# Englander 25 PDVC Winter Settings



## SingledadMI (Nov 18, 2014)

I'm just wondering what everyone runs theirs at during the winter months? I'm in MI and it got down to about 15 last night, I had mine set at 4 and it only kept my 1300 sq ft. house at about 58, and that was with closing off a few rooms. I was just wondering if people in colder climates ran theirs a lot higher than that?


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## CladMaster (Nov 18, 2014)

Set the lower buttons as follows

LFF - 6  LBA - 4  AOT - 1

When its cold outside you can run the stove as high as you need to keep the house at 65 - 78F, but this also depends on the pellets that you are putting in the hopper, some burn hotter than others. There is no reason why you can not run the stove at  6-6, 7-7 or higher.

Not every home is the same when it comes to settings on the stove, you have to play with them to see what settings will heat your home / space to a level that you want, and it can take 1 - 3 hours to bring the temp up in the rooms / area.

Some of us set the stove in mode 'c' when it gets real cold, to find out how to change the mode setting, search my postings on this site.


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## SingledadMI (Nov 18, 2014)

I should have specified, I'm talking about heat and blower settings. I have my bottom 3 set at factory and it's working well that way, I was just curious to how high everyone ran theirs. I've heard some people say they've never had to go above 3 or 4, so I was concerned with having to crank mine up. The pellet difference is another thing I'm questioning. The pellet I was using before the ones I have now seem to have burned MUCH hotter than these ones. Like I was getting as much heat off of setting it at 2 as I am with setting these ones at 6, is it possible for there to be THAT much difference in pellet btu's?

About the "C" setting, I know how to change it but what exactly does it do? I know it'll feed more pellets but isn't that what changing the heat settings does also?

Thanks for the help CladMaster


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## CladMaster (Nov 18, 2014)

SingledadMI said:


> I should have specified, I'm talking about heat and blower settings. I have my bottom 3 set at factory and it's working well that way, I was just curious to how high everyone ran theirs. I've heard some people say they've never had to go above 3 or 4, so I was concerned with having to crank mine up. The pellet difference is another thing I'm questioning. The pellet I was using before the ones I have now seem to have burned MUCH hotter than these ones. Like I was getting as much heat off of setting it at 2 as I am with setting these ones at 6, is it possible for there to be THAT much difference in pellet btu's?
> 
> About the "C" setting, I know how to change it but what exactly does it do? I know it'll feed more pellets but isn't that what changing the heat settings does also?
> 
> Thanks for the help CladMaster



Pellet brands differ, in weight, size, type of wood and btu's, so yes, these play a factor in heat output.

The lower heat produced by some pellet brands is a problem for most stoves, and to compensate for that you have to raise the heat range setting to get more heat, this in turn uses more fuel. The lower producing btu pellets are often called shoulder pellets, most people use these pre-winter and post-winter and save the good pellets that produce more heat for the cold spells in mid-winter.

The mode setting -- 'c', yes, it feeds more fuel by changing the rate (time on) for the top auger so more fuel is dropped, it also changes the speed of the exhaust blower to draw more air into the burn chamber to burn the extra fuel.


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## Chrisnow86 (Nov 18, 2014)

I have the bigger stove the 25 pdv and i notice a huge difference on high try it for a few hours and see what it does.. if your house is staying at least warm on 4 then bumping it up to 6 or 7 should def do the trick you will notice a difference.. but give it time it will take a hour to get hotter


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## johnnyb1970 (Nov 18, 2014)

Cladmaster I have the same stove that I purchase. I tried to check my heat mode settings by holding down the both buttons on the blower fan and nothing happens. I was wondering what I am doing wrong.


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## shawnfire (Nov 18, 2014)

I run mine at 4 and it was 69 in the living room this morning  running pro pellets I also live in Michigan 1800 sf ranch bed rooms are around 62-65


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## shawnfire (Nov 18, 2014)

I can't see the mod change either on mine I think the key is to unplug it first


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## CladMaster (Nov 18, 2014)

*Setting the Heat Mode*
Heat Mode, the default setting is 'd' for the 25-PDVC, but some control boards default to 'A' when a reset is done. Do not run the stove in 'A' or 'b' mode, the stove is not designed to run in 'A' or 'b' mode.
Unplug the power lead to the stove --- when cold.
Plug power lead back in and press both the up and down blower speed buttons at the same time within 4 - 5 seconds and then release the buttons, you should now see a letter (A, b, c or d) in the left digital display under heat range, you need to change this to 'd' or 'c' using the up / down buttons below that readout, once set to 'd' or 'c' wait 10 - 15 seconds then unplug the power again and wait 5 seconds. (NOTE: Sometimes the mode that you want does not set and defaults back to the mode that it was in before, repeat this step above to make sure the mode that you want is set, 'c' or 'd'.)


