Englander PDVC flame height

[trudd]

Hey everyone, you may have read my earlier posts that I recently purchased a rebuilt stove from AMFM energy. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/back-in-the-pellet-stove-game.103428/#post-1336037
I know I don't post a lot on here but I do real A LOT. So let me give you all the details of the setup first.

I'm running factory settings 6-4-1. My vent is new and is run as follows: adapter, tee, 90, 2' horizontal out of the house, tee, 3' vertical, 90, cap. OAK installed.

I've burned a total of 7 bags now. The first 5 were stove chow. Then I vacuumed out the entire inside of the stove and hopper and the last 2 have been Lignetics.

The flame seems awful high on level 1, heat1 blower speed 2 sometimes 3

The flame will at times get huge and touch the top of the firebox. I know pellet stoves tend to cycle from small flame to large and back to small etc., at least the ones I've been around have. The longer the stove burns and as the pot fills with ash this seems to happen more often(the Large flame). Longest I've ever burned without emptying the ash pot is 8 hours. My first question is: Is this Safe? Or could I risk damaging the stove? I'm attempting to upload a video.


I was going to toy with turning the low fuel feed rate down a little because if I ran the stove higher than heat level 1 the flame would obviously be even larger. I actually felt like I was just getting too much heat on level 1. Then, I switched to Lignetics and immediately got an auger jam. Two years ago, when I was always on this form they seemed like a pretty popular pellet. I unclogged the jam and knock on wood has been fine since. The Lignetics don't seem to feed quite as fast so I didn't mess with the feed rate. On level 1 at times the flame would get so low that I thought it might go out. I will probably switch back to stove chow before messing with the low fuel feed. Last night I burned the Lignetics on level 2 to make sure the fire would not go out and I woke up at 5:30 checked on it and I ended up shutting it down. The fire was just too big(bigger than in the video), plus lots of ash in the pot after 6 hours burning, and the glass was all black. I've been on heat level 1 for 2 hours and everything seems good, I still get a really large flame now and then.

I'll continue to post updates and look forward to your responses.

http://s716.beta.photobucket.com/us.../2013-01-20_07-42-08_238_zpsc900f7ca.mp4.html

 

[PoopieBritches]

Have you checked to see which "profile"(what I call it)your stove is set for? Meaning the a,b,c,d.I had similar symptoms,too much fire even w/stove set at 1-1.I bought the house w/stove already installed,mine was set on "a",don't know why. Seems to be doing better on "d"which I have read here to be correct setting for pdvc.
I have alot to learn,but w/help from this forum,am really enjoying the stove so far.

 

[slvrblkk]

Wow...you have a crazy flame going there but on the bright side it looks like you have really good airflow. Do what PB said and check your setting...pdvc should be on "D" mode. You can also drop down your LFF from 6 to say maybe 3 or 4 or so. You might have to tinker with it a bit. You can also close the slid plate a bit in the bottom of the hopper once there are no pellets in it. It's all trial and error. Make sure when you make any changes, you give it a good while and see how the stove reacts to the changes and don't make too may changes a the same time. First thing though is to see what heat mode you are in.

 

[trudd]

Thanks you two, I will check the mode and see if there is a difference. I noticed and closed the slide plate a little after the upper auger jammed.

Wow...you have a crazy flame going there but on the bright side it looks like you have really good airflow.

Agreed, glad that it seems to be getting enough air! Occasionally I get the stove rumble I read about on here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/rumble-or-vibration-englander-25-pdvc.60759/#post-756343 I'm not worried about that though as it does not affect performance.

 

[trudd]

Alright, stove has been off because it's so warm in here. Plugged it in and hit the two blower buttons and it flashed a d. I think I may turn the LFF back to 4 like you suggested, I'm just concerned that the stove may burn out...only one way to find out though!

 

[slvrblkk]

Alright, stove has been off because it's so warm in here. Plugged it in and hit the two blower buttons and it flashed a d. I think I may turn the LFF back to 4 like you suggested, I'm just concerned that the stove may burn out...only one way to find out though!

Yes, just make sure you keep an eye on it for a while after you make changes....you'll be good!

Remember though, what runs good for one pellet may not run good for another pellet.

