Hey All,
New guy here. Just installed an Englander pdv-25 (version from lowes) and have run about 6 or 7 bags so far.
I'm located in Northern NJ 1100' ASL and installed using the 3" duravent system with 6' vertical, 1' horizontal. (Adapter to tee, 6' of pipe, 1' horiz and then end cap through the wall).
Install was very straightforward and the outdoor air kit that came with it had good, heavy duty brackets. Unit was manufactured oct 2018, under the lid. Only small item during the install was that I had to remove the rear panel (easy to do with 6 screws) in order to properly secure the clamp for the outdoor air. Also, the vent kit (from diff mfg, simpson) was great, but the interlocking design doesn't allow the seams for the pipe to be lined up when properly connected. Small, hardly noticeable detail, but could have been easily avoided in the design by placing either the top or bottom the crimps in the right places. Decided to put ALU tape in the hopper on the advice of others on this forum.
Pellets I'm burning are green supreme (what was delivered from lowe's, I had actually ordered something called 'AP hardwood' but the pallet that was delivered contained these. Paid $220 for the ton delivered.)
First burn started right up, but some fumes from bake off and the high temp black paint, but also smoke from the front door and my smoke detectors sounding off.
Door gasket was very poorly installed. Installer had bunched up too much up top, leaving too little rope/gasket at the bottom. Also, very sloppy work. Used a pick to fluff the lower section and push the top bit in and no more smoke in the house.
Used factory burn setting of 5 and put blower to 9. Did not touch any of the 3 lower buttons yet.
2nd burn was good, but since I hadn't cleaned from the first burn, got quite a bit of 'birds nest' unburnt pellets.
Ok, lesson learned, this unit's burn pot (and window) needs to be cleaned after every bag/hopper full. Making sure I'm cleaning under the burn pot, getting the side holes, igniter, holes below burn pot, etc.
The remainder of the burns were at the same settings, save one day when I set the burn level to 3, as the house was getting too hot. (was 36 degrees and sunny day). Same result, as far as unburned pellets, dark crunchy birds nest, though.
3rd day in, the nickel window trim fell off. Ok, no big deal to reattach, but again, sloppy workmanship, as there were 2 sloppy dabs of silicon that had dried/hardened to a crust. I'm guessing the door temp must exceed the silicons heat rating and I managed to lose the metal clip. No biggie, made my own replacements.
Also, noticed that the window is frosted white with some black on the left side after each burn.
Days 4-7 Still burning through a bag every 10-11 hours and getting an ashy window. At this point, my only real complaint is the burn time, but I'm hoping to better understand what to expect.
Does a great job of heating my 2700sf and surprisingly, the heat reaches throughout the house. Room it's in is pretty warm though, so a fair bit of localization of heat around the stove, but I suspect I can spread this easily with a fan.
Likes: Simple DIY install. Seems to be very solidly built. Easy to fill and use.
Overcome-able problems: I decided to put aluminum foil tape in the hopper after reading some of the reviews. The few square inches where there isn't tape, the pellets stick! After several bags, it's the same story. So, great info on this forum.
Dislikes: Wish this had an ash drawer. Loud, but I guess that can't be avoided. Unintuitive control panel and little explanation in the manual for how to dial in the right blower/heat combo or what all of the buttons actually do. Would have been great if this had the same level of detail as the install instructions.
Summary: The stove does a great job of heating the whole house, even in single digit weather, and is somewhat loud but a relaxing sound, at least. However the hopper should have come 'slick' from the factory and operating instructions could be much better. Install instructions and ease are great!
Questions for the forum:
I've been reading that folks are getting 18-24 hours from a 40 lb bag of pellets. I'm assuming that my burn rates are high due to 3 factors. Vertical rise of chimney, factory settings and pellet choice. I'm also assuming that the unburned pellets and occluded windows are related to and because of the above.
I've been reading that the stoves may be set at factory levels that might benefit cleaner/hotter burning as opposed to efficient burning. Also read that plugging some holes may help get better burns.
What are you guys getting for burn times for 40lb bags?
Are there 'recommended' settings for the green supreme pellets and this stove?
Any recommendations for pellets this stove 'likes'? (for my next ton)
I'm planning to experiment with the low fuel feed button by lowering it a bit on my next burn to see if that helps.
Any suggestions for settings, given my experiences above?
Any other advice, suggested mods, etc. for this stove?
