empty again, to slide the door referenced in one of your posts to 1/3 to 1/2 more closed. Soooooo, you guys hit in on the head. Slide the door AND England Customer Service is very responsive.

I'll fire it up again tonight if it'll get below 50 F.

I've found "Greenway" pellets for $180 ton, cash and carry. Good Deal? Good Pellets?



Thanks!


Elroyy
 
elroyyboy said:
.....I've found "Greenway" pellets for $180 ton, cash and carry. Good Deal? Good Pellets?

Grab as many tons as you can buy/store at that price....they are a very good pellet.
 
I burned last night on 3/3. It used less than 1/3 hopper of fuel, which is much better than my previous experiences! I'm going to burn again tonight to empty the hopper so that I can adjust the door at the bottom.

I did some research on the Greenways and decided that I'll stick with the Somersets for now. I can buy Somerset, with 10% military discount, at Lowes for $152/Ton plus tax. Going to make a few trips today (Tacoma will only carry 1400 lbs in the bed, and stock up!

You guys are great! Forum is a great resource!
 
elroyyboy said:
I burned last night on 3/3. It used less than 1/3 hopper of fuel, which is much better than my previous experiences! I'm going to burn again tonight to empty the hopper so that I can adjust the door at the bottom.

I did some research on the Greenways and decided that I'll stick with the Somersets for now. I can buy Somerset, with 10% military discount, at Lowes for $152/Ton plus tax. Going to make a few trips today (Tacoma will only carry 1400 lbs in the bed, and stock up!

You guys are great! Forum is a great resource!


This is a great source of info and Yes, Englander has some of the greatest customer service. Glad it all worked out for you. Grab them Somersets up....At that price, I would buy several tons (5-10)

Again, Welcome to the Forum.
 
Somersets are a dense Oak pellet. Ash is kind of heavy(dense) as well and doesn't get easily blown out of the burnpot like some of the other fuels. Pellets like these need a bit more air and/or a tad less feed to avoid clinkers. Once you find the sweet spot, Oak pellets are very hard to beat IMHO!
 
Thanks guys!

Surprise surprise! Visited my local Lowe's today. They've got Greenway Supremes for $3.39/bag! With military discount I bought a ton for $152.50!


The Tacoma squatted down a bit and was a little bouncy in the rear end for the three mile 25 MPH trip home, but they're safely stored and ready to heat us!
 
elroyyboy said:
Thanks guys!

Surprise surprise! Visited my local Lowe's today. They've got Greenway Supremes for $3.39/bag! With military discount I bought a ton for $152.50!


The Tacoma squatted down a bit and was a little bouncy in the rear end for the three mile 25 MPH trip home, but they're safely stored and ready to heat us!

Nice.... At that price. I would have bought 10 ton. But thats me. I am a little bit of a Pig.......
 
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