25-PDVC

[kyguylal]

Hello all,

I have a 2008 25-PDVC. First year with a pellet stove.

I am having issues with ash build up and I believe a lazy flame. After burning for three hours, I have a pot full of black ash. I used to have a glowing pot of unburnt lava pellets, but since plugging the bottom two holes below the burn plate, I have now just a pot of black ash.

My settings are on 4-6-1 on "D".

I am not sure if I have an air leak somewhere as the flame seems to be large. On 1-2, the flame reaches the top of the unit. I have tried various pellets and they all do the same. The stove has been cleaned in and out.

What might be noteworthy is that the largest part of the flame is typically in the rear right corner of the burn plate where the ignition hole is.

I have attached a blurry photo of my flame.

Not sure if anyone has any ideas.

 

[kyguylal]

I also just checked and there is no sheet gasket behind the burn pot. Not sure if there is supposed to be one there?

Would this cause my problem?

 

[kyguylal]

Well I replaced the burn pot gasket. No difference.

I have the stove set on 1-2 and its still a lazy flame reaching the top of the stove.

I've put too much time into this thing.

 

[ericofmaine]

Sounds like you have a vacuum leak of some sort or some sort of blockage. Did you check your door and window gaskets? Is your combustion motor coming on? Have you pulled it off to check that the impeller is clean? Have you cleaned the stove pipe? Do you have an OAK installed and is it clear? Lot's of things still to check based on your posts.

Eric

 

[kyguylal]

Thank you. I actually pulled the pipe apart last night and cleared a good amount of ash from it.

I'm now wondering if my flame really is lazy, or if it's just supposed to look like it does.

Anyone know how much ash one should have in the burn plate after x amount of hours?

After clearing the pipe last night, I burnt for 5 hours and I had fluffy, gray ash. Just a lot of it. Definitly more heat though. I'm just paranoid about a back burn and burning my new house down. We'd like to be able to run the stove while at work and overnight, but i have yet to run it for more than 5 hours due to my concern about the ash buildup.

 

[ericofmaine]

I was paranoid like that when I first got my stove until one day I forgot and left it on and the house was still there. I get a fair amount of ash in mine after burning for several hours. I just have a 2" putty knife (metal) that I open the door and scoop it off to the side.

As for your flame, couldn't really tell from your pic, but the only time I have a lazy flame is if I open the door (break the vacuum) or lose power (combustion motor dies).

Eric

 

[kyguylal]

I'll start the stove up tonight and I'll get a photo of how much ash I'm getting. First season with a stove, so I have no idea what is considered normal.

Thank you

 

[Pellet rick]

I also have a decent amount of ash after a few hours of burn time. I just take a scraper and pull it to the side also. Don’t worry about leaving it while at work . I scrape before I leave and when I get home. Check your burn plate holes to see if there clogging up. I used to have that issue until I drilled a few of the holes slightly bigger in the center area of the plate. Also check the glass for leaks. I sealed mine on the outside with high temp silicone and made a big difference. Just my 2 cents

 

[kyguylal]

It looks like the holes aren't clogged, just completely covered in ash. The two large holes at the rear of the plate remain clear. I will take a look at the glass seal

 

[Pellet rick]

It looks like the holes aren't clogged, just completely covered in ash. The two large holes at the rear of the plate remain clear. I will take a look at the glass seal

Are you burning hardwood or softwood

 

[kyguylal]

I have a few tons of pellets in the garage. Some are hardwood and some are a mix. I have logik-e and energex pellets Seem to get the same results from both.

 

[Pellet rick]

I have a few tons of pellets in the garage. Some are hardwood and some are a mix. I have logik-e and energex pellets Seem to get the same results from both.

I’m not familiar with those brands but I do know in my pdv-25 it hates hardwood. Soft I get a much hotter burn with less lava and ask

 

[Ssyko]

Do a search on this site for 25pdvc burn pot mod. 2 hole’s are capped under the burn plate. Helps the stove burn much more effectively. What are the settings on your bottom 3 buttons? Factory is supposd to be 541. But you can change the first 2 numbers and fine tune the stove. ( the last number is always “1”.

