So I recently got this Timber Ridge stove, which I assume is the same thing as the Englander PAH / Summer Heat, etc. All made by ESW yes? I'm also brand new to pellets in general so still learning the ropes. [edit: also got the name wrong in the title but don't know how to edit that. 55-TRPAH. Nice names. Why can't they come up with something that sounds a little more 'stovey'? Might as well be binary code or something lol. {edited again... figured out how to update title}]
Was looking for a tips/tricks thread about this stove but didn't seem to find any, though it is talked about somewhat frequently. But anyhow I do have a few questions.
A couple things to note... Was really fast getting this stove from amfmenergy.com placed my order and it showed up in my driveway about a week later. This is one of the refurb/2nds. It didn't come with any decorative brick fireback or anything, no biggie. It also didn't come with the gold trim around the door like in the picture - that’s a relief imo!
Some may recall my previous threads about it being temporary. For many reasons. It may stay, it may go to the basement, it may go to a new house, or end up on craigslist depending on many things. The big thing was that I didn't have any wood for this winter, and thought it would be cheaper than propane (the polar vortex and $4 propane fresh in my memory). However with pellet prices climbing, and propane dropping, I'm not so sure any more. I also got a big score on ash, though most of it won't be seasoned this winter. Anyhow I replaced my Hearthstone Shelburne with the PAH. Venting wasn't standard but I eventually figured it out. OAK would have to be custom and still working on that. Should be done this week. But I did a test burn a week ago and everything seemed to work fine so I just let it run for most of last week. Its been warm this week so its been off now for a few days. Hope to have the OAK done before I fire it back up.
I've read many reports that Englanders need cleaned daily. So I've been shutting it down and cleaning daily for the most part. But I was surprised how little ash there was in a day, basically just a light coating around the burn pot and not much to speak of in the ash pan. So far I've just been using Somersets. I wanted to get some before they were all gone so didn't have time to try a bunch. Just went with what had good reviews here which happened to be available at the closest possible store to me. So that worked out. After a few days of daily cleaning I went to 2 day cleaning, still about the same. What kind of cleaning interval does anyone else use?
In all I've burned 10 bags of Somersets, with the stove set to 1-1 (about a week), before emptying any ash. This is what I had:
Ash pan maybe half full. Is that about right? Does it produce more ash when maxed out I assume?
Any other tips or tricks for regular cleaning? I'm using a paintbrush to sweep stuff into the ash pan, and a screwdriver to scrap the burnpot. There is a small amount under the burn pot, not sure how I am going to get it out if its starts building up more, maybe an old spoon?
Mine seems to burn more than the 1.6hr rating. I've run it on '1' for many days and I have to refill it more often than 24 hrs. Seems I'm around the 2# per hr. Is this adjustable somehow or I am just stuck at this faster burn rate? I have not run it above a 1 setting for more than a couple hours so not sure yet how it does at a higher value. For the shoulder season, even running this at a 1 is a bit pricey IMO, though it keeps the house a bit warmer than I would if I was using space heaters or probably propane too.
My blower does not respond like the manual indicates either. As I adjust my heat setting up, the blower automatically increases to match, but it never comes back down on its own and the manual says it will. No biggie, just requires some extra button pushing I guess.
When stopping/starting do you have to wait for the full cycle? I mean like if I accidentally hit the shut down button, and it goes into SU, can I turn around and press start right away without hurting anything?
Is it ok to run it a min or max for extended period of time? I know some other cheap units I was reading about said to never run them at max setting more than a few hours. But I have never heard that yet about Englander so I hope once winter is in full force I can let this thing rip (I am doubting even at full output it will heat my entire home, so I'll definitely need everything its got).
Any particular brands this particular stove doesn't like? So far I've only tried the Sets and they seem good. I also have a few bags of others but haven’t tried yet - Cheat River since they were about the only thing around that was cheaper than Sets, and AWF White Pine because its the only softwood pellets around I've found so far. Hope to try them soon plus whatever others I might come across.
