To Grease or not to Grease ...Englander 25-PDVC

[Joe B One925]

Hi All,

I am having my new Englander 25-PDVC installed tomorrow, and after googling a bit the last several days, it appears that folks have a differing of opinion as to whether to grease their Englander or not, specifically around the auger motors in the back.

Would anyone be able to shed their on their experiences of what is done for annual maintenance to help ensure a smooth burning season?

I guess I'm looking at it from a perspective of preventative maintenance, to help the longevity of the parts etc.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[JDenyer236]

I owned that model stove, no grease fittings in there that I was aware of. I know the auger motors are grease packed but they are sealed and require no further lubrication.

 

[Joe B One925]

See i thought that too, but if you check out the link you'll see that this owner advised that you should.

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[JDenyer236]

What he is describing is an oiling port on the bronze motor bushing. I used to throw some 3 in 1 oil in it when it would get noisy.

 

[festerw]

Haven't greased mine in 8 years and they're fine. I had a auger that had a bad casting and Englander sent out a warranty replacement auger, bearing and motor. I remember the instructions that came with it said since it was a very low speed application that grease was not necessary.

 

[Joe B One925]

Thanks for the input Fester. I was also curious, how do you find the 'codes' for your specific Englander? I read alot of folks mentioning their specific code settings (6-2-3) or what have you.

Can you explain that? Do you do anything specific to keep your englander in tip top shape?

 

[Mordecai7]

I have that model and my goal as well was to ensure longevity and easier annual maintenance. there are two grease fittings (also called zerk fittings) on the auger bearing plates. The fittings are facing upward (12 o'clock) which means that you might have to move the auger motors in order to get to the fittings.

Also, my grease gun tip had problems connecting to the fittings due to some clearance problems around the fitting, so I actually removed the fittings, covered the hole and ground away some metal from the bearing plate and re-installed the fittings in order for the grease gun tip to fit properly on to the fitting. I also indexed the fittings at the 9 o'clock position in order to access them without removing the auger motors in the future. I used a high temperature bearing grease which I also used for automotive wheel bearings. I will try to upload some photos later.

I also did a few other tricks to the auger and housing that I believe will lower the friction for the auger motors including polishing the auger screw (others have done this as well) and honing out the auger tubes. I will post on that later.

 

[Joe B One925]

So your stance is that we should grease the fittings? I haven't heard of the auger tips your mentioning...can you expand?

 

[Harvey Schneider]

What he is describing is an oiling port on the bronze motor bushing. I used to throw some 3 in 1 oil in it when it would get noisy.

That's usually a loosing proposition. Once the bearings get noisy, the oil only helps for a few weeks. They are supposedly lubricated for life. That means that if the lubrication is gone their life is over.
I have had some limited luck with duralube. It is a synthetic, star molecule, oil. That kept a noisy bearing going for a few months. I think that it has better cleaning characteristics and that helps it. YMMV

 

[Harvey Schneider]

So your stance is that we should grease the fittings? I haven't heard of the auger tips your mentioning...can you expand?

There have been several threads on polishing the burrs off the edges of the rotor.

 

[Joe B One925]

I'll have to do a search regarding the auger since it sounds like it only makes sense to do it. I see you have an Englander as well Harvey...have you done this to yours?

 

[Harvey Schneider]

I'll have to do a search regarding the auger since it sounds like it only makes sense to do it. I see you have an Englander as well Harvey...have you done this to yours?

No, I bought mine as a basket case and the augers were well worn. After rebuilding everything worked without the polishing.

 

[Joe B One925]

Ahh very nice. so no special maitenance you do? I haven't even started mine up yet since it's getting installed tomorrow. Is there any 'breaking in' necessary?

 

[Chrisnow86]

just make sure you open all your windows lol your house will fill with smoke from the new paint curing and what not

 

[Arti]

I have an Englander 25-PDVC in my workshop, I grease the bearings every spring 1 pump from a grease gun just to keep it lubed up for the summer so the bearings won't rust from sitting.
These bearings are very large for the application in my opinion if cared for they should never fail. I pull the augers and wire brush the augers in the spring I don't really polish them but it really wouldn't hurt I guess.

 

[johnnyb1970]

I have the same stove I had to change the pellet feed rate from 6 to 3 because I was burning way to much pellets. I made a post yesterday check it out.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

I have the same stove I had to change the pellet feed rate from 6 to 3 because I was burning way to much pellets. I made a post yesterday check it out.

I had the same issue, it may be that the choke plate at the bottom of the hopper is open more than it should be. Either adjustment gets the low fuel feed right. At higher burn rates the burn rate control can be used to limit the size of the fire. My concern is that with the choke plate too far open the fire burns too rich (not enough air for the amount of fuel). That can lead to a dirty burn. I can't tell whether the soot in my PDVC25 is from the choice of pellets or the fuel/air ration being wrong. It's a pain to adjust the choke plate so I have been putting up with it. This year I'm burning soft woods, they burn cleaner. We will see if that makes a difference.