Anyone know whats wrong with my Pellet Stove?

[Hitch_Itch]

Hi all,
I wish my first post here was on a positive note, but its not.

I noticed last year that my burn tube was wearing really bad in the lower right corner. I just completed my yearly cleaning and took some pictures.
The stove-
Englander 25pdv
manf date-08/05
amount used-4 tons Bearfoot pellets and 4 tons- Pa Pellets

the wear is really bad, the auger has lots of play in it. up/down/left/right, in and out is tight. Englander sent me a new auger a few years back, they said it was under a recall and the new auger sticks out of the burn tube more then the original one did.

my other problem is that the flame does not stay consistent, because the amount of pellets in the stove is always varying even tho I keep the setting on 1. its not a lazy flame. I have spoke with tech support numerous times in the past with No results what so ever.
So i started to do some searching on the net and found you guys.
Im hoping someone could shed some light on my situation since Englander cant or wont.
my pellets are stored inside, I have done the moisture test with good results, when my heat setting is at 1 i usually burn one bag in about 24-26 hours.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me, Im thinking Im going to have to buy a completely new cast iron burn tube assembly for $267 from Englander. Hopefully I can get through this year with the existing one and swap it out over the summer.

Thanks Ken

(broken link removed to http://www.flickr.com/photos/8234779@N02/6316602838/) by kengod2001, on Flickr

(broken link removed to http://www.flickr.com/photos/8234779@N02/6316090845/) by kengod2001, on Flickr

(broken link removed to http://www.flickr.com/photos/8234779@N02/6316605104/) by kengod2001, on Flickr

 

[CJ-SR4ever]

The high heat is wearing away the metal. I have seen this with other stoves. Contact your local dealer to replace the feeder body weldment. This may be under warranty depending on how old your stove is. It doesnt look that bad to me but you should have your local dealer check it out and see what they think.

 

[kofkorn]

I've been burning both of our stoves for three years now, and I've never seen anything close to that. The rest of your comments are typical, loose auger, flame varying in height, and happen to both of our stoves. I think that the varying flame is inherent in the double auger design.

As to the wear on the feeder tube, do you run your stove on a very high setting for a long time? Have you had any issues with the wear plate (under the pellets with holes) in the past? This seems unusual. You certainly can replace the entire feeder assembly, but I would wonder if there might be something in your setup that would cause the same thing to happen again.

Good Luck!

 

[Hitch_Itch]

I've been burning both of our stoves for three years now, and I've never seen anything close to that. The rest of your comments are typical, loose auger, flame varying in height, and happen to both of our stoves. I think that the varying flame is inherent in the double auger design.

As to the wear on the feeder tube, do you run your stove on a very high setting for a long time? Have you had any issues with the wear plate (under the pellets with holes) in the past? This seems unusual. You certainly can replace the entire feeder assembly, but I would wonder if there might be something in your setup that would cause the same thing to happen again.

Good Luck!

I have not had any other issues with wear
Only issues I have had I listed in my op
The wear on the burn tube seems really really excessive considering I have burned less then 10 tons of pellets in the stove since I bought it new in 2005
99% of the time I keep the heat setting at it lowest which is 1 if it gets really cold I have bumped it up to 2.
I have never run it over 3

Ken

 

[Don2222]

Hello

As far as your flame setting goes, you may want to use a higher heat setting. If it is too hot then are you using the Factory defaults for the 3 lower buttons?

See tweaking the settings on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/73248/

Heat range question on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/65132/

How to set these buttons on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/76510/

Good Luck

 

[DexterDay]

Hello

As far as your flame setting goes, you may want to use a higher heat setting. If it is too hot then are you using the Factory defaults for the 3 lower buttons?

See tweaking the settings on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/73248/

Heat range question on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/65132/

How to set these buttons on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/76510/

Good Luck

Don. He has a 25-PDV not the 25-PDVC. Same internal workings. But different BTU output. The factory 3 #'s may not be the same.

 

[BrotherBart]

I am in my first year with a new PDVC, not PDV, but all I can say is that the auger can be moved up and down and side to side in the lower tube in mine and a dozen of them I have seen new in the stores over the years. I sure want some room for that cast iron to expand when it gets hot.

As to the flame not being consistent on setting one that ain't a problem either. A constant speed lower auger and variable speed upper auger is going to deliver pellets in "spurts". And the flame is gonna get higher when a load gets there and die down waiting for its next feeding. On setting one it is a longer time between spurts.

And the lip of the auger on mine sticks out the same distance. And does on any picture in the manuals you see.

The problem here is what?

 

[Don2222]

Hello

As far as your flame setting goes, you may want to use a higher heat setting. If it is too hot then are you using the Factory defaults for the 3 lower buttons?