New guy here. Just installed an Englander pdv-25 (version from lowes) and have run about 6 or 7 bags so far.
I'm located in Northern NJ 1100' ASL and installed using the 3" duravent system with 6' vertical, 1' horizontal. (Adapter to tee, 6' of pipe, 1' horiz and then end cap through the wall).
Install was very straightforward and the outdoor air kit that came with it had good, heavy duty brackets. Unit was manufactured oct 2018, under the lid. Only small item during the install was that I had to remove the rear panel (easy to do with 6 screws) in order to properly secure the clamp for the outdoor air. Also, the vent kit (from diff mfg, simpson) was great, but the interlocking design doesn't allow the seams for the pipe to be lined up when properly connected. Small, hardly noticeable detail, but could have been easily avoided in the design by placing either the top or bottom the crimps in the right places. Decided to put ALU tape in the hopper on the advice of others on this forum.
Pellets I'm burning are green supreme (what was delivered from lowe's, I had actually ordered something called 'AP hardwood' but the pallet that was delivered contained these. Paid $220 for the ton delivered.)
First burn started right up, but some fumes from bake off and the high temp black paint, but also smoke from the front door and my smoke detectors sounding off.
Door gasket was very poorly installed. Installer had bunched up too much up top, leaving too little rope/gasket at the bottom. Also, very sloppy work. Used a pick to fluff the lower section and push the top bit in and no more smoke in the house.
Used factory burn setting of 5 and put blower to 9. Did not touch any of the 3 lower buttons yet.
2nd burn was good, but since I hadn't cleaned from the first burn, got quite a bit of 'birds nest' unburnt pellets.
Ok, lesson learned, this unit's burn pot (and window) needs to be cleaned after every bag/hopper full. Making sure I'm cleaning under the burn pot, getting the side holes, igniter, holes below burn pot, etc.
The remainder of the burns were at the same settings, save one day when I set the burn level to 3, as the house was getting too hot. (was 36 degrees and sunny day). Same result, as far as unburned pellets, dark crunchy birds nest, though.
3rd day in, the nickel window trim fell off. Ok, no big deal to reattach, but again, sloppy workmanship, as there were 2 sloppy dabs of silicon that had dried/hardened to a crust. I'm guessing the door temp must exceed the silicons heat rating and I managed to lose the metal clip. No biggie, made my own replacements.
Also, noticed that the window is frosted white with some black on the left side after each burn.
Days 4-7 Still burning through a bag every 10-11 hours and getting an ashy window. At this point, my only real complaint is the burn time, but I'm hoping to better understand what to expect.
Does a great job of heating my 2700sf and surprisingly, the heat reaches throughout the house. Room it's in is pretty warm though, so a fair bit of localization of heat around the stove, but I suspect I can spread this easily with a fan.
Likes: Simple DIY install. Seems to be very solidly built. Easy to fill and use.
Overcome-able problems: I decided to put aluminum foil tape in the hopper after reading some of the reviews. The few square inches where there isn't tape, the pellets stick! After several bags, it's the same story. So, great info on this forum.
Dislikes: Wish this had an ash drawer. Loud, but I guess that can't be avoided. Unintuitive control panel and little explanation in the manual for how to dial in the right blower/heat combo or what all of the buttons actually do. Would have been great if this had the same level of detail as the install instructions.
Summary: The stove does a great job of heating the whole house, even in single digit weather, and is somewhat loud but a relaxing sound, at least. However the hopper should have come 'slick' from the factory and operating instructions could be much better. Install instructions and ease are great!
Questions for the forum:
I've been reading that folks are getting 18-24 hours from a 40 lb bag of pellets. I'm assuming that my burn rates are high due to 3 factors. Vertical rise of chimney, factory settings and pellet choice. I'm also assuming that the unburned pellets and occluded windows are related to and because of the above.
I've been reading that the stoves may be set at factory levels that might benefit cleaner/hotter burning as opposed to efficient burning. Also read that plugging some holes may help get better burns.
What are you guys getting for burn times for 40lb bags?
Are there 'recommended' settings for the green supreme pellets and this stove?
Any recommendations for pellets this stove 'likes'? (for my next ton)
I'm planning to experiment with the low fuel feed button by lowering it a bit on my next burn to see if that helps.
Any suggestions for settings, given my experiences above?
Any other advice, suggested mods, etc. for this stove?
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