Englander 25-pah

[rodbo1967]

Hello all and Happy New Year,

I have posted in the past referencing my old US Stove Forester model, now gone and replaced with an Englander 25-PAH.

I am working on my second ton of pellets now. First patch were Lignetics. The next wo tons are Presto-log by Lignetics. Here is the issue I am having. After a thorough cleaning the stove runs fine and produces plenty of heatm however the glass gets a black soot on it, as does every internal part of the fire area.

I have read numerous postings about the factory settings ( the three buttons at the bottom of the control panel ).

LFF (lower fuel feed), LBA (low burn air), AOT (Air on temp) with settings of 1/4/1. The factory states the codes should read 6/4/1. I adjusted the LFF and refired the stove and now have the black soot right away on the glass.

The image looks like a set of buttcheeks. Meaning the black part is near the top with two nice round spots in the middle and to the sides.

What can be done to eliminate this soot issue. The stove is only 6 weeks old and everything, I mean everything is very cleaned out. Exhaust, intake, burnpot, airwash (which is a joke) both blowers. Attached is an image trying to show what is happening. The stove has been on 30 minutes.

Thanks all,
Rodney

 

[slvrblkk]

If you just "cleaned" it and it started happening, you might ash stuck somewhere.....might be an airflow issue....BTW, your default setting are 1-4-1 not 6-4-1...which will also cause your problem...too much fuel....

 

[stillersnut]

I have a PAH. I burn my lower three numbers on 3-3-1. Damn thing has nice white flame, active & hot. Never have to run higher than 3/4. Sounds like an air issue. Air wash is very minimal on this stove. Mine clouds up a whitish haze after about 8 hrs

 

[stoveguy2esw]

that bar that runs across the front off the cradle, the lift out one, which way does the top face? toward the glass or toward the fire. I cant tell in the photo

 

[rodbo1967]

that bar that runs across the front off the cradle, the lift out one, which way does the top face? toward the glass or toward the fire. I cant tell in the photo

Toward the glass. Forgot to mention I have the OAK installed.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

airwash is pretty weak in that model, comes from having to decide between a clean long burn and a clean glass. I have a way around it but its not exactly legal works pretty decent but it comes with baggage

 

[stillersnut]

Tell me more. PM me if need be

 

[rodbo1967]

airwash is pretty weak in that model, comes from having to decide between a clean long burn and a clean glass. I have a way around it but its not exactly legal works pretty decent but it comes with baggage

Do tell your way around it... Got a few other brands of pellets today and will be trying them tonight.

Rodney

 

[stillersnut]

This is what my PAH looks like after 8 hrs, burning PennWoods . My favorite pellet!! Bar none

 

[rodbo1967]

Here is what I have now buring Lignetics, I picked up Pennwoods and Wood pellet co. bags today. No more butt shape, more heart shaped.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

This is what my PAH looks like after 8 hrs, burning PennWoods . My favorite pellet!! Bar none

this is a good looking burn, exactly what it should look like as far as the fire is concerned

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Here is what I have now buring Lignetics, I picked up Pennwoods and Wood pellet co. bags today. No more butt shape, more heart shaped.

this one aint getting any air, I suspect its needing a plates off cleaning, look behind the ash drawer for the two plates remove the plates vac out, then before you put the plates back on, take a mallet and whack the firewall of the stove above the cleanout openings and see if you have a bunch of soot fall down from above, if so keep whacking until the crap quits falling , vac it out again and reassemble

 

[rodbo1967]

this one aint getting any air, I suspect its needing a plates off cleaning, look behind the ash drawer for the two plates remove the plates vac out, then before you put the plates back on, take a mallet and whack the firewall of the stove above the cleanout openings and see if you have a bunch of soot fall down from above, if so keep whacking until the crap quits falling , vac it out again and reassemble

I did remove those plates and whack the snot out of it and some very light fluffy ash came out. Nothing massive came out, heck the stove is only a few weeks old. Right now I have it on 9 to burn out the pellets in there now. I am about to scoop the few remaining out and set the three factory codes to 3/3/1

