Englander 25-EPI black soot on glass.

[zakallen]

Sorry in advance for the long post, and for the bombardment of information.

I have an England 25-epi. and I have been burning for a month or so now. I am noticing a couple of issues and I am not sure where to look , or if I am doing something wrong. Any help would be appreciated....

This is a pellet insert, and has the outside air kid down the ash clean out hole, about 5-6 feet long. and the stove exhaust pipe is 25' up the chimney, and is 4 inches.


1. When I first turn it on, it looks like the pictures attached. then after about 24 hours, it looks like the other picture.
After a cleaning

After a day or two..



I took a quick video to show what the flame looks like, I think the flame is OK, but I am new to this.***Videos are in mkv format, and mp4

Google drive link to videos and more pictures. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7z-L_a6pst7RHlfa3RZMGJzQ3c&usp=sharing

2. Also after a day or two of burning, my burn pot is clogged up. when I dump it out, it has clumps in it.

Burn Pot



Clumps

 

[GeHmTS]

Are you using PFI pellets? You may have to just scrape the pot everyday.

 

[zakallen]

Sorry , I am new to this, what are PFI pellets?

 

[slvrblkk]

Have you tried burning without the logset in? You might have an airflow issue and the oak down the ash trap is not good.....

 

[zakallen]

When the installer came I asked about the OAK going down there, but he said they never install it any different. The chimney is in the middle of the house, and aside from going up the chimney, I see no easy way to get outside air.

 

[GeHmTS]

Sorry , I am new to this, what are PFI pellets?

http://pelletheat.org

It will normally say PFI right on the bag.

 

[krooser]

A dirty glass is perfectly normal on all stoves… shut it down, let it cool and use Windex or a similar glass cleaner. Or you can clean it when warm by dipping a rag into the stove ash and wipe it clean.

You ash looks normal… the clinkers are usually a result of some bark material being in the pellet. Just scrape you pot everyday making sure the air holes are clean and clear.

PFI is the Pellet Fuels Insitiute… a trade group. No PFI label means little...

 

[fmsm]

I had the same stove years back, you do need to clean the burn pot daily. The fact I travel a lot and could barely get my wife to add pellets much less clean a burn pot is why I now own Harman's.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

have we performed a "plates off" cleaning yet? usually if you have good fuel and you are still starting to clinker up in the burn pot that quickly its an air restriction. note also "outside" air , is from outside of the structure, having an intake down into the cleanout of the fireplace is doing exactly nothing for you

 

[zakallen]

have we performed a "plates off" cleaning yet? usually if you have good fuel and you are still starting to clinker up in the burn pot that quickly its an air restriction. note also "outside" air , is from outside of the structure, having an intake down into the cleanout of the fireplace is doing exactly nothing for you

Hey stove guy,! Thanks for responding. The plates off cleaning, is that the one where in the ash pan I remove the two plates and vacuum in there? If it is, then yes I did one last weekend. I have also contacted the installer, and pointed him to this thread. I did verify that my pellets are PFI pellets.

 

[fmsm]

I kept mine spotless and still had this trouble. Have you taken off the plate by the baffles and vacuumed that area?

 

[fmsm]

Btw, the techs at Englander told me going down and out the ash dump into the crawl space was perfectly fine for OAK

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Btw, the techs at Englander told me going down and out the ash dump into the crawl space was perfectly fine for OAK

ohh ok , a crawlspace is different , thought you were in a regualr basement for the cleanout

 

[slvrblkk]

ohh ok , a crawlspace is different , thought you were in a regualr basement for the cleanout

That's what I took that as.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

have we checked the door and ash drawer seals to make sure we arent sucking air past them?

 

[zakallen]

My ash pit goes into my basement. So I guess that will not do.
How do I go about checking the ash bin and door for leaks? and if I have to go up the chimney, what size pipe will I need? I know that the air in is 2" so do I need 2 " all the way up the chimney(about 25FT) or do I have to go larger?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

My ash pit goes into my basement. So I guess that will not do.
How do I go about checking the ash bin and door for leaks? and if I have to go up the chimney, what size pipe will I need? I know that the air in is 2" so do I need 2 " all the way up the chimney(about 25FT) or do I have to go larger?

on the door do a "dollar bill" test fold a dollar bill in half lon ways and close it in the door at various point and tug on it , you should feel resistance, work your way around the door checking different places this way. on the ash drawer for the top of the gasket , place a light in the ash pan right against the inside of the front of the pan (with it latched in) look down on the gasket from above looking for light to shine through, for the rest of it check by closing the door and turning the unit on, then take a lit match around the perimeter of the pan face along the edge , watch the flame, if its leaking it will pull the flame to the leak.

as for the intake irf you have to run up the flue use a 3 inch intake for a run that long

 

[fmsm]

When I installed my Harman last month I used a Simpson cap called a "Prairie Dog", I attached a 4" ss pipe for exhaust and a 3" aluminum for fresh air. It is designed to have the OAK suck in under the exhaust and they are separated by a solid plate. One other byproduct of putting my stoves on OAK direct is a little more humidity in the house, to me this has been a very pleasant surprise!

 

[zakallen]

Ok, I did the dollar bill test, and there was reststance all around the gasket, and the ash bin had no light. I also did a full cleaning, I removed the two plates in the ash pan, and vacuumed in there. I noticed that there were a lot of little round (for the lack of a better word) beads.
as you can see here . Is this normal? The stove is also only getting the house to about 60, as well. It usually gets the house to 67 or so. I know it is cold here , about 30 degrees F.
I am at a loss.