 

[smoke show]

I'm gonna question the evl. seems too high, unless its 4". Also I think the fire looks lazy. like not enuf air or too much evl.

 

[slvrblkk]

Dang smoke.....lazy? My old pdvc's flame never looked that active and I had a standard install of 3" pipe-2 foot out and 3 foot up.....

 

[smoke show]

well maybe not lazy but its tall n orange. gonna go look at mine now. I'd video it but I'm too stupid to know how to upload it...

 

[smoke show]

mine is def shorter, whiter and more active than the vid posted above. my evl is over 20, but 4".

 

[imacman]

I'm gonna question the evl. seems too high, unless its 4". Also I think the fire looks lazy. like not enuf air or too much evl.

Only about 15 1/2....probably should be 4" pipe, but it's borderline. I agree....flame that high is too lazy....not enough air.

 

[imacman]

.....My old pdvc's flame never looked that active and I had a standard install of 3" pipe-2 foot out and 3 foot up.....

That is NOT what you'd consider an "active" flame. Much too tall and stringy, too orange and blackish tips. Proper flame should be just above burn pot edges, sort of "blowtorch" like, orange-yellow-whitish with a hint of blue at the base.

 

[subsailor]

What is this A,B,C,D and how do you check for it?

 

[slvrblkk]

That is NOT what you'd consider an "active" flame. Much too tall and stringy, too orange and blackish tips. Proper flame should be just above burn pot edges, sort of "blowtorch" like, orange-yellow-whitish with a hint of blue at the base.

I've never seen a pdvc with a "blowtorch" like type flame at least not what I consider "blowtorch" like. What I meant by active was the way the flame is reacting...BUT it does look like way too much fuel is being fed into the pot....I think once the fuel is cut back everything might be fine.

 

[imacman]

What is this A,B,C,D and how do you check for it?

It's the fuel/air program. There are 4 different ones for the Englander double auger stoves.

 

[MCPO]

My Harman has somewhat of a blowtorch flame but my PDVC has a more natural looking wood stove flame.

 

[CladMaster]

What is this A,B,C,D and how do you check for it?

Look for posts made by me, instructions to all the settings will be found.

It's the fuel/air program. There are 4 different ones for the Englander double auger stoves.

He's spot on.

 

[imacman]

Look for posts made by me, instructions to all the settings will be found.

To check mode:

unplug stove,plug back in and quickly press the blower speed up and down arrows together at the same time .

Release, and a letter will appear in the heat range window. I believe the PVDC is supposed to be mode D...

 

[subsailor]

Look for posts made by me, instructions to all the settings will be found.

I must be blind. Wasn't able to find it.

 

[PoopieBritches]

That is an odd looking flame,you say that when you cut the low fuel feed back,that the fire dies out? You may have an air leak somewhere.Door seems like the most common spot for air leaks.

 

[PoopieBritches]

Sorry,thought you had tried adjusting the low fuel feed.Just re read and see that you haven't messed w/it yet.I'm sure that someone here w/more experience will catch this thread and help.Good luck

 

[subsailor]

Do the A, B, C, settings apply to a 2007 model stove?

 

[PoopieBritches]

Do the A, B, C, settings apply to a 2007 model stove?

Sure does.My '06,has it.

 

[subsailor]

Sure does.My '06,has it.

How do you check it? Just re-read my manual and it's not mentioned in it at all.

 

[trudd]

Thanks again for the help everyone.

I'm gonna question the evl. seems too high, unless its 4". Also I think the fire looks lazy. like not enuf air or too much evl.

My venting is all 3". What is evl?

Believe it or not the flame does at times have a little blue at the base and then whitish in color. It's not always super tall but after 6-8 hours it seems to stay tall. But it's burning dirty I think. Glass is all sooty and I can barley see in, Lots of ash in the pot. I scrape it out and it helps calm the flame down. I know you can't see any of that in the video I'll try to get another or take some pics. My OAK is maybe 2 feet long, checked this afternoon and it's not blocked. How could I increase air flow. Oh, I checked the door gasket, it passed the dollar bill test. Again, still not burning yet. 75 degrees inside the house, it got warm today in RI.