Rodney

 

[stillersnut]

You'll love those Pennwoods!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I did remove those plates and whack the snot out of it and some very light fluffy ash came out. Nothing massive came out, heck the stove is only a few weeks old. Right now I have it on 9 to burn out the pellets in there now. I am about to scoop the few remaining out and set the three factory codes to 3/3/1

Rodney

don't set to 3-3-1, would make it worse from what I see in the picture, stove seems to be wanting for air , that adjustment will make it run richer better to raise the LBA up a notch , also check to ensure the burn pot is seating down flat and the ash drawer is seated tight at the bottom. and if possible take a clearer picture the one you shot is quite fuzzy, maybe also a shot with the door open so I can see what it looks like in there (between fires not while burning)

 

[stillersnut]

What's your vent set up? Mine runs out to a clean out, up 2ft, straight out 2ft.

 

[stillersnut]

I know, not a totally recommended setup, but I made a life of bucking the system. It works for me.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I know, not a totally recommended setup, but I made a life of bucking the system. It works for me.

ive seen worse trust me, if you want to see if its going to vent properly in even of a power outage , fire off the stove cold start, wait about 30 seconds after the fire lights off and unplug it, if it goes out without venting smoke or letting smoke into the hopper its fine. be prepared to plug it back in and hit the on button though if it leaks a bit of smoke , and pay attention to where it comes from so you can look at the seals there

 

[stillersnut]

I already checked, no issues. All seams sealed, no smoke smell. Just trying to figure out a back up system to run stove off of solar panels.

 

[rodbo1967]

Wow, I took the remaining pellets ( Lignetics/ Presto Logs ) and talk about sawdust/particulates in the hooper. Unreal the amount of crap that was in there. No wonder this stove is acting up. My first ton was straight Lignetics and the glass never got black. I am going with the Pennwoods first and will report back later.

Rodney

 

[stoveguy2esw]

you

I already checked, no issues. All seams sealed, no smoke smell. Just trying to figure out a back up system to run stove off of solar panels.

you need up to 380 watts continuous to operate the unit once its out of startup, if on a stat set to hi low the igniter uses 300 watts by itself during startup. so figure for 700 during startup then 400 after start to be safe

ive thought (musing mostly) about a stove that could run off a battery with TEG's to recharge while the stove is running but I haven't learned nearly enough about them to know how many i'd have to rack up on the stove to supply enough power to self sustain, I guess adding solar panels would help as well. interesting thought probably would want to use a dc system to save on inversion power loss but would have to start from scratch with new control panel and dc motors which we don't currently use

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Wow, I took the remaining pellets ( Lignetics/ Presto Logs ) and talk about sawdust/particulates in the hooper. Unreal the amount of crap that was in there. No wonder this stove is acting up. My first ton was straight Lignetics and the glass never got black. I am going with the Pennwoods first and will report back later.

Rodney

yeah, I have to clean fines out of my hopper about once a month as well, really interferes with fuel feed and the fines that do feed make for a dirty burn if theres enough coming through

 

[stillersnut]

I live in a 1000 sq ft cabin... Above ground. So H2O pipes run along furnace duct, in extreme temps this week, I've had to let oil monster run, to keep pipes flowing. PAH cooks me out at 75 degrees, running on 3/3 in 15 degree weather. But wind chills are running @ -15 on occasion, so gotta run furnace

 

[rodbo1967]

OK, running the Pennwoods, glass is clean. However another issue has come up. The room air blower runs for about 10 minutes then shuts off and then comes back on. The stove is not shutting down, the pellets are still dropping, but the blower motor keeps shutting off and coming back on. What the heck?

 

[rodbo1967]

Update, on the factory settings no difference with the glass turning black. If anything it is worse, after only 5.5 hours of burn time. I mean pitch black.3 lower buttons are set at 1/4/1. Any other setting causes the room air blower to cycle on and off every 9 minutes. 64 degrees in the house. Burning Pennwoods.

Rodney