25 pdvc englander endless problem

[MCPO]

Good idea from Smokey. Trouble shooting is a process of elimination. Seems the most obvious causes have already been checked. Although voltages should probably also be a priority. Definitely check the voltage to the combustion fan.
You could also remove the 4 screws on the combustion cover and pull apart the two snap together wire connectors at the combustion blower . Directly feed 120 volts from a reliable source (check it) and connect it to the comb fan. It will run at full speed but will only be running slightly faster than on the lowest speed anyway so it won`t matter.
Start the stove and let it run for an hour , then check it for a clean burn. You shouldn`t have any indication of black smoke exiting the vent and the flame should be bright yellow and quite active with little to no dark orange flames present.

 

[coloradan]

how is the heat with the somersets compaired to barefoot? i go through a half a bag less a day with barefoot compaired to the tsc brand because i can run the stove 2 heat settings lower with barefoot and get the same heat output. but the tradeoff is having to scrape out the pot so much with the barefoot

The Somersets are just as hot (if not a tad hotter) as the Barefoot. I believe they are 100% oak pellets, and are also sourced from hardwood flooring scraps, so the product is extremely consistant.

 

[Excell]

That burn pot looks the same as mine after about 8 hrs on5. I think it is probably normal for this model. The only pellets that burn clean in mine are Lignetics .
So far .

 

[Panhandler]

That burn pot looks the same as mine after about 8 hrs on5. I think it is probably normal for this model. The only pellets that burn clean in mine are Lignetics .
So far .

Pretty much the same story here. This is the first year I've ever seen a clinker. Not saying that is the root cause of his problem, but it could very well magnify the problem. As the clinker forms, it cuts off the bottom air supply.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

That burn pot looks the same as mine after about 8 hrs on5. I think it is probably normal for this model. The only pellets that burn clean in mine are Lignetics .
So far .

Pretty much the same story here. This is the first year I've ever seen a clinker. Not saying that is the root cause of his problem, but it could very well magnify the problem. As the clinker forms, it cuts off the bottom air supply.

Clinkers, did someone say clinkers, get out the steam roller and run over them, they are the worst things going, well maybe second worst thing after lying political hacks and before used car salesmen.

 

[MCPO]

That burn pot looks the same as mine after about 8 hrs on5. I think it is probably normal for this model. The only pellets that burn clean in mine are Lignetics .
So far .

Pretty much the same story here. This is the first year I've ever seen a clinker. Not saying that is the root cause of his problem, but it could very well magnify the problem. As the clinker forms, it cuts off the bottom air supply.

Clinkers, did someone say clinkers, get out the steam roller and run over them, they are the worst things going, well maybe second worst thing after lying political hacks and before used car salesmen.

You got that right! Lawyers are the worst scum of all. I consider most of them as vermin. At least with a dishonest used car salesman you get the car even if it`s a lemon but with a lawyer they steal every nickel they can from you and you still get the shaft.
Lawyers go to college to learn how to distort the truth . They have no morals and knowingly represent the guilty.
All one has to do is take a look at the scumbags we have in Washington and most of these lying corrupted politicians are lawyers.

 

[smwilliamson]

Have you looked to see how long it takes for your auger motor to make one complete revolution? You model should have a 1 rpm motor, however; they assemble other models with 2 rpm motors. Perhaps you have the wrong motor?

 

[86 toy]

Have you looked to see how long it takes for your auger motor to make one complete revolution? You model should have a 1 rpm motor, however; they assemble other models with 2 rpm motors. Perhaps you have the wrong motor?

i have checked pellet consumtion and it's good i go through about 1.5 bags a day on 3-4 heat setting

 

[86 toy]

finally remembered to bring my multi-meter home from work. I tested 118v at the outlet. i hooked up jumper wires from me combustion blower so i could get voltage reading with the circut loaded and left it hooked up so i could monitor the voltage over time. i have an average of about 118v to the blower it fluctuates a little (+or- 1volt). so valtage isn't an issue to the blower. one thing i did notice that was kind of strange to me was that when i adjust the LBA starting at 9 their was 118v to the blower from 9 to 5? and from 4 down the voltage dropped a little at each number change like i thought it should. one would think that if they have 9 LBA settings that each one would have it's own voltage.
also last night i decided to see what the smoke looked like out of the pipe and it's blowing black. i really don't know what else to do. i'm sick of constantly having to clean clinkers out of it. somethings gotta give

 

