Pellet stove not getting hot

[Jamie081]

Hey everybody, i hope you all are well and warm, i recently bought a used Englander 25-pdvc made in 2015, i have gone through 3 bags of pellets so far. I feel that im not getting as much heat as i should be, on lowest heat setting (its set on d, 6,4,1) with the fan set on 3 i am getting my living room up to about 18-20c or 65-68f (i think) the stove itself does not get very hot, i can place my hand on it and hold it there no problem, but i cant hold my hand on the piping for more than 2 seconds the piping is selkirk double walled 3” pipe it runs up 4 feet and out 3 feet, and at the top of the 4 foot section is where it will burn my hand. Ive done as much research on the forms as i can in my free time. I have made sure the hopper lid is good and tight, the gasket looks fine. Im hoping to replace the door and glass gaskets this weekend. Id like to do a full clean on the stove but will need to get the gaskets first. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Or is that kind of temperatures to be expected on lowest heat setting? Any help is appreciated. Sorry for the long write up just wanted to make sure i gave as much info as possible.

 

[johneh]

Jamie081 welcome to the forum I see you are close to me I am just outside of Perth​

On the lowest settings if you are getting your room up to 20​

you are doing well. I am not versed in your stove but the body of the stove will stay
cool or only slightly warm. The glass and door will be very hot and the chimney pipe (double wall)
will be hot to the touch but not uncomfortable.
Why are you changing the door and glass seals? Do a bill test. If there is resistance the seals are good
The glass seal unless it is in very bad shape and air is leaking into the stove it is OK
A clean stove is a happy stove look up leaf blower trick for cleaning

 

[zrock]

the lowest setting on most stoves is just a more of a maintenance flame until you get to the point of needing more heat and turning it up... I usually run my stove on 3 on cold days and then turn it down to 2 or 1 depending on outside temps to hold the temp... I have a different stove but pretty much the same concept. Your stove is a little more involved but same concept

 

[Jamie081]

Thanks for the reply, i didnt know if i should be getting decent heat or not, my biggest concern is the hot piping, i used to work asphalt so my hands can handle heat, and this piping is hot. Just hope im not losing heat somewhere

 

[Clarkbug]

Thanks for the reply, i didnt know if i should be getting decent heat or not, my biggest concern is the hot piping, i used to work asphalt so my hands can handle heat, and this piping is hot. Just hope im not losing heat somewhere

The biggest thing that gets posted here, and might be applicable in your case, is to make sure the stove is fully cleaned out. Find the manuals, look here for some threads about your model, and figure out how to really dig in and clean everything out. If you had a buildup of ash that is preventing heat transfer, you might be sending some of your heat up the pipe and not into the room.

Things might be working as intended, but if you have everything cleaned out really well, then you will at least be starting to troubleshoot from a known state.

 

[ARC]

Manual if you don't have one.

 

[Pete Zahria]

My opinion, only..
I think one of these is a great investment/tool..

When you get you stove nice and clean, check what the temp it
at a particular setting.. like the one you normally use.
After that, you can monitor the temperature, and you can see
if you are losing a lot, due to a need to clean, or perhaps change of pellet brands..
Jus pick a spot on the side of your stove, and use the same spot and distance every time..
I also sprayed a black 2 inch dot on my stove pipe...
(temp guns like dark colors..)

Dan

 

[Jamie081]

The biggest thing that gets posted here, and might be applicable in your case, is to make sure the stove is fully cleaned out. Find the manuals, look here for some threads about your model, and figure out how to really dig in and clean everything out. If you had a buildup of ash that is preventing heat transfer, you might be sending some of your heat up the pipe and not into the room.

Things might be working as intended, but if you have everything cleaned out really well, then you will at least be starting to troubleshoot from a known state.

Hey! Yah i finally found some threads about cleaning out the heat exchanger, so i taped a garden hose to my vacuum and jammed it in there, i also tried vacuuming out the oak from the inside of the stove, it seems to be putting out really good heat right now, im keeping on lowest heat setting and my living room is at 22c or over 70f. Thanks for the help!

 

[Mt Bob]

Good luck. Leaf blower and a mallet may be in your future.