Englander pdv-25 steel wool mod.

[jjones139]

I have a 25 PDVC and I have tried this mod. It certainly did make a difference in the way my stove is burning the pellets. The pellets I'm burning right now are from Tractor Supply and are hard wood. The pellets are making a complete burn. I have not had to scrape the ash out of the burn pot in the past 24 hours as the ash is being blown out of the burn pot. My pellet consumption has dropped considerable in the last 24 hours. Presently I,m running my lower numbers at 1-5-1 and my uppers at 1-7. My stove is kicking heat out like it never has.

Lower settings 1-5-1?? Older PDVC? Holy Sh*t! Nonetheless that's great results! This morning I checked the mode and found it to be in "a" when in fact it should have been in "d". Anyway, I switched it to "d" and lowered my bottom settings to 5-4-1. It's burning now just fine and definitely not cooking us like last night. I will definitely be playing with low burn feed a tad. A quick adjustment to the hopper lid made a better burn too!! **Update** Ok, well after tinkering a bit more last night I ended going with 4-4-1 and I may drop the LBF more eventually. Either way it's a nice added treat to my basement family room.

 

[jjones139]

All I used was round magnets, works fantastic

How are the magnets holding up? Truthfully, that was a genius simple mod!

 

[twpman]

How are the magnets holding up? Truthfully, that was a genius simple mod!

I've been doing this for two years,so far so good
You have to put the magnets under the fire grate, the heat breaks them on top

 

[jjones139]

All I used was round magnets, works fantastic

How are the magnets holding up? Truthfully, that was a genius simple mod!

I've had the same experience. I ended up plugging the top and bottom large burnpot holes for my PDV-25. It was 19 degrees last night. I was able to reach 400 degrees on a heat setting of four. I've never seen the stove with such fine ash left over. It's like the burn efficiency increased 40%. No more unburned pellets or lumpy, crusty ash.

Out of curiosity what are your lower settings? I'm at 4-4-1! I have compared my flame with my PDV and it's not nearly as intense as the PDVC, but nonetheless it's pouring out heat like a mofo!

 

[Hot Foot]

My lower settings are 6-4-1. I've tried every possible combination. The factory default works best or me. I also closed the restrictor plate in the hopper as much possible.

 

[Hot Foot]

How are the magnets holding up? Truthfully, that was a genius simple mod!


Out of curiosity what are your lower settings? I'm at 4-4-1! I have compared my flame with my PDV and it's not nearly as intense as the PDVC, but nonetheless it's pouring out heat like a mofo!

I would check to see if your PDV is running in C mode. D mode generates a lot less heat.

 

[jjones139]

I would check to see if your PDV is running in C mode. D mode generates a lot less heat.

It was actually in A mode on Monday and I switched it to D. A was brutal hot and I was told by Englander TS that C was hotter!! I'm not complaining of the hotness, but more trying to get down the proper settings for comfort rather than cooking LOL! Now I'm trying to differentiate between the fresh air intake from the (downstairs) PDVC vs (upstairs) PDV since I have both stoves and my flame is more robust in the PDV??

 

[MadMax31]

So far I must be the exception. Noticeably more soot but cleaner burn pot. More un-burnt pellets under wear plate. Glass smoked up quicker too. Currans might be the issue. Its been mild here so Im not burning the "good stuff".

 

[Chrisnow86]

I've noticed a lot more build up on the impingement plate and heat exchange.. I clean all that once a week so no big deal

 

[MadMax31]

I clean out each afternoon before I fire it up for the evening. Burn pot less clumpy, but still ashy. Glass smokes up quicker and most internal surfaces are black with soot instead of gray or brown. Yanking the wool tomorrow before the weekend burn.

 

[jjones139]

I clean out each afternoon before I fire it up for the evening. Burn pot less clumpy, but still ashy. Glass smokes up quicker and most internal surfaces are black with soot instead of gray or brown. Yanking the wool tomorrow before the weekend burn.

Did you remove the plugs from under the burn plate? If so how's the burn in comparison to being plugged? The glass on my PDV stays clean and I get a nice clean hot burn. My PDVC is totally different..... Glass gets filmed over after 6 hours, hot burn and flame is tall. 2 different stoves with the only difference being the room air blower.... I'm scratching my bald head a little.....

 

[Cedarjunki]

Currans might be the issue. .

They are dirty dirty dirty. And give very little heat compared to every other pellet i have burned. My old pdv absolutely hated them.

They do burn good in some stoves. Mostly stoves with aggitators. Otherwise the pot fills and crusts up way too fast.

 

[MadMax31]

I gave it another try with Lignetics this time. Plugged up it burned great. 14 degrees overnight with minimum wind it was 71 in house this morning with fuel set to 2. Glass much cleaner and burn pot much cleaner. I guess theres no helping those Currans....