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## SingledadMI (Nov 18, 2014)

Thanks, CladMaster! I always wondered what "shoulder" pellets were too. I just thought it was a typo  lol


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## Harvey Schneider (Nov 18, 2014)

SingledadMI said:


> I'm just wondering what everyone runs theirs at during the winter months? I'm in MI and it got down to about 15 last night, I had mine set at 4 and it only kept my 1300 sq ft. house at about 58, and that was with closing off a few rooms. I was just wondering if people in colder climates ran theirs a lot higher than that?


You've got to burn pellets to make heat. Why are you running at 4 and complaining that it's cold.


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## Chrisnow86 (Nov 18, 2014)

Ya quit being a cheap skate and hit the up arrow a few times Hahaha


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## OhioBurner© (Nov 18, 2014)

Someone on another thread mentioned that pellet stoves (seemingly all of them) were never designed to run on high or low for more than a short period. I've heard that about the one cheap ussc stove from harbor freight for $900 but never heard if that about any other stove. ESW seems to have good manuals and nothing was mentioned about that. But I questioned and no one corroberated that story, so I figured it wasn't true but this seems like a good time to bring it up.

It got really cold here these last 2 days and this house is old and drafty and not insulated well. Temps dropped fast yesterday so I let it rip on 9. Top center of glass was a touch over 900F. Was trying to avoid firing up the wood stove so I knew the one side of the house would be cool, but even with that thing ripping the rooms next to it were a bit cold and the 2 bedrooms right above it were really cold! 52F when I got home from work today. 
Think I'll sleep on the couch next to the stove tonight.


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## Chrisnow86 (Nov 18, 2014)

I've run my englander on high a lot and it's set to mode C so it dumps out some heat... She never seems to bother... I don't need to run it on high all night cause the upstairs master bed room get  way to hot.. (The master bed room is a loft style and the house is cathedral so very open) but I've run it on high for hours at a time and it never bothers


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## shawnfire (Nov 18, 2014)

still can't find the mod setting  tried unplugged it  held down both buttons, just showed me my setting  what am I doing wrong????


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## CladMaster (Nov 18, 2014)

shawnfire said:


> still can't find the mod setting  tried unplugged it  held down both buttons, just showed me my setting  what am I doing wrong????


As soon as you plug it in, press both the up and down buttons for the blower setting and then release the buttons, the MODE will show up in the left window under heat.


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## SingledadMI (Nov 19, 2014)

Harvey Schneider said:


> You've got to burn pellets to make heat. Why are you running at 4 and complaining that it's cold.




Harvey, I'm not complaining. I was simply asking a question. I thought that's what the forum was for. I just want to get the best performance out of my stove, since I'm not exactly loaded with cash to dump out if it's not running correctly. That being said, I had read that running the stove on hi settings for long periods wasn't good. So, I didn't want to go that route if it wasn't safe since I have a child.


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## SingledadMI (Nov 19, 2014)

OhioBurner© said:


> Someone on another thread mentioned that pellet stoves (seemingly all of them) were never designed to run on high or low for more than a short period. I've heard that about the one cheap ussc stove from harbor freight for $900 but never heard if that about any other stove. ESW seems to have good manuals and nothing was mentioned about that. But I questioned and no one corroberated that story, so I figured it wasn't true but this seems like a good time to bring it up.
> 
> It got really cold here these last 2 days and this house is old and drafty and not insulated well. Temps dropped fast yesterday so I let it rip on 9. Top center of glass was a touch over 900F. Was trying to avoid firing up the wood stove so I knew the one side of the house would be cool, but even with that thing ripping the rooms next to it were a bit cold and the 2 bedrooms right above it were really cold! 52F when I got home from work today.
> Think I'll sleep on the couch next to the stove tonight.


 
I was thinking of sleeping next to the stove too! Lol. I turned mine up to 6 while at work yesterday and it was 64 in the room where the stove is and about 61 in the living room. A lot better than 56 haha. I turned it down to 5 when I went to bed and it was 61. I'm sure I'll find a happy medium, but I'm gonna go through a lot more pellets than I had expected.


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## Harvey Schneider (Nov 19, 2014)

SingledadMI said:


> Harvey, I'm not complaining. I was simply asking a question. I thought that's what the forum was for. I just want to get the best performance out of my stove, since I'm not exactly loaded with cash to dump out if it's not running correctly. That being said, I had read that running the stove on hi settings for long periods wasn't good. So, I didn't want to go that route if it wasn't safe since I have a child.



