Englander 25-PDVC and "Barefoot" pellets - Question for Mike and Others!!

Hoping someone can help with this question. I have an Englander 25 PDVC that is 2 or 3 years old. I have been burning Dry Creek pellets in the stove with no problems, but the price is quite high at the local Agway (249/ton). When I went to pick up more pellets this weekend, I noticed two other people buying the "Barefoot" brand (225/ton). I asked both people how they liked the brand and one said better than Drycreek and the other said just as good, no difference. I decided to save some money and purchased a ton of the Barefoot pellets. They are supposed to be all hardwood and certified as "premium" pellet fuel that exceeds all requirements.

When I loaded the stove I set it on auger speed 1 and blower speed 3 as I usually do. At startup the flames were touching the top of the stove and the heat almost drove me out of the room. After 1/2 hour, the flames were still very high and the temperature too high. The only thing I could think of is that the pellets were feeding too fast (they feel "slippery" to the touch). I decided I would reduce the low speed auger feed settings as I have read about people doing here. I took the auger feed setting down to 2 and the rate was so slow I didn't think the fire would maintain. I raised it to 3 and now the temperature is manageable at a normal feed setting of 1 and fan speed of 3.

I don't understand why the "Barefoot" pellets produce such a huge, and very hot flame at very low settings on the stove. My fear is that I will overfire the unit. Does anyone else have a similar experience with the Barefoot pellets? Does anyone think I need to adjust the combustion blower speed to a lower setting? Is it normal to have the flames so high they are licking the top of the stove at very low settings?

I bought a ton of pellets and really don't want to return them! Any help or advice would be highly appreciated!!

Ron

Are the new pellets on the small side?

Small pellets will feed faster (less air space).

The flame on my 25-puf usually is large enough it touches the upper part of the burn chamber now and then, my stove is completely different, but it seems normal for mine.I have also notice different brands throw more heat than others, I am trying a pellet called green team right now and they burn very hot compared to others I have used.Pellets seem to have alot to do with stove performance, and I think englander has a overheat shut down on most of the stoves, but mike should be able to tell us for sure.

I don't think there is any real size difference. The new pellets feel more "slippery" though......

I have an Englander, (though it is not the same model) and on the inside of the hopper I am able to control the amount of pellets that fall down by opening or closing the opening at the bottom of the hopper. It works out pretty good if I close the opening a little bit when I am burning shorter length pellets. Closing it up a bit will slow down the feed rate of the pellets. Give it a try, it may work for you if your stove has the same type hopper set-up as mine.

The advice given above, about adjusting the feed system restrictor plate on the top of the cast iron feed assembly is good advice. You can compensate, as you did, using low fuel feed or using the restrictor plate. You will find that slightly variations in pellet texture and size can result in feed problems, such as this. This is one reason why that plate in the hopper as well as the low fuel feed setting are there.

Yep, that little plate in the bottom of the auger is the trick. I've only run three brands of pellets through mine but I've discovered that each brand requires a little different adjustment on that plate to feed correctly. The finish of the pellets does seem to make a difference as well as size. Burning pellets now that are the same size as the previous brand but aren't as hard and shiny (slippery) so I had to open the plate slightly to get them to feed at the correct rate.

Hey Ron,
Same thing here with the barefoot pellets. Unfortunately this is the first year I have had the stove and only ever burned these pellets and they were free with a purchase of the stove. I haven't burned anything else yet but I am thinking of trying a different kind.

I love Barefoot pellets.They have always burned hot in my stove. I've been burning Firesides recently, but if Barefoots become more available in my area, I'd go back to them. They are a little dirtier than other pellets.

I've always had great luck with Barefoot, L&G;granules and Comfort hardwood pellets.

The Comforts produce less ash than the others.

just to let you know ron, the unit has an internal overtemp protection built into the circuitry , the unit will stop the upper auger if the high limit is bumped against, and if it sustains at that limit , it will shut down. so overfire shouldnt be a concern with that stove.