HELP! My PDV25 Englander Pellet Stove has my house pushing 90° on 35° days!

[Jmshuhart]

Ssyko just a thought here because it was never mentioned, but do you think maybe a control board reset might help?

Your guess is as good as mine! Never done that, not sure how.

 

[Pellet rick]

Your guess is as good as mine! Never done that, not sure how.

There is a procedure on here for but I’m hoping ssyko chimes in on this. He is go with electronics. I’m better on the mechanical side, lol

 

[Jmshuhart]

There is a procedure on here for but I’m hoping ssyko chimes in on this. He is go with electronics. I’m better on the mechanical side, lol

So the 2 of you are the dream team then?

Just playing (sorta), I'm nothing but GRATEFUL for all your help!! No but really.. i think you ARE the Pellet Stove Dream Team lol

 

[Ssyko]

Factory reset unplug the stove wait 10 seconds plug back in and within 4 seconds push and hold all 3 bottom buttons for 10 seconds then release. F5 should appear in the displays. The board is now reset. Now you need to check and make sure its in D mode again and reset as needed. Sometimes this helps sometimes not but no harm in trying.

 

[Jmshuhart]

Factory reset unplug the stove wait 10 seconds plug back in and within 4 seconds push and hold all 3 bottom buttons for 10 seconds then release. F5 should appear in the displays. The board is now reset. Now you need to check and make sure its in D mode again and reset as needed. Sometimes this helps sometimes not but no harm in trying.

I'll give it a shot at next shut down.

 

[Pellet rick]

So the 2 of you are the dream team then?

Just playing (sorta), I'm nothing but GRATEFUL for all your help!! No but really.. i think you ARE the Pellet Stove Dream Team lol

So the 2 of you are the dream team then?

Just playing (sorta), I'm nothing but GRATEFUL for all your help!! No but really.. i think you ARE the Pellet Stove Dream Team lol

No Dream team here . At least on my end . Lol . I learn something new almost every day. I have just had a lot of time tinkering with my pdv .

 

[Jmshuhart]

Factory reset unplug the stove wait 10 seconds plug back in and within 4 seconds push and hold all 3 bottom buttons for 10 seconds then release. F5 should appear in the displays. The board is now reset. Now you need to check and make sure its in D mode again and reset as needed. Sometimes this helps sometimes not but no harm in trying.

Just did the reset, fingers crossed. Didnt play with swapping the auger motors yet. When I reset, mode flipped to A & I put it back to D.

 

[Sm1ley]

I was reading this on my lunch break. I have a similar stove and I have had similar issues.

I recommend calling the Englander tech line (its free) to have them walk you guys through the reset and determine what the default settings should be or email them.

In my experience, the 6-4-1 repeated isn't always correct. They will look up the model of your stove and figure out what the default should be for your elevation. I have seen some models report that they are 5-4-1, while mine is supposed to be 4-6-1 due to living at 6,000 feet. Personally, I run my stove at 3-5-1 in 'D' mode, as the heat blows me out otherwise. I figured out that I need to keep the ratios relatively the same (ex: 4-6-1, 3-5-1, and 2-3-1).

Finally, Englander support is top notch. They are very good at troubleshooting these units, just follow their advice of one variable at time.

 

[Jmshuhart]

I was reading this on my lunch break. I have a similar stove and I have had similar issues.

I recommend calling the Englander tech line (its free) to have them walk you guys through the reset and determine what the default settings should be or email them.

In my experience, the 6-4-1 repeated isn't always correct. They will look up the model of your stove and figure out what the default should be for your elevation. I have seen some models report that they are 5-4-1, while mine is supposed to be 4-6-1 due to living at 6,000 feet. Personally, I run my stove at 3-5-1 in 'D' mode, as the heat blows me out otherwise. I figured out that I need to keep the ratios relatively the same (ex: 4-6-1, 3-5-1, and 2-3-1).

Finally, Englander support is top notch. They are very good at troubleshooting these units, just follow their advice of one variable at time.

Thanks! I was in contact with them via email & they just said to try dropping the first number down to 2 or 1. It really didn't help much. The reset of the control panel didn't fix anything either. We still haven't had a chance to swap the auger motors out. Fingers crossed that Sunday we will have some time to try that. Good news is the temps are warming up. I just dont want to be messing with fixing it come October.

