Englander 25pdv Randomly Shuts Down No Error Code

[Makoto089]

I have recently had a used referbished 25pdv englander pellet stove installed in my house. Both auger moters have been replaced with brand new ones but the stove randomly shuts down and no Error codes are present. I cant figure out why it keeps shutting down. Any thoughts?

I have been through the owners manual twice to no avail. The stove was installed by a reputable dealer and is kept clean. Its new to me so I cant quite put my finger on the reason behind these odd shut downs.

Another interesting behavior of this stove that i noticed is thus; after startup when the stove is set on 5 and 5 I check it and it seemed to change the settings all on its own the settings were on 7 and 7. I am not sure if this is a normal behavior for a stove but it seems odd.

I relly just want the stove to stay on for longer than ten hours or even one for that matter.

 

[kofkorn]

When the stove goes out, are there any un-burned pellets in the burn pot, or is it all burnt ash? One of the biggest reasons that the stove would go out without giving an error code is lack of pellets. So a couple of things to check:

- are the pellets hanging up on the side of the hopper? Some of these stoves have an issue with not using up all of the pellets before they stop sliding down to the opening. About the last 5 or 10 lbs of pellets will hang up. When you have a problem, carefully open the hopper lid and check to see if the pellets are hanging up on the sides. Some people have had luck using parrafin wax or lightly sanding down the rough surface. I applied a layer of the aluminum heating tape over the whole surface and haven't had this issue since.

- are you using longer than average pellets? - this could cause bridging, which is like an arch of pellets that doesn't let anything feed in. This would happen very randomly. You probably wouldn't see any un-burnt pellets in the burn pot if this happens. You can usually push a long screwdriver down (quickly) to break up the bridge. If you catch this in time, you would see pellets start feeding again. To test this, try using a few bags of different brand of pellets. If the problem goes away with a different pellet, bridging is likely the issue. Pellets that are consistently over 1 1/2" in length would increase the chances of this happening.

- is the feed rate so low that the fire is burning out before the next batch of pellets arrive? If you are running on 5-5 or 7-7, this is very unlikely the problem. Usually only a problem on a feed rate of 1 or 2. Something to check: there is a little green connector on the back side of the circuit board. There should be a small bare wire that is connected between the two connections. If you have a used stove, it is possible the prior owner removed these to install a thermostat. If you are not using a thermostat, a wire needs to be in place.

- One other issue seen sometimes is a blockage between the upper and lower augers. When this happens, you can pretty easily test by quickly lifting/twisting the upper auger motor. If it turns up and down easily, then there probably isn't a jam. If the motor doesn't have any free rotation, it is probably jammed. Sometimes you can clear the jam by twisting the motor back and forth, sometimes you need to remove the motor auger assembly. If it is happening often, disconnect power, empty the hopper, remove the upper auger and see if any pellets are jammed in the hole between the upper an lower augers. If something is stuck between the two augers, it is not uncommon to have repeated jams.

I'm sure Mike Holton from Englander will pipe up soon as well.


Good luck!

 

[Makoto089]

Thanks for the Info

To answer a few of your questions:

When the stove goes out there are unburned pellets in the burn pot area.

There does not seem to be any feeding issues and im kind of anal about keeping the hopper full so there is rarely a lack of pellets. Plus we have had the install company here to do a bunch of work replacing the two motors and they didnt find any blockages.

The wire on the circuit board is a very interesting prospect as this is a used stove. I will make sure that there is a wire later today.

I think im using normal pellets from my local hardware store. The size is relativly small made of Hardwood. Not sure on the brand.

Thanks again this problem is realy perplexing. The stove is running ok right now with a 5 and 7 setting. I thought maybe the internal temp was getting to high so i increased the blower rate.

 

[kofkorn]

When you see the unburned pellets, what is the quantity? Is it a small handful or less, or is it a fairly large pile? I've had some bridging situations that lasted long enough to put out the fire, but then started dropping pellets again after.

Also, do you see a large difference in the size of the flame when running it on 1-1 for 15 min vs 5-5 or 7-7 for 15 min? If you're not seeing a difference, then it is likely missing the small jumper wire. On 7-7, the stove should be very hot, with the top of the stove too hot to touch. On 1-1, the top of the stove will be warm to the touch, but not overly hot.

If the stove shuts down for an overheat situation, it should give you an error code (E-3), so that is unlikely your problem.

If these aren't the issue, then maybe it might be time to start looking at some of the safety switches and make sure that there are no broken wires and components are working properly. Do you know the MFG date of your stove??

 

[Makoto089]

MFG date is 2010.

The amount of pellets is around the range of half a handfull.

I will test the difference in flame sizes later today as well.

thanks, I will be in touch when I get more answers

 

[Don2222]

I would replace both vacuum switches and hoses.

 

[kofkorn]

Loss of vacuum or bad switch should toss an E-1 code. My thoughts was more along the lines of a hopper lid switch.

 

[Makoto089]

I checked for the Bare wire to make sure that it was there and indeed it was. Very small and dificult to find but there none the less.

There is also flame height diferences with each level.
The higher the number the higher the flame.