Cleaning the heat exchanger on Englander 25-PDVC

[Ronoeh]

I have owned the Englander 25 PDVC for two years now. In general, I believe it has been working well. Lately I have been getting frustrated with the cleaning process I have been following. It seems it is very difficult to vacuum effectively behind the impingement plate and I end up getting filthy doing it (my stove is in the living room!). Does anyone have a suggestion on how to use compressed air to clean this area more effectively and force the ash out of the exhaust? Any good suggestions on keeping the inside of the firebox clean? I really like the stove, but am wondering if I should have bought one that was easier to clean and maintain! Thanks for your help!!

 

[Xena]

Hey welcome to the forum!

I don't have an Englander, but I do remember Mike
from ESW telling us that he duct taped a piece of
small hose (like garden hose) to the end of his shop
vac to get in the hard to reach areas of the stove.
Might that be an option for you? Also, the surgical
type gloves are great for keeping your hands clean
while cleaning out the stoves.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

hi starter and welcome, zeta is correct , i use about a 2 ft length of garden hose (dog ate the end of it so i was pitching it anyway) i wrapped several layers of duct tape around it to expand it to fit my loveless vac, and voila a flexable thin hose i can get into the heat exchanger to clean it out. as for compressed air, would be difficult with that model to blow it out without getting a lot back at you. my stove is located quite close to the door to my deck , so each summer , it gets wheeled out on an appliance cart , gets blown out on my deck , i empty the unit of fuel , remove the baffle plate , turn the unit on (need a drop cord) to get the exhaust blower running , and let it have it with my compressor , note you will get dirty doing this, but when the unit is blown out it runs like a brand new stove. this is not a necessity , its just somthing i do. the hose and my loveless keep the unit plenty clean enough during the season

 

[gpcollen1]

hi starter and welcome, zeta is correct , i use about a 2 ft length of garden hose (dog ate the end of it so i was pitching it anyway) i wrapped several layers of duct tape around it to expand it to fit my loveless vac, and voila a flexable thin hose i can get into the heat exchanger to clean it out. as for compressed air, would be difficult with that model to blow it out without getting a lot back at you. my stove is located quite close to the door to my deck , so each summer , it gets wheeled out on an appliance cart , gets blown out on my deck , i empty the unit of fuel , remove the baffle plate , turn the unit on (need a drop cord) to get the exhaust blower running , and let it have it with my compressor , note you will get dirty doing this, but when the unit is blown out it runs like a brand new stove. this is not a necessity , its just something i do. the hose and my loveless keep the unit plenty clean enough during the season

I have one of the 1 1/4" car cleaning kits for my shop vac. Then I use a piece of 5/8 heater hose from the auto parts store to attach to that for cleaning in tight places (like when I had to clean the dead mouse and his house out of my car's fan motor and duct work.

Same idea just different materials. The heater hose is very sturdy , yet flexible! I used it to clean out the tight areas of my wood stove too.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

sounds like that would work quite well also , i'll remember that one. thanks