[imacman]

finally remembered to bring my multi-meter home from work. I tested 118v at the outlet. i hooked up jumper wires from me combustion blower so i could get voltage reading with the circut loaded and left it hooked up so i could monitor the voltage over time. i have an average of about 118v to the blower it fluctuates a little (+or- 1volt). so valtage isn't an issue to the blower. one thing i did notice that was kind of strange to me was that when i adjust the LBA starting at 9 their was 118v to the blower from 9 to 5? and from 4 down the voltage dropped a little at each number change like i thought it should. one would think that if they have 9 LBA settings that each one would have it's own voltage.
also last night i decided to see what the smoke looked like out of the pipe and it's blowing black. i really don't know what else to do. i'm sick of constantly having to clean clinkers out of it. somethings gotta give

If you have black smoke coming from your exhaust pipe, there is something wrong for sure. Pellet stoves should have virtually no smoke from the pipe regardless of what setting you have it on.

Time to call Mike at Englander and see about either getting it fixed or exchange for a different/new stove.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I was wondering where you disappeared to.

x2 what macman said, keep that meter there and perhaps Mike or one of his techs will walk you through checking things out.

ETA: That varying could be the ticket.

 

[breklaw]

The voltage to the motor does not really change much. It is the TIMING of the AC cycles that changes. This is the same way a dimmer works. If you were to see a sine wave of 60 cycles, with perfectly symmetrical waves, that would be 100% power, and when you chopped out pieces of the wave, lowering the TIME that you were at full power, the speed of the motor, or the intensity of the lamp, decreases. DC motors can be speed controlled with voltage. AC motors are either frequency (expensive) or sine wave (cheap) speed controlled.
Bill

 

[imacman]

I was wondering where you disappeared to......

Working, and VERY sick Tue/Wed.

 

[86 toy]

The voltage to the motor does not really change much. It is the TIMING of the AC cycles that changes. This is the same way a dimmer works. If you were to see a sine wave of 60 cycles, with perfectly symmetrical waves, that would be 100% power, and when you chopped out pieces of the wave, lowering the TIME that you were at full power, the speed of the motor, or the intensity of the lamp, decreases. DC motors can be speed controlled with voltage. AC motors are either frequency (expensive) or sine wave (cheap) speed controlled.
Bill

ok thanks for the clarification.. I'm an Automotive tech so i'm not really up to speed on AC electricity. but i can wire a car if need be :cheese:

 

[greggo730]

86 Toy: I have the same problem with my Englander.Ive tried 20 or so different brands of pellets and still got the mess of klinkers in the burn pot.Even got them when the stove was brand new,so it wasnt a cleaning problem.I called Englanders tech line, I changed the settings ,no help,tried the steel wool in the bottom of the air vents in the burnpot no help.Im burning Okies and the klinkers arent as bad but still there.If I get some free time next week im gonna take off both motors to see if theres a problem.

Greg

 

[MCPO]

Ou of curiosity I temporarily wired in a 3 pole , double throw switch so I could run the combustion fan on full speed (isolated 120 v supply ) or switch it back to the control board . The difference in speeds from the control board low to full speed is nearly inperceptable.
This pretty much validates what the Englander tech told me ,that the combustion fan running at low speed is already at about 88% speed and the setting only allow for a 12 % adjustment to full speed.

 

[MCPO]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the only way I ever saw black smoke exiting the vent is when I had the heat mode (not recommended by Englander) set to c and the heat setting on #8-#9 and then it was only a trace of black smoke.
I know for sure my PDVC doesn`t burn as clean as my Harmon P-38 but it doesn`t blow any black smoke either.

 

[breklaw]

86, also, I have almost the exact same problem. I did not clean out my garage in time this year, so I am grabbing 10-15 bags here and there, and have a wide variety of ash/clinker/ glass issues. I also just tried the steel wool in the large holes under the burn plate, and this perked up my stove pretty well. Seemed to pull more air from under the pellets, where it makes for a more complete burn. I have been burning Cubex, Okies, some Penningtons and now Energex. Widely different burns- I suggest if a pellet burns good in your stove, stick with it!
BTW- do you ever have a problem with fines? I've put stuff through my stove that I thought I was gonna have to use for garage cleanup, and it still feeds fine, I mean wonderfully.
Bill

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Talk to Englander, they are the ones that know what the variation you measured would have for effects.

If a minor gasket issue can cause massive disruption a little bit of variation in what gets sent to blowers would also cause the same situation. These stoves are operated right at the edge. It takes very little to upset how the stove burns.

 

[86 toy]

i'm going to try to call mike tomorrow if i can find the time, we have been pretty busy at the toyota dealership these days

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

i'm going to try to call mike tomorrow if i can find the time, we have been pretty busy at the toyota dealership these days

I'll bet you have been.