 

[kyguylal]

I do have the two holes under the burn plate plugged.

As for an update, I have no more lava, just a bunch of ash.

I've attached a photo of the total ash amount after a 4 hour burn on 1-1.
I have the bottom buttons at the factory settings.

Does this seem normal for four hours? Could I let it run for eight without burning my house down?

 

[Pellet rick]

I do have the two holes under the burn plate plugged.

As for an update, I have no more lava, just a bunch of ash.

I've attached a photo of the total ash amount after a 4 hour burn on 1-1.
I have the bottom buttons at the factory settings.

Does this seem normal for four hours? Could I let it run for eight without burning my house down?

It looks like more than I have but not much more. Are you sure your combustion blower is running at full speed. When was the last time you cleaned the combustion blower fins. You would be surprised how much it slows down when it’s dirty

 

[kyguylal]

I just bought the house and the stove was here.

I will pull the combustion blower and try cleaning it out. I will wait until I have the gasket before pulling it in case I tear it.

Thank you!

 

[Pellet rick]

I just bought the house and the stove was here.

I will pull the combustion blower and try cleaning it out. I will wait until I have the gasket before pulling it in case I tear it.

Thank you!

You can use high temp Rtv gasket maker. I have been using that for a few years

 

[Ssyko]

The one thing about the stoves, they are finicky about cleanliness.

 

[Thumbster]

For what it’s worth...your stove is acting exactly like mine and mine is brand new (2017 refurbished) with a brand new duravent exhaust. Straight out then up 4 sections. OAK isn’t hooked up yet. I’ve burned about 30 pounds of pellets so far just testing it out.

Your burn pot looks to have a comparable amount of ash that mine has after I burn a few hours and shut it down.

My flames reach the top frequently also. About the only time they don’t is when I’m on 1 or 2 and the pellets are feeding slowly. They jump back up as soon as the auger dumps some more into the burn pot.

If the flames aren’t supposed to reach that high I’ll be interested to learn why and how. They don’t look lazy unless I open the door.

I’m on “d” mode and have messed around with the settings just to see if there’s much difference. I think I’m on 5-4-1 now.

I put a couple 3/4” hillman plugs in the bottom 2 holes and am burning a bag of hardwood pellets that I bought at Lowe’s a couple weeks ago. “Magic Spark” is what is on the bag. “Premium hardwood pellets”

I’ve did the “dollar bill” test with a piece of paper and as far as I can tell the seals are good.

 

[kyguylal]

Just powered the stove up without the back panel on.

I can defiantly feel air coming from the exhaust. There is a leak on the part which feeds into the exhaust pipe. Is this supposed to do this?

It looks like there is a silicone gasket, which evidently is letting air out. Would this make any difference given that the air would normally be pumping out of the exhaust anyways?

I have some high temp RTV. I'll pull that part out and silicone it tomorrow when the stove is cold. Just not sure if that will make any difference being so far to the terminal end of the system anyways.

 

[Ssyko]

No the exhaust vent should be thoroughly sealed. It is actually pumping the exhaust into your living area. Seat that puppy up

 

[Pete Zahria]

I have some high temp RTV. I'll pull that part out and silicone it tomorrow when the stove is cold. Just not sure if that will make any difference being so far to the terminal end of the system anyways.

I hate that stuff.

 

[kyguylal]

I took the whole thing apart and resealed. Still feeling the air coming through from the same places. No idea where its coming from at this point.

 

[Ssyko]

Is ther a lil fan between your combustion blower motor and the housing? You may be feeling the cooling air from the motor. Just another idea.

 

[kyguylal]

Thank you. I think you might be right. I silicone the heck out of it. Think I'm feeling air from the fan.

I burnt for 7 hours yesterday and it brought my house up to 72 from 60.

Still a lot of ash, but it's mostly fluffy now at least. I think I will decrease my pellet feed a notch or two. Seems to be overfeeding a bit.

Attached is another ash photo after 7 hours. Definitly full, but looking more like I can burn overnight for 8 hours without worrying about burning the house down.