Englander 25 EP Soot

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Amatuer Adventurist

New Member
Dec 2, 2009
10
western NY
A few days ago while I was cleaning the stove I noticed a build up of soot in the burn pot. It was really hard and I had to use a screwdriver blade to clean it off. The next day my wife asked if I noticed how the exhaust color had changed from clear to a white smoke. Also its not really putting out the heat like it was. Granted the temps outside have plummeted but the room temp. is only 60 directly across from the stove and that is on 5/7 with 4/4/1 across the bottom. Any ideas as to whats going on? Also these are the same pellets (AFW) we've been burning since mid last year. Its the same ton we've been burning for awhile so I don't think its a pellet issue. Thanks for any advice.
 
Is that white smoke by any chance condensation, it tends to really show up when the outside temperatures get really low.

Now about the inside temperature, if the outside temperature was 30 and you were getting 70+ inside and now the temperature is -10 the heat loss for your house has doubled in order to maintain the same temperature you need to turn the stove up.
 
i have the same stove and i never seen that, the hard stuff in the burn pot sounds like a large clunker and the white exhaust stuff i dunno, but when is the last time you cleaned out your venting system and clean out tee?, maybe some type of blockage maybe?
 
The outdoor temps have come up a few degrees and the white smoke is gone. I think you were spot on with it being condensation. What worries me though is the hard build up on the burn pot. Its hard to the point of having to slam a screwdriver into it to try and chisel it away. Could it be caused from the super cold feed air?
 
Without knowing exactly what the chunk of crud is actually made of I can't say for certain what it is.

If it can be chipped out and the pieces burned up using a torch, it is likely a form of charcoal. Likely caused by having a fuel charge dumped on top of heated but not yet burning pellets. If have fine adjustment capability you may be able to minimize or eliminate it from happening.

If it comes out in large pieces and has a glassy or metallic appearance you are likely looking at a clinker. The solution for clinkers is basicly the same as for creating charcoal (carbon) deposits.
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
......The solution for clinkers is basicly the same as for creating charcoal (carbon) deposits.

Huh?

Anyway, the question was asked above about the cleaning regimen on the exhaust pipe and cleanout T (if you have one). I'll expand on that...when was the stove cleaned completely too?

As for the hard carbon deposit, I get them too sometimes in my 10-cpm....and just as you mentioned, a good sharp screwdriver (or chisel) is used to remove them. They may be a result of not enough airflow through the pot ( once again the cleaning issue?).

And I agree with Smokey about the heat settings. You're only burning at 5, and need to raise it to get more heat....I was on 7-9 last night when it got to -6 here.
 
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