englander 25-PUF burn pot buildup

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pellet4gh

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Aug 21, 2007
7
Western Colorado
I have an englander 25-puf which i use to heat a greenhouse. I have burned about 1.5ton through it so far since I bought it new, with no problems. Last night it ran fine up till this morning and the burn pot filled with ash and partially burned pellets, and then overfilled. The flame was weak. What happened? I also have the stove on a thermostat, but from my temp data, it ran on high all night. setting is on highest when calling for heat. what should I be looking for to correct this problem?
 
I clean it out daily, the burn pot, and ash. Weekly I clean out the ash pan. This afternoon, I'm going to run a brush through the exhaust pipe. Should I do more?
 
Have you cleaned under the burn pot? (on your stove its called a wear plate)*****EDIT I was looking at the PDVC manual yours is called a burnpot too****, it's probably filled with ash and blocking airflow... make sure the holes are clear too.
Then there is the baffle plate (I assume this is covering the heat exchangers) have you removed that and cleaned out the fly ash?
Yes clean out the flue...
Do you have a manual?****EDIT check page 15 and 16****

#1 pellet stove problem is lack of airflow.
Are you getting any error codes?
I'm sure there is more to check,but Mike and Corie will be better to help you with this.
 
I have cleaned everything out you have mentioned at least every couple of days, if not every day. But behind the baffle plate I have not checke/cleaned. I have not had any error codes, but may tonight if I don't get it fixed.
 
an update, no baffle plate to take out in this model. Had same problem this morning as yesterday. Called manufacturer, he ran me through a checklist, found no problems. This time around, the burn box is black, usually it has just a small amount of white film. The glass is black around the edges, well about 1/2 the glass is black. Around the seal on the door, it is black except for a 6" strip along the top which is white. Manufacturer is sending me a new door and window gasket. I hope this is the problem. I have it operating on a thermostat, which I'm going to disconnect, put the jumper back in, and run it that way.
 
pellet4gh said:
an update, no baffle plate to take out in this model. Had same problem this morning as yesterday. Called manufacturer, he ran me through a checklist, found no problems. This time around, the burn box is black, usually it has just a small amount of white film. The glass is black around the edges, well about 1/2 the glass is black. Around the seal on the door, it is black except for a 6" strip along the top which is white. Manufacturer is sending me a new door and window gasket. I hope this is the problem. I have it operating on a thermostat, which I'm going to disconnect, put the jumper back in, and run it that way.

sorry i didnt get an answer out to you until now. but i gather that you talked to one of my techs and they seem to have the situation in hand, please let me know if you run into any other issues with the unit. ask for mike if you call in. or feel free to PM me with any questions, be happy to answer them.
 
Damp Pellets ? If it happened all of a sudden, empty out the hopper, set aside the bag of pellets used and try a fresh bag that you anticipate will be dry. If it works, you know the source of the problem.

Alternative: Failed convection blower. If something goes wrong with the convection loop (including the heat echanger and blower) the heat will not be delivered. Seems unlikely, since the stove should overtemp and shut down.

So lack of this issue points to something that stops the pellets burning or lowering heat output, like moisture.
 
KeithO said:
Damp Pellets ?

its a possibility, greenhouses usually are quite humid arent they? seems like if it was a "sudden change" it could be the pellets.

question for the owner; has the unit been in use regularly recently? are the pellets used at this time new? or from last season possibly???
 
KeithO said:
Damp Pellets ? If it happened all of a sudden, empty out the hopper, set aside the bag of pellets used and try a fresh bag that you anticipate will be dry. If it works, you know the source of the problem.

That's just what I was thinking.

Are you using the same brand of pellets? Some stoves don't like low quality pellets.
 
Pellets are the same, using in another stove in same location (as secondary), no problem. As for humidity, the past week has been warmer nights, therefore less humidity buildup in the greenhouse. I put in new bags everyday. Bags are stored in a warehouse. Last night I made sure there was no visible gaps in the door (we found one looking at it at night), cranked the handle down hard, and sealed the door. No problems all last night, it ran on heat setting 8 from 10pm-7am. So I feel it is the door/window gasket. The window gasket is coming apart, separating on the outside of the window. So to me it looks like a faulty gasket, which will be replaced as soon as a new one comes in the mail.
 
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