See tweaking the settings on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/73248/

Heat range question on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/65132/

How to set these buttons on the 25pdvc
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/76510/

Good Luck

Don. He has a 25-PDV not the 25-PDVC. Same internal workings. But different BTU output. The factory 3 #'s may not be the same.

Thanks Dexter, you are correct. Since there is not as much info here on the 25PDV then the 25PDVC info may help some.

 

[krooser]

My St Croix also has a variable flame depending on how the pellets are being delivered... perfectly normal on the lower settings.

I'm just wondering if your stove deserves a good cleaning since you rarely really get it up to a high temperature... St. Croix sez to run the stove their stoves at #4 or 5# for a period of time everyday to help clean out the "crud"....

 

[Hitch_Itch]

OK, Great the varying flame is normal, Yes I cleaned the stove every year.

I just wish I could find out about the wear on the burn tube

thanks for the reply's and the links to the other articles, I do have my settings tweaked down

 

[dingees]

if u run it on # 1 all the time the flame and hottest part of the fire is right at the end of the auger .if a higer srtting can be used then the pellets are burning in/on the burn pot where they are designed to burn, not int he auger tube. does it run off a thermostat, if so it will shut down periodically and fire up again and burn on the firepot

 

[Hitch_Itch]

It doesnt run off a thermostat, I will probably have to put a fan in the room and turn the heat up to 2 or 3 and see what happens, If I dont put a fan in the room the heat will blow me out.

(broken link removed to http://www.flickr.com/photos/8234779@N02/6318477908/)
(broken link removed to http://www.flickr.com/photos/8234779@N02/6318477908/) by kengod2001, on Flickr

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Welcome to the forum.

About the wear issue, have you done an alignment of that bottom auger?

In your pictures it doesn't appear to be centered in the flight.

Have you taken the auger out and checked it for being straight?

Low burns are such a pain.

 

[ifixmy2]

Being a newbie here, my comments may not apply, but after doing teardown & overhaul of 2 used englander stoves,I have several questions for U.
How long has it been since your stove had a yearly cleaning and all gaskets replaced?
I noticed in 1st pic, that left side air hole at top of pic has ash build up. Fire in my pot burns soo much better, when I keep the air holes cleaned.
Also, how long has it been since pot was removed and cleaned, plus new gasket put on?
When I put cleaned lower auger back in stove, I turn the auger by hand, before putting motor on the shaft.
I had to realign with several attempts to get it centered, where it turned freely by hand.
Before putting motor on the shaft, I insert a strip of cardboard(1/2" by 4") top & bottom of auger to keep it aligned. Then pull cardboard out after auger is
tightened down.

My stove gets the same care that my 100k miles car gets, to keep it performing at it's best, with worn parts.

 

[Hitch_Itch]

I just cleaned the stove, removed both fans and cleaned everything inside and out. the burn pot has been vacuumed, there might be a little ash in the picture but its clear.
I did not remove the burn pot this year. I did last year.
as far as the alignment of the auger, it has been a few years since it was replaced but im sure I followed the direction to the T. I know the auger move freely inside the tube. there is so much play in the auger it always rests on the bottom of the tube. I can grab the end of the auger and pull it to the top/left/right side of the tube until it touches the tube.

The explanation of always burning the stove on its lowest setting, therefor the flame is always right on the tube eroding the tube away make sense. I have always thought that the burn pot should have been 1" lower then the tube so the pellets drop into the burn pot, instead of just being pushed in.

It is going to be chilly hear in PA. tonight, I will start it up and set the heat to 2 and see if the flames stay off the eroded tube.

Ken

 

[Murphy118]

Hitch,
Although this will not repair the damage already done, I think you should definately consider a thermostat. I have your stoves little brother,set up on a tstat. It keeps room constantly at the set temp and allows the stove to heat up nd cool down as the state opens and closes............just my thoughts.....

John

 

[Hitch_Itch]

Hitch,
Although this will not repair the damage already done, I think you should definately consider a thermostat. I have your stoves little brother,set up on a tstat. It keeps room constantly at the set temp and allows the stove to heat up nd cool down as the state opens and closes............just my thoughts.....

John

I seem to be wrong, but I thought heating the stove up and cooling it down was bad, because it created a lot of build up on and around the auger, tube and burn plate.

 

[Hitch_Itch]

I ran the stove on 2 for an entire bag, it seems the flame still stays right at the feeder tube. so it would appear that it doesnt matter, the flame will continue to wear down the tube.
bumping up from a setting of 1 to a setting of 2 dropped my burn time from around 24hr/bag to 14hr/bag that seems to be a rather excessive drop in burn time per bag. I would hate to see how fast I would burn through a bag with a setting of 5