Englander 25 ... black soot outside and creosote smell inside

[jb88]

I have an Englander PDVC. This is our third year using it and this year it is not running as well. We replaced one of the auger motor I think at the start of the season.
I am also noticing more of that black soot on the outside of the house and recently an awful creosote smell inside the house.
We recently bought a ton of pellets made by a different company and the pellets are not that great. Extremely ashy. We have to clean the stove out daily. This new batch of pellets are also quite dusty ... more so than the ones we had. I am not sure if this is the problem or not.
Today we checked the stove for leaks and cleaned out the pipes and motor thoroughly. It seemed to do the trick at first, but after a few hours the creosote smell is back.
We have ordered all new gaskets and will replace those as soon as they arrive.

Can bad pellets cause these problems or does it sound like something else?
Is the black soot on the outside of the house normal? (I see it on a lot of houses)
Can I use an anti-creosote in a pellet stove?

Thanks,

J

 

[imacman]

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Normally black creosote-like deposits indicate a need for more combustion air....it's running way too "rich".

IMO, the stove isn't burning correctly and the probable cause is that it needs a top-to-bottom, inside-out cleaning of everything....firebox, ash traps, combustion motor fan, exhaust pipe from combustion blower to end of pipe, etc, etc. A search of this forum with the words "leaf blower trick" will also show many threads that describe using one to help clean your stove.

Also, did you make sure that your OAK isn't clogged with something?

BTW, what brand of pellets did you burn before, and now?

 

[arnash]

First of all, you definitely should not be smelling any combustion fumes because the fire should be hot enough (thanks to lots of air) to result in a clean exhaust, i.e. nothing but CO2, CO, H2O, fly ash, and carbon (soot) but they should all be going up/out the exhaust. If they aren't then your flame must not be very aggressive, due to lack of air, or back-pressure from a clogged vent-cap screen. Nothing goes right with a pellet stove if the air isn't moving aggressively through the stove, feeding the fire which then burns hot and clean. So either there is a clogging issue in the system, or there's a problem with your blower not running at a fast enough speed. A hot flame with burn all the substances that will result in creosote in the exhaust of a cooler flame. I'm no expert on soot making it's way all the way to the outside walls, but I know that a hot fire doesn't produce a lot of soot and what it does produce should remain in the vent system (unless perhaps it's a horizontal vent that isn't very long. As for the pellets, others have lots of experience in that regard but I think they'll probably tell you that "bad" pellets will only give you more fly ash, less heat, but not more soot. Soot is a symptom of a stove that's not getting enough air. (-maybe lousy pellets can clog-up the grate at an accelerated rate)

 

[jb88]

Thank you for your replies.
We thought we did a pretty thorough cleaning yesterday, but will try again tonight. Can a shop vac work as well as a leaf blower?
Also, what is the OAK?

RE: brand of pellets, for most of the season we used Freedom fuel which produced about a 1/4 of the amount of ash this new stuff produces and seemed to have burned cleaner. The brand we are using now is Maine's Choice. I had wondered if the pellets were damp at some point as through out the bags (so far all of them) are pellets that crumble easily into dust. I got them at Lowes. I called to ask if there had been any other complaints and they had said no and that others like this brand.

I will check the vent cap for any clogs and the blower.
Is there any test that can determine if blower is running properly?

Thanks,

J

 

[TLHinCanada]

oak is outside air kit. Not sure about all Englander's but a lot of the newer ones require it.

 

[DexterDay]

Thank you for your replies.
We thought we did a pretty thorough cleaning yesterday, but will try again tonight. Can a shop vac work as well as a leaf blower?
Also, what is the OAK?

RE: brand of pellets, for most of the season we used Freedom fuel which produced about a 1/4 of the amount of ash this new stuff produces and seemed to have burned cleaner. The brand we are using now is Maine's Choice. I had wondered if the pellets were damp at some point as through out the bags (so far all of them) are pellets that crumble easily into dust. I got them at Lowes. I called to ask if there had been any other complaints and they had said no and that others like this brand.

I will check the vent cap for any clogs and the blower.
Is there any test that can determine if blower is running properly?

Thanks,

J

Yes, you can use your Shop-Vac as a leaf-blower. Just hook up the suction end to last piece in your flue. (Making sure to run a vent brush 1st) Will have to be a pretty big unit to do the same job.

The OAK, is your Outside Air Kit. Which on an Englander is mandatory. (stove should have came with one, if purchased new)

Also, have you tried to lube the combustion blower. Use SAE 20 or the Blue Bottled 3-in-1 Oil that's made for electric motors. (also SAE 20)

Termination Caps on venting can clog quite easily. Especially when dealing with high fly ash or high soot applications. Make sure to check it.

 

[jb88]

Ok, yes we have the OAK.

I will print of all of the replies and will try all of the suggestions.

Thank you again,

J

 

[imacman]

Ok, yes we have the OAK......

Make sure it's completely clear......I even had blowing snow partially clog mine this past winter and it really messed-up the burn (lazy flame, dirty burn)