Englander Pellet Stove Model 55-SHP10 puts out literally no heat

[doghouse]

Is the impingement plate properly installed?

 

[WEEZHOLE]

The impingement plate was actually not installed properly when I first got it. Must have jostled during shipping. I tried that the 2nd night I had it and really thought it was gonna be it, but it wasn't. I may have been part of it. I've said from the beginning, that this thing is moving just too much air. I think I figured it out. Not sure why they don't have a manual damper on this thing. I literally went outside and put duct tape over about 1/3 the intake hole and now this thing is burning like a champ. Before my flame was almost burning out in the wind before more pellets would drop and my flames were up and down constantly. The embers would actually all fly out and the fire would go out sometimes. Now I have a steady roaring flame that keeps the center impingment plate and the heat exchanger behind it actually hot. I actually get a steady warm heat coming out. I'm still gonna try to talk to ESW tomorrow and see if there is a way to restrict air flow through the control panel or about changing modes. I hope I can get to talk to someone. I'm not asking too much out of this stove, I just want some heat! Its getting cold out! The room is sitting at 74-75 and the surrounding kitchen/living space is in the mid 60s and slowly climbing. Its looking good so far. Thanks everyone for the help!

 

[OhioBurner©]

4-4-1. I think that is what was default from the factory. I tried other settings. No change.

No change at all?? What numbers did you try?

 

[Pete Zahria]

It was on my stove... just throwing out options

Cool.
It wasn't "that" much of a difference on mine. But.. all stoves are different.
Wasn't being critical.. just didn't seem like changing modes
from D to C would go from "no" heat, to "okay that did it"..

Dan

 

[Chrisnow86]

Cool.
It wasn't "that" much of a difference on mine. But.. all stoves are different.
Wasn't being critical.. just didn't seem like changing modes
from D to C would go from "no" heat, to "okay that did it"..

Dan

It was night and day with mine... I was ready to throw this thing in the trash and hook the woodstove back up until I changed the mode...

 

[Pete Zahria]

It was night and day with mine... I was ready to throw this thing in the trash and hook the woodstove back up until I changed the mode...

Well, that is certainly good to know!

Thanks.... Dan

 

[Chrisnow86]

Well, that is certainly good to know!

Thanks.... Dan

Btw Pete I like the old school super mod.. Helped a friend of mine for a few years pit crew with his sk mod.. Super mods are crazy fast

 

[Pete Zahria]

Btw Pete I like the old school super mod.. Helped a friend of mine for a few years pit crew with his sk mod.. Super mods are crazy fast

30 years ago...

Dan

 

[WEEZHOLE]

Well this stove was all wishful thinking. I dampered the air intake with duct tape and it really seemed to run better, but that's because it was only 40* outside. Now that it's below 20* here this thing does nothing. My thermostat is 10 yards away and set at 62 and my oil furnace is still kicking on and running regularly. This thing is going back to Lowes. Englander tells you not to return and to call them first. Well, I took a day off work yesterday and called 154 times and was busy every time. Also emailed them with no response. Don't know what people mean about their customer service being so awesome. I didn't even get an acknowledgment that I emailed them. Not even an auto reply. Nothing. Looking at other brands of stoves. Lowes offered us $150 towards another stove or a replacement of the same model. Not sure I want to do yet. I put a hole in my house to match this exhaust so I really want this stove to work. If I get another make and model I have to finagle some elbows to hook up a new stove. Ugh. My first experience with a pellet stove is not looking too promising.

 

[Chrisnow86]

Did you ever have any luck changing the mode? It's adjustable on your stove... When I first got mine I was frustrated as well, very little heat output. I changed it and it really woke it up... Now low is how it was on high before

 

[griffj17]

What mode are you running? A b c d?

What is the difference between the modes a,b,c, and d.

 

[griffj17]

I just recently bought this "Summer's Heat" 1500 sq ft Englander Pellet Stove from Lowes that is rated to heat up to 1500 square feet. I see people's reviews online that claim this thing gets pretty toasty. Unfortunately my stove puts out cold air, maybe luke warm air at best. Like no heat comes out of it. It can't heat the 121 sq ft room that its in. The temp in the room went from 64-67 over a few hours of running this. It seems to start up and burn as it should, i just get no heat out of it. My electric space heater can warm up this same room faster than this. What could it be? My guess its the convection blower because the sides of the stove get too hot to touch, so i know there is heat in this thing, but the blower just doesn't push it out I guess. It seems to push the air out and down. And its not warm at all.

