just moved into a new apartment with a 25-PDVC...hooboy

[englanderrenter]

First off, thanks to Hearth.com and its users for a valuable resource.

I'm in the process of moving into a new apartment, and the owner had installed an Englander 25-PDVC, and they're including a supply of LG pellets. After cleaning the window (covered in light brown junk, which came off easily), I peeked and poked around, then later today hit up Hearth.com and started reading.

When I talked to the owner and signed the lease, she said "the stove was fully serviced this fall."

Well, apparently, "fully serviced" means:

-Not clean the unit (the walls were covered in ash, as was the impingement plate and the area behind the plate)
-Improperly install the impingement plate (it's flush against the back of the stove. From reading Englander's PDF on proper plate installation, it sounds like it should be leaning forward quite a bit?)
-Place an electrical junction box cover on top of the wear plate (because of the rather large hole in the wear plate by the auger.) Nothing like cheaping out on a $12 part...though it would be nice if Englander used the proper materials for the "wear" plate so it didn't have to "wear"...

Awesome, eh?

I cleaned the ash from everywhere I could reach with a large stiff narrow/round brush, and repositioned the electrical junction plate underneath the wear plate to cover part of the burned-out area, but still allow some airflow. Didn't really work that well- the pellets burn only at the very back of the firebox, and they burn very quickly- probably because of the high flow of air around the hole. Still, seems to put out QUITE a bit more heat than it did before! I didn't think about the impingement plate position until I looked at the PDF again this evening after cleaning the stove.

A few questions:

-Are there any dealers for Englander in the Boston area that stock replacement parts? I need a wear plate, ASAP. It seems a lot of stores sell the stoves (including the major chains), but not parts?

-Where can I find the serial number and build date? It wasn't anywhere on the outside of the unit, from what I could tell.

-Should I assume that zero maintenance has been done on the stove, and replace the firebox, blower, and auger gaskets and do a full "annual" service according to the manual? Anything else I should do? (for example, is it possible to grease any motor bearings?)

-It seems people like to run much higher room blower speeds than Englander recommends (the manual says if you're running at heat level 2, use blower speed 2.) Is this for efficiency? Is there a point of diminishing returns? (the blower is very loud, grr.)

-Has anyone found success at dampening noise from these things? The blowers are incredibly loud- I have no idea how the owner tolerated the noise from it!

-At one point during the startup cycle, when the pellets that had accumulated caught fire and really got going, there was a low-frequency vibration/noise and the flames danced/pulsed with it. Very odd. Anyone seen this before?

-Was I correct about the impingement plate leaning forward quite a bit?

Lastly: has anyone written a guide to tuning the feed and blower speeds? From what I can see, they're active at heat rate 1+2, and I would guess that you can set the feed rate as low as possible by running the unit on heat level 1, and reducing the feed to the lowest one where it stays lit reliably? As for blower speed- how does one evaluate the proper speed- based on flame color? I didn't notice any difference between the 5 blower speed settings, to be honest...though maybe that's because of the screwed up wear plate...

Thank you, all! Hope the New Year treats you better than the last!

 

[Excell]

The impingement plate should be straight up .There is a hook on the back side that catches on the back . You can order parts from Englander ,there phone number is in the manual. You shouldn't really use the stove until you have that part .The serial # and build date should be on the inside of the hopper lid .The blower will make less noise at slower speeds . Changing the room blower speed does not effect the flame at all . Hope this helps .

 

[imacman]

NErenter, welcome to the forum.....lots of info here, and good people to give advice too.

A few questions....are you responsible for the maintenance of the stove? I understand the normal weekly cleaning, but what about anything else? Was the pipe cleaned? Were the blowers removed & cleaned? etc. Cleaning them of carbon/ash/hair/dust may lower the noise level. If not, the bearings may be bad.

Also, are you responsible for paying for parts? Once you find the manufacture date, maybe it's still under warranty? did the owner say when they installed it?

 

[englanderrenter]

Excell: thank you for the tip for the info on the hopper lid, I honestly never noticed it there. I did notice a wiring diagram.

I already knew that the room fan speed didn't affect combustion, the question is whether it has much effect on efficiency. Ie, too much heat let past into the exhaust. Also, are you sure about the impingement plate? The instructions pretty clearly say the plate should be leaning forwards- and the 'tab' is you so can lift the plate, or so I thought. I mean, impingement sounds like the flames should be hitting it...

Macman: Renters are not SUPPOSED to be responsible for repair and maintenance, usually. But honestly, it's not worth the fight- she's already been a royal PITA, and I already regret being her tenant for other reasons.

Doesn't sound like bad bearings, but could very well need a clean-out. I guess I'll get the gaskets and budget a few hours to screw around with the stove. As for the flue- I THINK, but I'm not sure, that the system vents into the main building chimney, and that is the responsibility of the condo association.

 

[imacman]

.....Also, are you sure about the impingement plate? The instructions pretty clearly say the plate should be leaning forwards- and the 'tab' is you so can lift the plate, or so I thought. I mean, impingement sounds like the flames should be hitting it...

According to the 25-PDVC owners manual on the Englander site, "Impingement plate hangs flush on the back wall of firebox, and is centered over the burn pot". It stands straight up, and has about a 1/4" of "play".

Are you sure you have that model stove? The 25-PDV impingement plate leans forward, I believe.

 

[Excell]

Excell: thank you for the tip for the info on the hopper lid, I honestly never noticed it there. I did notice a wiring diagram.

I already knew that the room fan speed didn't affect combustion, the question is whether it has much effect on efficiency. Ie, too much heat let past into the exhaust. Also, are you sure about the impingement plate? The instructions pretty clearly say the plate should be leaning forwards- and the 'tab' is you so can lift the plate, or so I thought. I mean, impingement sounds like the flames should be hitting it...

Macman: Renters are not SUPPOSED to be responsible for repair and maintenance, usually. But honestly, it's not worth the fight- she's already been a royal PITA, and I already regret being her tenant for other reasons.

Doesn't sound like bad bearings, but could very well need a clean-out. I guess I'll get the gaskets and budget a few hours to screw around with the stove. As for the flue- I THINK, but I'm not sure, that the system vents into the main building chimney, and that is the responsibility of the condo association.

I was talking about the hook on the back side of the plate .The one on the front is a handle for remove and replace .I think as long as it is hooked at the top it is installed correctly .If I am wrong ,which may have happened before ,we will find out as soon as one of the Englander people read this post . The room fan definitely makes a difference in efficiency ,you will have to find a comfort zone ,noise vs efficiency .

 

[little_hawk_59]

the bottom of the plat needs to be pushed back against the baffel chanmber and then the top leans out a little. if the bottom is not pushed back it let the heat and gases bipass the exchanger.