Englander pdv-25 steel wool mod.

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Nookem

New Member
Jan 11, 2016
5
Upstate new york
Long time reader. First time poster.

First thing first thank you all for the information on this site its amazing welth of knowlage.

Ok i got a pdv-25 this fall. Plugged it in runs great. I love it.

But like alot on this board i get overflowing with unburnt glowing red pellets and clinkers. When i started really running the stove in the last month. Not loving the stove. Infact makin me very nervous

It worryed me so i did my online research. Stove on all sorts of diffrent settings. Checked my plumbing. Checked my gaskets. Changed pellets. Nothing would fix this.

So i decided to go to store and get some grade 00 steel wool and plugged BOTH holes UNDER the burn plate. 2 nights in and not only is my unburnt pellet problem over its burning so hot compaired to before. Burn pot has very nicly burned ash. Strong flame. Immediately love this stove again. Runing my stove on 2 5 with the factory 6 4 1 and its like running on 7 9 heat wise ( at least it seems) before steel wool.

So i guess my question is it bad to have both holes plugged under the burn plate. Is it forcing too much air that could cause complications later on. Any saftey concerns. This being my first pellet stove im still nervous in my first year running it all day and night while at work/sleep
 
Without knowing what year the stove is i cant really comment on the 'holes' under the burn pot..

But i will say this, if i set the low fuel feed at 6 on mine it will eat just as many if not more pellets than if i just set the heat on 6. "Depending on pellet length of course"

So where abouts upstate are you?
 
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Are you talking the two holes off to sides of the lower auger, or the two holes under the burn plate that feed air to the sides holes above burn plate? Ive never had an un-burnt pellet problem. My stove runs feed rate at 1-2 %90 of its life. Fan rarely above 3.
 
Thanks for the replys

Mfg date on hopper lid is 11/14. Sorry dident include on first post

No matter what setting my 2 settings were on after 8 hrs woukd have overflowing unburnt red pellets and clinkers. I placed 00 steel wool in the bottom 2 holes UNDER the burn plate and since then nomatter what i run my stove on. It burns so damn clean and efficiant. Like stated on first post

Im just wondering if having all the air pressure comming throuh the bottom and not the sides would cause to any saftey concerns ect.

Ohh and from the lower Adirondacks by lake george you get any of this snow ceaderjunk?
 
Last i looked outside i had a dusting :)

Shouldnt be a problem directing or redirecting the airflow. Especially if its working.
 
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Lucky thought i was gonna have green grass and not have to mow all winter. Got Bout 5 inches today. Lookin at 2 more overnight.

Thanks for the quick reply.
 
Lucky thought i was gonna have green grass and not have to mow all winter. Got Bout 5 inches today. Lookin at 2 more overnight.

Thanks for the quick reply.

You can have it all. I dont mind.
Im way north of you still.. 20+- minutes from both borders
 
wondering if having all the air pressure comming throuh the bottom and not the sides would cause to any saftey concerns ect.
I've had mine blocked off for a long time...
I would suggest that you try to get plugs to do the job, rather than the steel wool...

008236716634sm.jpg

Dan
 
Does this really help? I have one of those stoves. I dont think i would need plugs, or steel wool. I just would stop blowing out the sides of the burnpot with my airgun weekly and i'm sure in 2 weeks no air would be traveling through there...
 
i just picked up a 1993 englander pdv and i also notice this issue if i have the feed turned up all the way,i may try this if my burn pot is the same
 
Give it a try and answer back here. Let me know if itnworks for yoh as well.


And now that i know this is working i will seek out thouse plugs. Where do yoh get them?
 
I had to block off the holes under the plate running on anything over 5/6. Ended up welding the top holes shut. I think they have the useless air coming in on the sides to knock the particulate down to meet emissions. That's my theory anyway. It was stated that it's not very efficient, and getting harder for that old design to pass standards.
 
i just picked up a 1993 englander pdv and i also notice this issue if i have the feed turned up all the way,i may try this if my burn pot is the same

Burn pots in these older ones are a completely diff animal compared to the newer ones.
 
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And now that i know this is working i will seek out thouse plugs. Where do yoh get them?
Lowes has them.
More than likely HD, or a good hardware store.

They are usually in the hardware area that has all of the drawers with specialty
nuts, bolts, springs, washers, cotter pins etc...

Dan
 
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Ok so 3 days running on 6-4-1 with a 5-9. My particular stove is throwing more heat. And burning very clean compared to before. Major improvment for me

So for anyone out there having unburnt clinkers ect on a newer pdv. Try steel wool under the burn plate. Its worth a shot.
::DT

Dan
Im going to lowes tomorrow and when i shut my stove down sunday for its weaking cleaning i will install them insted. Thanks for the location btw. Id be looking all over for hours and walk out with $500 of stuff unrelated to the stove
!!! damn hard wear stores
 
Dan
Im going to lowes tomorrow
They have quit a few different sizes, so measure your openings carefully....
I know some older models had two different sizes!
I think mine were 3/4", but that was a few years ago.. memory is not that hot!

Good luck, Dan
 
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Hey guys, Great site here. Very, very informative. I own an Englander PDV-25 purchased new, in 2014. After a lot of tinkering, I decided to plug the top two air holes in the burn pot. It's the only mod that works for me in the higher heat ranges. The best sizes for the Hillman steel plugs are 1/2" left and 3/4" right, for a snug fit. I have found that using the plugs really increased my burn efficiency. I keep the lower three settings at 6-4-1. As for technical problems with this stove, I haven't experienced any. I just keep up on on my regular ash maintenance and grease the auger motor bearings as needed. Awesome product. Period.
 
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I've considered doing this for a while... Think I just might have to machine some caps and do this.. Is it really that much of a difference?
It absolutely works. At low heat ranges, you end with fine ash at a lower volume. At higher ranges, you'll get less ash, with the remaining burning pellets where they should be.In the flame. Let us know how you make out.
 
It absolutely works. At low heat ranges, you end with fine ash at a lower volume. At higher ranges, you'll get less ash, with the remaining burning pellets where they should be.In the flame. Let us know how you make out.

It will still depend on the quality of the pellets you are burning. Dont expect plugging the holes to make the crappy pellets burn 100%. Although it will help
 
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The quality of pellets definitely effects the quality of the burn. I've found though, that burning cheaper pellets has still provided plenty of heat. I've had my stove reach a door temp of 500 degrees, on a 6 to 7 heat range. I have to scrape the burn pot twice a day but that's fine with me.
 
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I've considered doing this for a while... Think I just might have to machine some caps and do this.. Is it really that much of a difference?
It's not going to turn it into a Harman P68.... but it is an improvement on many.
It was on mine.
The Hillman plugs are less than 3 bucks IIRC... Certainly worth the try.

Dan
 
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Just want to comment on factory settings(6-4-1) and closing the bottom holes beneath the burn pot. If you give your stove more air say five or six (rule of thumb is to keep it even with your pellet drop which you said was six) you will not have a need to plug the airflow. Just sayin
 
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