 

[Stihl029]

Not sure where I found this thread, but for years I have been complaining about my 25PDV not completely burning pellets on higher burn levels. I love this stove for the heat it puts out, and the customer service Englander has. That said, over the 8 years of burning with this stove, and using the best pellets I can find, Currently Dry Creek, I would get un-burned blackish pellets left behind after a long burn. Long story short, I did this mod and purchased Hillman metal hole plugs from the local chain home store, and inserted them in the larger holes to and bottom of the burn pot. Been burning like this the past week with the cold temps we've been getting and noticing a huge difference. For one I'm getting a nice complete burn, just light ash when I clean the stove in the morning. Also no more black glass after long burns, its staying much cleaner, and I'm getting a more robust flame. VERY happy with this MOD, thank you guys for all the ideas.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

Not sure where I found this thread, but for years I have been complaining about my 25PDV not completely burning pellets on higher burn levels. I love this stove for the heat it puts out, and the customer service Englander has. That said, over the 8 years of burning with this stove, and using the best pellets I can find, Currently Dry Creek, I would get un-burned blackish pellets left behind after a long burn. Long story short, I did this mod and purchased Hillman metal hole plugs from the local chain home store, and inserted them in the larger holes to and bottom of the burn pot. Been burning like this the past week with the cold temps we've been getting and noticing a huge difference. For one I'm getting a nice complete burn, just light ash when I clean the stove in the morning. Also no more black glass after long burns, its staying much cleaner, and I'm getting a more robust flame. VERY happy with this MOD, thank you guys for all the ideas.

Stihl,

Glad you found this thread and its working for you. This is season #2 for me using the plugs and i have not noticed any ill effects. only complete burns, and much better performance on all settings. Not to mention the stove is now easier to clean, because you dont have to worry about the ash that gets into the hollow burn pot.

 

[scotthershall]

This is a great mod!

My quarters held in place with gasket cement are still holding up fine. This mod plus doing the leaf blower trick two weeks ago, the stove is performing better than new. Before this mod I'd have black glass within 12 hours. Now it takes a full week for soot to cover just a quarter of the glass, although it gets a slightly grey haze during that time frame. Overnight burns yield a manageable pile of ash in the morning even with the cheapest pellets, as opposed to a mountain of clinkers.

Anyone disappointed with their 25-PCV or PDVC should absolutely do this before trying anything else! But don't misunderstand... you'll still need to scrap the burnpot two or three times a day, scrap the carbon deposits from around the auger tube daily, and all that stuff.

 

[Pellet rick]

This is a great mod!

My quarters held in place with gasket cement are still holding up fine. This mod plus doing the leaf blower trick two weeks ago, the stove is performing better than new. Before this mod I'd have black glass within 12 hours. Now it takes a full week for soot to cover just a quarter of the glass, although it gets a slightly grey haze during that time frame. Overnight burns yield a manageable pile of ash in the morning even with the cheapest pellets, as opposed to a mountain of clinkers.

Anyone disappointed with their 25-PCV or PDVC should absolutely do this before trying anything else! But don't misunderstand... you'll still need to scrap the burnpot two or three times a day, scrap the carbon deposits from around the auger tube daily, and all that stuff.

I agree totally with you plus I had issues with the glass sealing on my pdv until I sealed it with a bead of the permatex high temp sealant. My stove is in an unfinished area so the sealer is not visually a problem.

 

[jerl77]

Anyone have a pic of the holes you close up ?

 

[Pellet rick]

Anyone have a pic of the holes you close up ?

Not right now I do not, but if you lift out the burn plate with the holes in it , they are at the bottom of the burn box . There are only 3 holes down there. 1 big hole which is your combustion blower hole at the back under the auger. The 2 we are talking about are to the left and right of the big hole on the sides of the burn box. Hope that helps

 

[jerl77]

On the back side of the box ?

 

[Hot Foot]

On the PDV there are four large holes in the burn pot. Two are at the top of the burn pot right and left and two are under the wear plate to the right and left of the air intake tube. It's most important to close the bottom holes as they supply air to the upper holes. I plugged both sets to prevent ash from building up in the top holes.

 

[jerl77]

I will look when I get home later
Thank u

 

[jerl77]

Got it flame seems better
The pellets burn a lot better
But I switched pellets and I don't like them
I think they are to big to pass the plate in the hopper bin
Seems like they can't keep up the flame

 

[Pellet rick]

Got it flame seems better
The pellets burn a lot better
But I switched pellets and I don't like them
I think they are to big to pass the plate in the hopper bin
Seems like they can't keep up the flame

You might just need to open the restricker plate a little more for the new pellets. If I change pellets I almost always mess with the plate. 1 more mod you can do to the burn pot is, drill some of the hole in the center of the burn plate to a little larger size to allow more air to pass though the pellets. I did this and made a huge difference. I also closed up a few of the holes around the edge to along with sealing the plate to the burn box to cut down on leakage around the plate. The more air through the pellets the better and hotter it will burn

 

[jerl77]

You might just need to open the restricker plate a little more for the new pellets. If I change pellets I almost always mess with the plate. 1 more mod you can do to the burn pot is, drill some of the hole in the center of the burn plate to a little larger size to allow more air to pass though the pellets. I did this and made a huge difference. I also closed up a few of the holes around the edge to along with sealing the plate to the burn box to cut down on leakage around the plate. The more air through the pellets the better and hotter it will burn

Got it drill some holes tomorrow and weld some up
Should I just take the plate out of the hopper?


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