I can't speak of other brands, but I run both my ESW PDVC and my Quad MVAE at full throttle whenever I need to. In fact I run the PDVC at 9/9 with a thermostat controlling temperature. Never thought twice about it, and never had a problem with it.
Don't take my comment as a personal criticism. It is a response to the lengthy conversations we have had here involving people who complained that their stove doesn't work or isn't any good when the real problem was that they weren't feeding the stove enough fuel.


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## Dhosh (Nov 19, 2014)

I have mine set to 9/9 when I'm home, and 5/9 when I'm not.  It's in the basement, and I'm not. ;-)
The stove's main purpose is to help to keep from running the propane furnace, which is set to 57.  It's never gone that low, since I've been running it.  Was down to 15 here last night, as well.  Where abouts are you located, in Michigan?  I'm up (or down --- depending on YOUR location!  LOL ) in Petoskey.


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## OhioBurner© (Nov 19, 2014)

Harvey Schneider said:


> I can't speak of other brands, but I run both my ESW PDVC and my Quad MVAE at full throttle whenever I need to. In fact I run the PDVC at 9/9 with a thermostat controlling temperature. Never thought twice about it, and never had a problem with it.
> Don't take my comment as a personal criticism. It is a response to the lengthy conversations we have had here involving people who complained that their stove doesn't work or isn't any good when the real problem was that they weren't feeding the stove enough fuel.



Yeah I sometimes crack up in the woodstove threads when folks are like 'I think I overfired my stove it hit 750!' Of course it depends on stove and where your taking measurement but that's pretty much cruising temp for my Jotul Rockland if I have a full load of dry wood.

Back on Monday when the big temperature drop started (that afternoon/evening sometime) I cranked it up to 9-9. I figured the stove would not heat the whole house anyhow since its drafty and poorly insulated and 10º or less + wind is always a killer. So I needed everything it had. The stove did get real hot. How hot does the PDVC get at 9/9? I was a little nervous letting the PAH get that hot, and it did give a faint smell like burning plastic. Maybe its just from dust or something. When I cleaned it out yesterday a layer of something flaked off the front of the burnpot, not sure if its a coating on the metal or what. But even at 9-9 with white pine pellets it was no match for the cold windy day and I also fired up the woodstove on the other side of the house just before bedtime.

I did sleep on the couch by the pellet stove last night was much better than my 52º bed! But even only a few feet away from the stove the cool air coming into the stove room from the doorway to the kitchen (right at one end of couch) was cold enough I still had to wrap up in a heavy blanket, and that was the warmest room in the house sitting a few feet away from a 9/9 stove!


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## Harvey Schneider (Nov 19, 2014)

SingledadMI said:


> I had read that running the stove on hi settings for long periods wasn't good.


I have heard some people quote their manual as saying that the stove was not intended to run above a certain setting for extended periods. Those stove manufacturers are lying to their customers about the BTU capability of the stove. 
All of that aside, rumors and myths about stoves serve no purpose. They do not impart knowledge of what the stove can and can't do. If the owners manual makes no mention of such limitations, the limitations are unlikely to exist. Manufacturers are always very careful to include as many disclaimers as they can in the owners manual. It's their way of avoiding litigation. If you are still in doubt call the manufacturers service department and ask.
When it comes down to it, a properly installed and maintained pellet stove is safer than a clothes dryer. (don't take my word for it, look up the statistics on house fires caused by each). 
Treat your pellet with respect, keep it clean and enjoy the warmth.


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## Harvey Schneider (Nov 19, 2014)

OhioBurner© said:


> How hot does the PDVC get at 9/9?


I have measured 350 at the left, top, front corner. That was measured with an infrared device. The rest of the external surfaces are substantially cooler.
My main concern was the vent. That never exceeded 125.


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## shawnfire (Nov 19, 2014)

Run mine on 4-6 and today it was 71 in my living room, also ran the space heater in or bed room last night forgot to turn it off, house was nice and warm. To my Mich peeps I am in Howell and it is freaking cold out LOL.... Now if i can figure out why the glass turns black I would be all set......

I thought you had to hold down the buttons  so just push and release... will try that tonight thanks


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## Pete Zahria (Nov 19, 2014)

shawnfire said:


> I thought you had to hold down the buttons  so just push and release... will try that tonight thanks



You got it... Plug the stove in, quickly push and release both..

Dan


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## OhioBurner© (Nov 19, 2014)

Harvey Schneider said:


> I have measured 350 at the left, top, front corner. That was measured with an infrared device. The rest of the external surfaces are substantially cooler.
> My main concern was the vent. That never exceeded 125.


