Questions about newly installed Englander 25-PDVC

[Poitoy]

Hello all! I'm new to pellet stoves and installed one on a friend's glowing recommendation of her old stoves. I've been lurking around the forum to find answers before posting questions. I've been learning a lot! Hoping you all don't mind if I missed something already asked.

We installed the Englander PDVC ourselves with the OAK, an outside clean-out tee, 3 ft horizontal then 9 ft vertical run of Dura-vent (to meet all the termination clearances) and high-temp silicone between *most* of the joints. The joints we didn't put silicone between, we wrapped with silicone tape wherever we saw smoke using the flashlight test. Immediately after it lights, we were still smelling smoke, now coming from the seams of the inside horizontal pieces. So we added high-temp silicone to all the seams as well. Now we're waiting for that to cure before firing it up again...anyone know how long that needs to be?

We first lit it 5 days ago, burning for 6-12 hours each day. The first day the paint/chemical smell chased us out...whew! Since then, it's not nearly as strong, but we still need a box fan in a window pulling it out (which is kind of negating the heat from the stove...at single digit temps and below here). It doesn't seem to be decreasing... Do these things just take a while to cure? Or could it be coming from the vent pipe? We don't see smoke after it really gets burning, but the smell is constant while lit.

The ash is gritty, rather than...uh, ashy. We started with bags of Greenway from Lowes and switched to Turman last night with no change. There are sparks flying around inside the burn chamber and embers bouncing out of the burn pot occasionally. Is that normal? The glass is dirty, but not sooty.

And last question (promise!) (for now!), the hopper gasket has about an 1/8" gap at one corner where one piece meets another. Is that okay or should I fill it somehow? Could THAT be causing any of the issues?

You guys seem like a great group of (somewhat obsessive!) people...my favorite kind. Feel free to shove me in the right direction because this is all new to me and I'm not delicate. I appreciate any help you've got time to give!

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Hello all! I'm new to pellet stoves and installed one on a friend's glowing recommendation of her old stoves. I've been lurking around the forum to find answers before posting questions. I've been learning a lot! Hoping you all don't mind if I missed something already asked.

We installed the Englander PDVC ourselves with the OAK, an outside clean-out tee, 3 ft horizontal then 9 ft vertical run of Dura-vent (to meet all the termination clearances) and high-temp silicone between *most* of the joints. The joints we didn't put silicone between, we wrapped with silicone tape wherever we saw smoke using the flashlight test. Immediately after it lights, we were still smelling smoke, now coming from the seams of the inside horizontal pieces. So we added high-temp silicone to all the seams as well. Now we're waiting for that to cure before firing it up again...anyone know how long that needs to be?

We first lit it 5 days ago, burning for 6-12 hours each day. The first day the paint/chemical smell chased us out...whew! Since then, it's not nearly as strong, but we still need a box fan in a window pulling it out (which is kind of negating the heat from the stove...at single digit temps and below here). It doesn't seem to be decreasing... Do these things just take a while to cure? Or could it be coming from the vent pipe? We don't see smoke after it really gets burning, but the smell is constant while lit.

The ash is gritty, rather than...uh, ashy. We started with bags of Greenway from Lowes and switched to Turman last night with no change. There are sparks flying around inside the burn chamber and embers bouncing out of the burn pot occasionally. Is that normal? The glass is dirty, but not sooty.

And last question (promise!) (for now!), the hopper gasket has about an 1/8" gap at one corner where one piece meets another. Is that okay or should I fill it somehow? Could THAT be causing any of the issues?

You guys seem like a great group of (somewhat obsessive!) people...my favorite kind. Feel free to shove me in the right direction because this is all new to me and I'm not delicate. I appreciate any help you've got time to give!

I see that nobody has answered your question, so I will step in and help where I can.
In sealing the vent, the inside is really the only important area. A small leak outside will do no harm as long as clearances are correct. There must not be any junctions inside the thimble. Any Ell's or Tee's inside the house are going to need all of their joints taped or sealed with RTV.
Don't forget to seal the appliance adapter to the tailpipe of the stove. Getting rid of the small leaks is mostly a matter of patience.
It usually takes one really good burn to get rid of the fumes from a new stove. There might be some residual, but a good hot long burn will drive off most. Many people will do the first burn out of doors until the worst is gone and then, after the stove has cooled down, they move it indoors.
Gritty ash may simply be that the fire was hot enough to fuse the minerals that were in the wood. It isn't a problem.It may also be that the pellets you are burning had a lot of bark included. Bark is higher in mineral content than either the new wood or the heartwood.
A shower of small sparks is normal. As the pellets burn, small pieces break off and the combustion blower lofts them out of the firepot. Occasionally a fairly large piece of burning pellet will "jump" out of the firepot. If you see many burning pellets being blown out of the firepot, the draft is too strong and needs to be corrected.
The short gasket presents a safety hazard. The top of the hopper must be sealed so that fire cannot accidentally convect up into the hopper. Contact ESW and I am sure that they will correct the problem.

 

[Poitoy]

Thanks for the info! Guess I won't be running it this weekend if there's a safety issue. I'll contact their support line Monday morning. Appreciate it!

 

[CladMaster]

You will be fine running the stove with someone about the house, just don't leave it alone (go out for more than an hour).


1/8" gap at one corner -- hopper gasket, mine is like this too, never had a problem with it, if you want to fix it ........

The gasket for the hopper lid, any area's that have gaps can be fixed with a medium thick rope gasket, just cut it to size and glue in place with the glue that comes with the kit (HD or Lowes sell these kits), close the lid and lock it down, fire the stove up on low to medium heat and let the glue set, takes about 30 mins.

 

[Poitoy]

Is there any way to test if the hopper lid is sealing down completely? Something involving a match maybe? I'd love to keep it running in the hopes of burning off the fumey smell earlier rather than later.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Is there any way to test if the hopper lid is sealing down completely? Something involving a match maybe? I'd love to keep it running in the hopes of burning off the fumey smell earlier rather than later.

My experience with the hopper lid seals is that even when they are in good condition, they are marginal at best. I wouldn't get too obsessive about testing it. Your local hardware store probably has some seal material that can be used. If the gap is small a wad of anything non-flammable would do. Make sure that the latches pull the lid down snug.

 

[Pete Zahria]

Is there any way to test if the hopper lid is sealing down completely? .

What I would do, and do, is I push up and down on the lid right next to the latch.
If it goes up and down a little, just re adjust the latch under the lid to tighten it up...
On mine, I found it to be loose right from the getgo.. Easy adjustment...
Eventually, that might not be enough... but it works for a while to be sure..

Dan

 

[jeremygrimm]

I don't think that's what's causing your smell.. Did you seal the clean out? Did you seal the connection from the vent to the actual unit? Mine was smelling bad and that's where is was coming feom. Instead of using tape or silicone, I hose clamped it and that sealed it real good. But I also used amerivent and it may hook up differently.