new to the 25 pdvc

[rudy198]

Bought a 25 pdvc used guy burnt about 40 bags and decided to get rid of it.....I wanna use it in the garage 750sqft it is insulated also, hooked everything up and I can't get any real heat....I've ran it on 9-9 and lower buttons on
6-4-1 for 5hrs and was around 30-32f and it maybe used 1/3 of the hopper.Stove never clicked off,no codes nothing....I never ran the intake outside because alot of ppl said I don’t need it because of drafts and doors open/closing
If anyone can help me would that be great...maybe I'm not starting the proper, i dunno...

 

[bill3rail]

Thorough cleaning should be completed before operating a used stove.
Completely tear it down and replace all gaskets, clean all motors, vacuum all crevices, check all motors and then try again.

I'm have no experience at troubleshooting as I have had no problems with mine.

Someone more experiences should chime in with experience.

Bill

 

[Dgopetactical]

On 9/9 641 that stove should be cooking, do you have a good flame? Your burning 13.5 pounds of pellets in 5 hours.

I think you should be burning more pellets than 13.5 pounds in 5hrs on 9/9. Did you take any stove temps?

 

[rudy198]

The hopper isn't 40lbs as they say to me it's closer to 28-30...I never took any temps because dunno how...lol....honestly the flame looked like crap was pretty low and seemed like there was a breeze in there because the flame seemed like it was moving around alot....I would guess the flame was maybe 3".....we took it all apart blew it out as well the blower...buddy saw a spaced between the pellet hopper pot and bottom of the hopper, dunno if that would cause anything so put a new gasket in it now

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Your burn rate sounds like about the right number of BTU/hr.
Make sure the impingement plate is securely against the back of the fire box in an upright position. If it does not block the openings on the front of the heat exchanger, the heat goes right out the vent

 

[rudy198]

On 9/9 641 that stove should be cooking, do you have a good flame? Your burning 13.5 pounds of pellets in 5 hours.

I think you should be burning more pellets than 13.5 pounds in 5hrs on 9/9. Did you take any stove temps?

I wanted to run it at 9 to heat up the place faster then back it off...but when u say I should be burning more pellets, does that mean I should turn up the LFF from 6 to 8-9

 

[rudy198]

Your burn rate sounds like about the right number of BTU/hr.
Make sure the impingement plate is securely against the back of the fire box in an upright position. If it does not block the openings on the front of the heat exchanger, the heat goes right out the vent

We checked that plate a few times and seems like it fits in there pretty tight....another thing we noticed was one side blew warm/hot air and the right blew colder air but I think that is normal?

 

[Harvey Schneider]

We checked that plate a few times and seems like it fits in there pretty tight....another thing we noticed was one side blew warm/hot air and the right blew colder air but I think that is normal?

That doesn't sound like mine. With the plate in the proper position, mine blows close to the same temp on both sides. The left side is slightly cooler than the right, but you wouldn't want to hold your hand in the air stream on either side. I keep the convection blower running at 9 all the time and I can get the front corners of the stove over 400 deg F. I don't normally run it there, but I can.

 

[rudy198]

That doesn't sound like mine. With the plate in the proper position, mine blows close to the same temp on both sides. The left side is slightly cooler than the right, but you wouldn't want to hold your hand in the air stream on either side. I keep the convection blower running at 9 all the time and I can get the front corners of the stove over 400 deg F. I don't normally run it there, but I can.

We put the plate in exactly where we got it from and it slides into those 2 tabs

 

[Harvey Schneider]

It is possible that the heat exchanger is loaded with ash, and that is insulating part of the flow path.
Try getting in there with a skinny tube coupled to your vacuum. You can find information about the path on other posts in this forum.

 

[MCPO]

(The 25 pdvc isn`t big enough to heat a 750sq ft garage in the dead of winter. Mine heats my 15X24 , (360 sq ft) garage/workshop (insulated) but it takes a good while from a cold start to get it up to a comfortable working temp..
The main reason is the cement floor is an unbelievable heat sink. It just absorbs a lot of the heat .
Bottom line is you need to get the larger version (25 PDV) which is what I should have done myself.
Meanwhile set the pdvc heat mode on C and it will put out more heat (and burn more pellets)

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Mine heats a 1200 sq ft basement with bare concrete walls and floor. It takes about an hour to get it from 55 deg to 68 deg but then it regulates by means of a thermostat nicely.
A garage may be harder to heat due to the losses from the garage door.

 

[MCPO]

Mine heats a 1200 sq ft basement with bare concrete walls and floor. It takes about an hour to get it from 55 deg to 68 deg but then it regulates by means of a thermostat nicely.
A garage may be harder to heat due to the losses from the garage door.

A 55 deg basement shouldn`t be as hard to heat as a garage . Basements are inherently and considerably warmer than a garage. (assuming the garage is free standing and not attached) My garage can get down to freezing temps (32 deg) with the heat off Once the garage gets up to around 50 it`s much quicker to increase the temps and maintain/regulate the heat. That 20 deg difference between 32 and 55 is a lot harder to heat than a 55 deg basement.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

A 55 deg basement shouldn`t be as hard to heat as a garage . Basements are inherently and considerably warmer than a garage. (assuming the garage is free standing and not attached) My garage can get down to freezing temps (32 deg) with the heat off Once the garage gets up to around 50 it`s much quicker to increase the temps and maintain/regulate the heat. That 20 deg difference between 32 and 55 is a lot harder to heat than a 55 deg basement.