350ºF? The PAH does that on a 1 setting...

I'm questioning whether or not +900ºF is safe to run continuously (as measured at the top center of the glass).


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## Harvey Schneider (Nov 19, 2014)

OhioBurner© said:


> 350ºF? The PAH does that on a 1 setting...
> 
> I'm questioning whether or not +900ºF is safe to run continuously (as measured at the top center of the glass).


IR measurements at the glass are unreliable. The IR sensor is blinded by the fire. Consequently I have never measured glass temperatures.
Also, 900 seems unrealistic. At that temperature you should be able to see the metal glowing in a dark room.

With apologies to Wikipedia:







According to Chapman's "Workshop Technology" the colours which can be observed in steel are:[1]

Colour Temperature [°C]
Black red (when viewed in dull light) 426 to 593
Very dark red 593 to 704
Dark red 704 to 814
Cherry red 815 to 870
Light cherry red 871 to 981
Orange 981 to 1092
Yellow 1093 to 1258
Yellow white 1259 to 1314
White 1315+


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## OhioBurner© (Nov 19, 2014)

The steel was less, which is why I specified the temperature was taken on the glass. Wasn't aware the glass measurement was unreliable, I've been recording dozens of burns and the glass temperature seems to go up very proportionally to the heat setting. As far as steel, the hottest spot on the stove I can find is just above the door, basically 2" above where I was shooting the glass, and I don't have the measurements on me here at work but it was probably 100-200º less by memory but I'll double check later.

My Jotul likes to take off like a rocket with a full load of good dry wood so I've had a few scary moments with it. I've not seen the steel glow even around 1,000ºF. The baffle and burn tubes were glowing a little though, but they are much hotter. 

The other somewhat concerning thing was that my brick hearth in front of the door was getting pretty hot. With the last two woodstoves that sat on it (even with their much higher R-value requirement for the hearth) the bricks wouldn't really even get warm. But with the pellet stove with a much lesser hearth pad requirement the bricks were hot. 

I think I left it on a 7 when I left this morning, will check it when I get home. At least the temps are suppose to be a little milder tonight!


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## SingledadMI (Nov 19, 2014)

Dhosh said:


> I have mine set to 9/9 when I'm home, and 5/9 when I'm not.  It's in the basement, and I'm not. ;-)
> The stove's main purpose is to help to keep from running the propane furnace, which is set to 57.  It's never gone that low, since I've been running it.  Was down to 15 here last night, as well.  Where abouts are you located, in Michigan?  I'm up (or down --- depending on YOUR location!  LOL ) in Petoskey.



Hey Dhosh, I'm in Mid-Michigan. Near West Branch. Yea, it got down to 15 here also. I kept the stove at 6 all night and it was 62 in the morning. Not gonna complain about that, it's for sure better than the 58 I was keeping it last year when I was using propane!  What pellets do you use if I may ask? I'm having trouble finding any of the brands people say work well?


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## shawnfire (Nov 19, 2014)

singledad Howell here i am using pro pellets right now  not sure if you have tried them. They are made up you or the west side. i had my setting on 4 and it was 71 in the morning and was 12 outside


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## Dhosh (Nov 19, 2014)

HI, SingledadMI .... Very good ... well .. not so much on the OUTside temps! lol ...  I blow by West Branch on the way downstate, about twice a month, for my German music and culture preservation group music and dance practices.  

The lowest my upstairs has been 59 .. generally 60-62 in the am, and a 'high' of 66.  Most of the heat is getting spent/absorbed in the basement, so far.

I'm using Kirtland pellets, from Boyne CIty, MI.  They're local.  Hopefully, they'll stay available. through the winter!  If this pellet run goes OK this winter, I'll try and stock up in the summer, so I'm not sweating (figuratively speaking, of course), sourcing some!  Right now, I'm paying the long dollar by getting 10 bags at a time.  That's enough for a week or more.  I used the ones at the local Home Depot .. they were 'Michigan Wood' pellets, I think.  I always take the names with a grain of salt.  Most claim 'premium' or 'best grade', etc, etc.  Well, duh ... unless the same company has 2 or 3 grades .. who's going to call theirs 'sh--y grade' or 'less than optimum' ???  Try what you can source easy enough.  Seems like many of the posters here are on the east coast.   What you find at one place today .. you may not find tomorrow anywhere.  
Their kirtlandproducts.com site has a 'Dealer Map' button ... looks like closest to you might be Standish Milling, or Rose City RV Center. 

Lowes initially carried the Michigan Wood ones that Home Depot had .. but now carry another.  I tried a couple bags, and didn't seem to do so well at the settings I tried, so will use them as last resort.


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