I had a friend come over last night that's been running a pellet stove for 8 years and had no idea what the hell was going on. He wished me good luck and left after a few hours of tinkering. Lowe's says they will exchange it for me, i just hope my friend and I don't break our backs loading this thing up and we get another lemon. Or this is just how crappy this stove is. I can't believe England Stove Works would keep making this model this many years if it really sucked this bad. Would Lowe's and Home Depot really sell that crappy of a product? The Lowe's manager said she has had no one else return a pellet stoves this season so far. Did I just pull the DOA card? I hope someone can shed some light on the subject. Thanks!

I'm having the same issues with mine.

 

[Chrisnow86]

What is the difference between the modes a,b,c, and d.

It changes the feed rates so the stove burns more fuel and runs hotter

 

[griffj17]

It changes the feed rates so the stove burns more fuel and runs hotter

So d is the lowest setting..

 

[acammer]

Wow, this sounds so frustrating. I remember starting out with my old stove and having to figure a lot of things out before I got her working the way she should. I really think you need to make sure you're in the right mode before and have the trims adjusted correctly before you quit on this thing. Also, there is no way you need duct tape over the intake - it may seem like a large amount of air flowing through the exhaust, but that's how this thing is designed. The reason the stove doesn't have a manual damper is because it throttles the combustion blower based on the heat settings - it's way better than a damper. (I've had both, the damper is a real PITA) If you have the fuel trim all the way up and the air trim all the way down and it still blows itself out then you probably have another issue, maybe vacuum switch, over-fire, auger motor, etc.

I'm not 100% certain but some Englander stoves (and I am pretty sure this model) have a fuel feed restrictor plate at the bottom of the hopper. This adjustable plate can be moved to allow for more or less fuel to feed to the auger. You mentioned that the impingement plate was jostled, perhaps this is out of place as well. You'll have to empty the hopper for access, and then make sure that the restrictor isn't blocking opened up.

Everything about your issue points to a lack of fuel - the fact that it improved significantly when "choking" the air intake is good evidence that you're just not getting enough fuel. Until you have the correct mode for this stove set, and all the trims adjusted correct, it doesn't make sense to just return it. I'd agree it should have been set appropriately from the store, but who knows. Have you been on Englander's website and looked through all the troubleshooting tips? They have a diagnostic test mode that will help confirm all the components are working correctly. Maybe run those tests, make sure the mode/trims are set to factor standard (Low fuel feed 6, low air burn 4, air on temp 1), and that you're in mode C. If that all checks out, and the restrictor is opened up good, then let's see where you're at. I'd hate to see the frustration of having to bring this thing back when it could be just a few small things making a big problem.

 

[griffj17]

I have another question. I changed the mode on mine. It's now running on c mode. The heat setting is on 3, and the blower is on 9. My bottom numbers are 4-6-1. I noticed I'm getting a little more ash. What can I change the bottom three numbers to that would help with less ash. This is really the first season I have have started changing settings and mods on this thing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pete Zahria]

I have another question. I changed the mode on mine. It's now running on c mode. The heat setting is on 3, and the blower is on 9. My bottom numbers are 4-6-1. I noticed I'm getting a little more ash. What can I change the bottom three numbers to that would help with less ash. This is really the first season I have have started changing settings and mods on this thing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would think that the ash volume is a function of the pellet, more than the settings.
For the most part.. Efficiency comes into play, but if you don't have unburned pellet chunks
in there, it's going to be close...
You have changed your mode to C, which means you are burning more pellets..
If you are getting more heat, you are burning more pellets..
I know there is more to it... but if your glass is fairly clean, and you don't have chunks,
your fuel/air is probably ok..
(IMO)

 

[griffj17]

I would think that the ash volume is a function of the pellet, more than the settings.
For the most part.. Efficiency comes into play, but if you don't have unburned pellet chunks
in there, it's going to be close...
You have changed your mode to C, which means you are burning more pellets..
If you are getting more heat, you are burning more pellets..
I know there is more to it... but if your glass is fairly clean, and you don't have chunks,
your fuel/air is probably ok..
(IMO)

Ok cool. Wasn't really sure if maybe one of my bottom 3 numbers were off a bit. I am getting a bit of sunburned pellets building up. They're charged but not soft ash.

 

[WEEZHOLE]

I ditched this stove in November and returned it to Lowes. They gave me a great deal on an upgrade to a Pleasant Hearth cabinet model stove. That Englander had something wrong with it. It couldn't heat the 121 sq ft room it was in. I even had 2 friends that are pro HVAC guys tell me it wasn't working correctly. My new stove heats my whole 2700 sq ft home for the most part. My bonus room above the garage needs a space heater to keep above 60.