The number of BTU's necessary to raise the temperature of a fixed volume of air a fixed number of degrees is a constant and not dependent on actual temperature. There is a non-linearity due to the change in air density, but it is only about a 2% difference over the temperature range of interest.
The difference can only be in the heat losses involved. The basement has concrete walls that have enormous capacity to soak up heat, but the garage has a poorly insulated door and significant air leaks. By the way, my unheated attached garage stays above freezing most of the winter with only the heat of the oil boiler's tri-wall flue running up through it and what heat it gains from the house.

 

[krooser]

If one side of your stove is cold it's plugged with ash… use the leaf blower trick to suck ot the ash and you'll be golden.

I heat a 1100 sq ft shop with my 25-pdvc and it will keep it 75F if I crank it up...

 

[MCPO]

The number of BTU's necessary to raise the temperature of a fixed volume of air a fixed number of degrees is a constant and not dependent on actual temperature. There is a non-linearity due to the change in air density, but it is only about a 2% difference over the temperature range of interest.
The difference can only be in the heat losses involved. The basement has concrete walls that have enormous capacity to soak up heat, but the garage has a poorly insulated door and significant air leaks. By the way, my unheated attached garage stays above freezing most of the winter with only the heat of the oil boiler's tri-wall flue running up through it and what heat it gains from the house.

My unheated attached garage also stays above freezing but the garage out back built on an alaskan slab with a foam core insulated door doesn`t.
Basements usually stay much warmer

The 25 pdvc is a small stove and I`m not at all surprised the OP is having a hard time heating 750 sq ft of garage space with it.

The number of BTU's necessary to raise the temperature of a fixed volume of air a fixed number of degrees is a constant and not dependent on actual temperature. There is a non-linearity due to the change in air density, but it is only about a 2% difference over the temperature range of interest.
The difference can only be in the heat losses involved. The basement has concrete walls that have enormous capacity to soak up heat, but the garage has a poorly insulated door and significant air leaks. By the way, my unheated attached garage stays above freezing most of the winter with only the heat of the oil boiler's tri-wall flue running up through it and what heat it gains from the house.

I think I did mention that word "attached" earlier. It makes a difference. My attached garage stays above freezing too but the one out back with a foam core insulated door and single pane glass doesn`t.
The OP states he used 1/3 hopper of fuel (less than 15 lbs) running for 5 hrs. That`s not a lot of BTU`s , surely not enough to raise the temp in a 32 deg garage.

 

[rudy198]

Well we cleaned it all out with vacuum and air....I did try mode C...fired it back up same issue, flame was super low ...So I decided to put a hose on the air intake and ran it outside...made a difference the flame was nice and high giving off a nice heat....will put in back in my garage and give it a good run

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Well we cleaned it all out with vacuum and air....I did try mode C...fired it back up same issue, flame was super low ...So I decided to put a hose on the air intake and ran it outside...made a difference the flame was nice and high giving off a nice heat....will put in back in my garage and give it a good run

An OAK is required for the 25-PDVC. Read your manual.

 

[BrotherBart]

My PDVC blows cooler air on the right side than the left (facing the stove) also. I have seen numerous mentions of that here over the years.

 

[rudy198]

Well installed it back the garage amd put on 5-5 mode d settings 641....I have a hose on air intake, I fired it up..so I used a meat thermometer to see what kinda heat it was blowing after about an hour I checked and was showing 60-70c (140-165f)...I dunno if that is right for that or not for the stove, never heat anything like that

 

[CamperWill]

I keep the convection blower running at 9 all the time and I can get the front corners of the stove over 400 deg F. I don't normally run it there, but I can.

450?? I can barely handle it when the front corners are 120-150F.

I have to agree with BrotherBart on one side being cooler. When facing the stove the right side of ours has always been cooler then the left.

 

[rudy198]

If anyone has one in their garage can u send me a pic...does a guy really need the exhaust to go vertical?plus I know about the OAK kit but wonder if it sucks too much air.I have a hose on mine and I find the flame is low and erratic so when I cover up part of the hose hole I find the flame to get alor taller and less movement

 

[alltherage]

we have one in the workshop. as others have said, when facing the stove the left side is hotter than the right. I have it vented straight out with a 3' pipe so it has plenty of clearance from the siding (my neighbors have a straight vent and it's close to the siding and turns it black all the time). As for the oak, maybe the wind is getting to it....maybe you could put a shield of some kind on the end. I don't have the oak hooked up and it burns fine...but the building isn't airtight so the stove can gather air. From a safety perspective, if you have it in a garage an oak would be necessary so as to prevent any issues with fumes from gas etc. should there be an unexpected leak. My suggestion is to work on refining your oak.

 

[rudy198]

All I've read is if in garage it needs to be 18" off the ground which it is....maybe I'm expecting too much outta the stove

 

[alltherage]

well...in my case the workshop is 24x24 or so with a concrete floor. The walls are insulated with roll insulation and the roof is insulated with the 1" insulation board. The biggest problem for me is their are air leaks. There is a doggy door that doesn't shut all the way all the time from the wind. There is a garage door that flexes with the wind and gets hit with the wind head on quite often. I usually let the stove run at 2-2 at night, or even 1-1. my settings are 4-2-1. It takes the chill off a bit but that's it...when it's windy forget it. I've had snowmobile parties out there in the dead of winter and run the stove at 7-7 through 9-9 and had it 70 degrees in there though...but the conditions have to be still.
if it's crazy windy I won't even run the stove.