25 PDVC New owner

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eichele30

New Member
Nov 14, 2015
2
Erie, PA
Hello, ya’ll! I’ve been a lurker since last year so please forgive me if I've forgotten something or get something wrong on the first try :). Last year was the first year I went to the 25 pdvc Englander from a malfunctioning gas boiler that was costing $600+/month to heat with. I purchased my Englander used on CL for $700 with a brand new paint job & the extended hopper. It holds 120 lbs of pellets. Of course, I have run into some issues, which ended up being not as severe as first thought. My heat sensor for the control board was malfunctioning causing the blower to quit intermittently, leading me to believe the blower motor was junk. I searched everywhere for an affordable motor & after figuring out how to install it (counterclockwise motor), I found the issue was with the heat sensor.

Anyways, the stove is now installed and operating, but I do have some issues/questions that I feel ya’ll may be able to help me with. 1st of all, after installation (my buddy did it for me), my stove only has the exhaust going through the wall. The cold air intake ( I think that’s what it’s called) is not hooked up although I do plan on getting to it in the next week or 2. I was told by my friend that this would not matter much because I own a home that was built in 1890, has crappy insulation, and is well vented with massive cold air drafts. Is that correct? During the times the stove quit due to the heat sensor, I would get that awful sooty blow back into my home. Not only does it smell awful, but it gives me a headache and leaves a mess!

Secondly, I’ve read so many posts regarding the bottom “do not touch” buttons on my control panel. I know I need to modify mine because when I changed them, I did see a better quality fire/burn in the stove; however, I’m not exactly sure what I am doing with them other than a trial and error type thing. I do not understand the air flow/fuel feed. Can anybody explain it, even if it is an elementary explanation? I put the buttons on 6-4-1 and with the fuel on 1, it will burn for a while before it will eventually go out. It’s not feeding pellets quite fast enough to keep a fire going.

Another question I have is, is it normal to run these stoves on settings such as 3-5 like I see so many folks doing? I always run my blower on 9 regardless of where the fuel is set at because I need the heat to push out! Am I doing it all wrong?

While I own a massive 1890 built home, I have divided it into apartments so I’m currently only heating a 650 sq. ft apt. I would, however, like to extend the heat to one of my upstairs apts which is a tad smaller than my own. I would guess around 500 sq. ft. Next question is how in the world are ya’ll getting heat to the 2nd floors for those with homes that are not single level? As a trial, I did cut a hole in the living room ceiling (where my pellet stove is installed), and placed register vents in it. It is located not far from where the heater is, and the ceiling area in my own apt is quite warm. It’s almost as if there’s no heat traveling up even though heat rises. Do you install fans? Do I just need more registers in place? I currently use propane as a secondary heating source and it is so expensive here (Erie, PA) that I’d like to cut it out almost completely.

Any help/suggestions ya’ll have would be greatly appreciated! I need to figure out the best settings to get the most out of my stove before the snow flies. It won’t hold up long here, I’m sure.

Oh.. and one last question. I saw some posts regarding putting the heater into C mode rather than D mode, which Is where the stove is set after a reset. Is this something I may need to try? Should the 6-4-1 settings be adjusted if I attempt a C mode operation?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is the first pellet stove I have owned. I’m a single female trying to figure things out on my own without having to pay somebody to come help me out. I'm currently burning pellets from the local feed store ($275/ton with delivery and they stack them up for me in my house too!) which tend to leave very little ash. I burn 1 1/2-2 bags/day which seems to be a lot compared to my buddy who only burns 1 bag every 1-2 days depending on the outside temp. I do clean the burn pot daily and do a complete clean every 3 days or so. I also need some direction as to how I clean out the exhaust pipes? I've only ever cleaned my Tee.

Thanks in advance to anybody that might venture on giving advice!
 
1st off welcome to the forum,the 6 4 1 settings are ok in either c or d mode,the first thing you need to address is the smoke in the house. Be sure all your joints are sealed well use silicone tape on them and make sure you use high temp rtv sealer on the pipe adapter coming off the blower motor.once you re seal ur vent check it for any leaks using a flashlight you shouldn't have any smoke or smell in the home at all.i can't stress enough double and tripple check ur vent for leaks.then we will worry about ur settings 6 4 1 is a good start tho.
 
Hello & thanks for the welcome!
I have used stove & fireplace cement & mortar to seal my exhaust pipes. The smoke was a direct result of the cold air intake not being hooked up because that's where smoke comes in from. Now that the stove is operating correctly I don't have that problem, thankfully. The cold air intake will be hooked up soon. Is there a risk operating the heater without it? My house is super drafty. Even with the heater going the floor is freezing.
 
Welcome to the mill! Outside Air Kit is a great idea, even more so that you have had exhaust blowing out from it! I do not know too much about the lower three settings, other than I set mine to 5-4-1 when it is moderately cold (Below 35f), and 4-4-1 when it is not too cold (above 45f). I rarely run mine above heat setting 1 and convection blower setting 1, as this stove is larger than I require in my house.

As far as the old drafty house, get insulation anywhere you can, that will cost you millions in lost heat! Well, less now that oil is down and you're burning pellets.

Have spare parts on hand. Have spare parts on hand. Sorry, did I repeat myself? It will break down when it is below 5f, not above 32f!