I know I've asked a lot of questions, but any other advice would be great too. Any tricks to keep it in top shape or techniques for cleaning, etc.
Was looking for a tips/tricks thread about this stove but didn't seem to find any, though it is talked about somewhat frequently. But anyhow I do have a few questions.
A couple things to note... Was really fast getting this stove from amfmenergy.com placed my order and it showed up in my driveway about a week later. This is one of the refurb/2nds. It didn't come with any decorative brick fireback or anything, no biggie. It also didn't come with the gold trim around the door like in the picture - that’s a relief imo!
Some may recall my previous threads about it being temporary. For many reasons. It may stay, it may go to the basement, it may go to a new house, or end up on craigslist depending on many things. The big thing was that I didn't have any wood for this winter, and thought it would be cheaper than propane (the polar vortex and $4 propane fresh in my memory). However with pellet prices climbing, and propane dropping, I'm not so sure any more. I also got a big score on ash, though most of it won't be seasoned this winter. Anyhow I replaced my Hearthstone Shelburne with the PAH. Venting wasn't standard but I eventually figured it out. OAK would have to be custom and still working on that. Should be done this week. But I did a test burn a week ago and everything seemed to work fine so I just let it run for most of last week. Its been warm this week so its been off now for a few days. Hope to have the OAK done before I fire it back up.
I've read many reports that Englanders need cleaned daily. So I've been shutting it down and cleaning daily for the most part. But I was surprised how little ash there was in a day, basically just a light coating around the burn pot and not much to speak of in the ash pan. So far I've just been using Somersets. I wanted to get some before they were all gone so didn't have time to try a bunch. Just went with what had good reviews here which happened to be available at the closest possible store to me. So that worked out. After a few days of daily cleaning I went to 2 day cleaning, still about the same. What kind of cleaning interval does anyone else use?
In all I've burned 10 bags of Somersets, with the stove set to 1-1 (about a week), before emptying any ash. This is what I had:
Ash pan maybe half full. Is that about right? Does it produce more ash when maxed out I assume?
Any other tips or tricks for regular cleaning? I'm using a paintbrush to sweep stuff into the ash pan, and a screwdriver to scrap the burnpot. There is a small amount under the burn pot, not sure how I am going to get it out if its starts building up more, maybe an old spoon?
Mine seems to burn more than the 1.6hr rating. I've run it on '1' for many days and I have to refill it more often than 24 hrs. Seems I'm around the 2# per hr. Is this adjustable somehow or I am just stuck at this faster burn rate? I have not run it above a 1 setting for more than a couple hours so not sure yet how it does at a higher value. For the shoulder season, even running this at a 1 is a bit pricey IMO, though it keeps the house a bit warmer than I would if I was using space heaters or probably propane too.
My blower does not respond like the manual indicates either. As I adjust my heat setting up, the blower automatically increases to match, but it never comes back down on its own and the manual says it will. No biggie, just requires some extra button pushing I guess.
When stopping/starting do you have to wait for the full cycle? I mean like if I accidentally hit the shut down button, and it goes into SU, can I turn around and press start right away without hurting anything?
Is it ok to run it a min or max for extended period of time? I know some other cheap units I was reading about said to never run them at max setting more than a few hours. But I have never heard that yet about Englander so I hope once winter is in full force I can let this thing rip (I am doubting even at full output it will heat my entire home, so I'll definitely need everything its got).
Any particular brands this particular stove doesn't like? So far I've only tried the Sets and they seem good. I also have a few bags of others but haven’t tried yet - Cheat River since they were about the only thing around that was cheaper than Sets, and AWF White Pine because its the only softwood pellets around I've found so far. Hope to try them soon plus whatever others I might come across.
I know I've asked a lot of questions, but any other advice would be great too. Any tricks to keep it in top shape or techniques for cleaning, etc.
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