Fixing up an Englander 25-pfs

[idaho_winters]

I'm brand new to the forum. I just got a 1990 pfs for the cost of the included hearth & flue piping so the price was right. The family we just got it from loved it so much they brought it with them when they moved. When they moved it, the board came loose & now the lower auger is stuck on high. I'm going to put a remote mounted jigsaw speed control to control the auger speed. Also will weld in a bracket to mount the board better.
There doesn't seem to be any safety device (over temp on it). Is there a straight forward way to add an overtemp auger stop?
I'm also going to replace the lower auger motor just a precaution since it's apart.
Any tips will be appreciated.

 

[kofkorn]

You say that "the lower auger is stuck on high". I'm not familiar with the Englander stoves as far back as 1990, but based on my dual auger Englander, the lower auger doesn't change speeds. The lower auger is designed to run continuous at a rate of 1 revolution per minute. There is no speed control to change this. When the stove starts, the auger starts, and it continues until the stove shuts completely down.

If you were to use a separate speed control to dial down the lower auger speed, you will cause the pellets to jam up in the upper feed auger, causing nothing but continuous auger jams.

The feed rate of the stove is controlled by the upper auger. Even this auger doesn't have a speed control. It regulates the amount of fuel dropped by changing the amount of "ON" time of the motor as compared with the "OFF" time.

Again, when it comes to over temp, you don't want to add a sensor and cause the lower auger to stop. If the lower auger stops feeding and has pellets still in it, you will generate prime conditions for a burn back, burning the pellets in the lower auger and burning back to the upper auger and eventually into the hopper.

There should be an overtemp sensor on the upper auger which will stop pellets from feeding to the lower auger. Once the pellets are completely fed through the lower (about 1 - 1.5min) the fire will die down.

I would hesitate to do anything radical until you've had a good chance to see it burn. It may be fine as is.

Good luck!

EDIT: Here's a link to the manual for your stove: https://www.englanderstoves.com/manuals/25-PFS.pdf

The lower auger is definitely supposed to be running constantly. I wouldn't add anything to change the auger function.

 

[BrotherBart]

The lower auger on the PFS runs at 1 rpm continuous. No high. No low. Just go.

 

[BrotherBart]

Here is the manual for the stove.

https://www.englanderstoves.com/manuals/25-PFS.pdf

 

[idaho_winters]

Ok thanks. I have some reading to do. Was just going by what the father of the previous owner said, he turned it on & said that the lower auger was turning too fast & the speed control didn't work. It was feeding a lot into the pot. Somehow the auger is really full.
The upper did not turn though. I think you're right it's probably ok. Will finish cleaning it up, empty out the auger & try it out.
The upper motor mount is broken also, so I have a little welding to do first.

 

[MCPO]

Ok thanks. I have some reading to do. Was just going by what the father of the previous owner said, he turned it on & said that the lower auger was turning too fast & the speed control didn't work. It was feeding a lot into the pot. Somehow the auger is really full.
The upper did not turn though. I think you're right it's probably ok. Will finish cleaning it up, empty out the auger & try it out.
The upper motor mount is broken also, so I have a little welding to do first.

The previous owner evidently never contacted Englander service for the proper settings. They would have helped him tune the stove via the settings.
After you do the cleanings and obvious repairs I would advise you to give em a call if it doesn`t run to your liking .

 

[idaho_winters]

Ok, I did the welding & got the board remounted correctly. Everything is cleaned up. While waiting for a new door seal, hopper latches & a burn plate which is missing, I turned it on for a dry run. I plug it in & the bottom auger runs. The reset button doesn't seem to do anything. Flip the switch to On & the combustion fan runs. The green On light works. The speed knob works for the combustion fan. The switch for the convection fan also works. The bearings are rough & noisy so I'm replacing them. The lower motor gets really warm even not moving pellets. There isn't a fan on that one. I'll probably replace that motor also.
The bad news is the upper auger motor runs continuously. Looking at the way it's wired, it's connected to the On switch so it doesn't appear to be hooked up correctly, since it gets constant power. The manual above is not for this early model apparently. The board connections are screw on & there is no thermostat connection or over temp sensor.
I'll call Englander Monday & see if they have a schematic for it.
If the board has an issue, I can build a timing circuit. I also want to add an over temp sensor since there are no safety sensors on this version.

 

[MCPO]

Ok, I did the welding & got the board remounted correctly. Everything is cleaned up. While waiting for a new door seal, hopper latches & a burn plate which is missing, I turned it on for a dry run. I plug it in & the bottom auger runs. The reset button doesn't seem to do anything. Flip the switch to On & the combustion fan runs. The green On light works. The speed knob works for the combustion fan. The switch for the convection fan also works. The bearings are rough & noisy so I'm replacing them. The lower motor gets really warm even not moving pellets. There isn't a fan on that one. I'll probably replace that motor also.
The bad news is the upper auger motor runs continuously. Looking at the way it's wired, it's connected to the On switch so it doesn't appear to be hooked up correctly, since it gets constant power. The manual above is not for this early model apparently. The board connections are screw on & there is no thermostat connection or over temp sensor.
I'll call Englander Monday & see if they have a schematic for it.
If the board has an issue, I can build a timing circuit. I also want to add an over temp sensor since there are no safety sensors on this version.

Could the leads to the auger motors be reversed?

 

[idaho_winters]

Yes. At this point anything is possible. There isn't a burn plate in the pot & there is no over temp probe either. I called tech support & they are sending the correct schematic since the one on their site isn't the correct one for this beast.
They also said their new digital board would hook up to it for $217.09. I might just go this route.