Moving air upstairs is an art form, I live in a ranch so cannot understand how they do it.

If the feed store stacks the bags for you, great deal! Enjoy the saved lower back muscles from lifting like I do, over 9,000 pounds this year so far.

Cleaning, buy a 4" brush (Smaller or larger depending on your exhaust pipe inside diameter) with the flexible rod to clean out the exhaust pipe.

Bill
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No risk without hooking up the oak, but it does help with pulling drafts through the house. To help get the warm air up, you need to pull the cool air down. Try a small fan at the bottom of the stairs facing the stove area. I have my stove in C mode and the lower buttons at 1-5-1. You can run your fan at any speed as long as it is equal or greater than your feed. I moved my stove this year from the living room to the front entry porch because my upstairs got to warm. Now the heat has to go through the entire house before going upstairs.
 
Re: Bottom three numbers. Air Flow determines how many CFM's the combustion motor pulls through the system. Feed rate is how long the top auger turns per a predetermined time frame. Remember, on two auger Englander stoves, the bottom three numbers only effect heat settings 1 and 2.

If you're using your stove on heat setting 1 or 2 and your fire goes out, you can either raise the feed rate or lower the air flow. Fun
 
How do you change your stove from d to c mode. Every time I try and change mine all it displays is a number 5. I have an Englander multi fuel 2200sq feet stove. 2014 model.
 
Hello, ya’ll! I’ve been a lurker since last year so please forgive me if I've forgotten something or get something wrong on the first try :). Last year was the first year I went to the 25 pdvc Englander from a malfunctioning gas boiler that was costing $600+/month to heat with. I purchased my Englander used on CL for $700 with a brand new paint job & the extended hopper. It holds 120 lbs of pellets. Of course, I have run into some issues, which ended up being not as severe as first thought. My heat sensor for the control board was malfunctioning causing the blower to quit intermittently, leading me to believe the blower motor was junk. I searched everywhere for an affordable motor & after figuring out how to install it (counterclockwise motor), I found the issue was with the heat sensor.

Anyways, the stove is now installed and operating, but I do have some issues/questions that I feel ya’ll may be able to help me with. 1st of all, after installation (my buddy did it for me), my stove only has the exhaust going through the wall. The cold air intake ( I think that’s what it’s called) is not hooked up although I do plan on getting to it in the next week or 2. I was told by my friend that this would not matter much because I own a home that was built in 1890, has crappy insulation, and is well vented with massive cold air drafts. Is that correct? During the times the stove quit due to the heat sensor, I would get that awful sooty blow back into my home. Not only does it smell awful, but it gives me a headache and leaves a mess!

Secondly, I’ve read so many posts regarding the bottom “do not touch” buttons on my control panel. I know I need to modify mine because when I changed them, I did see a better quality fire/burn in the stove; however, I’m not exactly sure what I am doing with them other than a trial and error type thing. I do not understand the air flow/fuel feed. Can anybody explain it, even if it is an elementary explanation? I put the buttons on 6-4-1 and with the fuel on 1, it will burn for a while before it will eventually go out. It’s not feeding pellets quite fast enough to keep a fire going.

Another question I have is, is it normal to run these stoves on settings such as 3-5 like I see so many folks doing? I always run my blower on 9 regardless of where the fuel is set at because I need the heat to push out! Am I doing it all wrong?

While I own a massive 1890 built home, I have divided it into apartments so I’m currently only heating a 650 sq. ft apt. I would, however, like to extend the heat to one of my upstairs apts which is a tad smaller than my own. I would guess around 500 sq. ft. Next question is how in the world are ya’ll getting heat to the 2nd floors for those with homes that are not single level? As a trial, I did cut a hole in the living room ceiling (where my pellet stove is installed), and placed register vents in it. It is located not far from where the heater is, and the ceiling area in my own apt is quite warm. It’s almost as if there’s no heat traveling up even though heat rises. Do you install fans? Do I just need more registers in place? I currently use propane as a secondary heating source and it is so expensive here (Erie, PA) that I’d like to cut it out almost completely.

Any help/suggestions ya’ll have would be greatly appreciated! I need to figure out the best settings to get the most out of my stove before the snow flies. It won’t hold up long here, I’m sure.

Oh.. and one last question. I saw some posts regarding putting the heater into C mode rather than D mode, which Is where the stove is set after a reset. Is this something I may need to try? Should the 6-4-1 settings be adjusted if I attempt a C mode operation?

Sorry for all the questions, but this is the first pellet stove I have owned. I’m a single female trying to figure things out on my own without having to pay somebody to come help me out. I'm currently burning pellets from the local feed store ($275/ton with delivery and they stack them up for me in my house too!) which tend to leave very little ash. I burn 1 1/2-2 bags/day which seems to be a lot compared to my buddy who only burns 1 bag every 1-2 days depending on the outside temp. I do clean the burn pot daily and do a complete clean every 3 days or so. I also need some direction as to how I clean out the exhaust pipes? I've only ever cleaned my Tee.

Thanks in advance to anybody that might venture on giving advice!
not to be a party pooper but those holes you cut in the ceiling are a fire code violation and a safety hazard . you mention a big house cut up into apts
 
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