 

[Jmshuhart]

Had a chance to open the back of the stove & pull augers out. Haven't gotten the bottom out yet, but any thoughts on this? I purchased a 1 RPM motor but wanted to look at it to make sure I got what I ordered... i compared it to the auger I took off & noticed some differences. Anything to be concerned about?

By "original", I mean auger that was on before. This one is also a replacement put on in.. 2016 I believe.

 

[Jmshuhart]

Got the bottom off to swap them now. Couldn't help but notice how different the replacement motor looks. It could be nothing but... I've got no clue!

@Pellet rick @Ssyko

 

[Jmshuhart]

Yea something is up. With those setting my PDV which runs in C mode will run all weekend on a hopper full. Did you ever confirm that the top auger motor was the right rpm? An easy way to find out if you are having trouble checking and you are still running the original bottom motor is to swap the top for the bottom. The bottom run constant so if it is to fast it will definitely run out of pellets with the right rpm on top. might be worth a try. Another possibility is a bad control board.

Rereading this now that I've made the swap... so if the top auger is running the wrong rpm (too fast) & I move it to the bottom... I will still burn pellets at the same rate as I have been, being too fast? So how will I really know if the auger is the problem?

Or will the swap help it since the top auger will now run slower?

 

[Mt Bob]

Replacement motor differences are common,over time.What i would have done,is make a jumper to plug motors straight into house outlet,plug in,and check the shaft rotations,easy with a majic marker and a watch.Write everything down,sometimes the motors are not exact.Then put stove back together.Mark auger/motor where you can see it,start stove.Check for proper RPM's,easy on bottom one runs all the time.Top one,have to guess a little,as it starts and stops,or,swap motors,and test top/intermittent one by putting it on the bottom.

 

[Pellet rick]

Rereading this now that I've made the swap... so if the top auger is running the wrong rpm (too fast) & I move it to the bottom... I will still burn pellets at the same rate as I have been, being too fast? So how will I really know if the auger is theTry


Basically if you put the top motor on the bottom position and run the stove it is easier to count the rpm since the bottom auger runs all the time and the top runs intermittent

 

[Jmshuhart]

You will not burn at the same rate because your top motor will run slower if that was the issue. But by putting the faster motor on bottom the fire will most likely burn out because the bottom auger never stops turning. But in doing that it show that the top had an issue. At least in my twisted mind . Lol

Okay, so I understood correctly the first time until I questioned it lol Stove has been running for... oh about 30-45 mins now. I wish I had thought to take a video of the lower auger spinning before swapping them. Oh well. Anyway.. stove is running & I've been puttering around the house. About 5-10 mins ago, I noticed that the flame was almost completely out, and could notice some smoke from the pellets inside... and then poof, 10 seconds later, enough pellets were inside & had enough time to ignite back up, and all was well. No biggie, seen this plenty of times on low settings. Well, it did the same thing just now before i staryed this reply. I did have the LFF turned down to 2 compared to the 3 it has always been on, for like ever. So that could be it. Here i am at the end of typing this & I'm noticing the flame has almost disappeared again.... Gonna try to monitor & track how often it's doing this. Then try upping the LFF back to 3

 

[Mt Bob]

See if you can look at the motor/coupler,and count the rpm on the lower.Might have to have another person watch a watch.

 

[Jmshuhart]

Photos of the dropped flame to full flames. Took 5 mins to get back up. Will track to see when it falls again.

 

[Ssyko]

ok you new motor is actually turning just a fraction more than the original probably a 1.2 rpm. with the faster motor on the bottom auger it may be more controllable since the top auger is the timed feed. you may be able to get you lower 3 back to 3-4-1 and then be able to adjust the heat by the heat setting

 

[Jmshuhart]

ok you new motor is actually turning just a fraction more than the original probably a 1.2 rpm. with the faster motor on the bottom auger it may be more controllable since the top auger is the timed feed. you may be able to get you lower 3 back to 3-4-1 and then be able to adjust the heat by the heat setting

That's what I'm thinking! I tracked & in 5 minute intervals, flame would be low to just embere, and then 5 mins later back to full flame. 5 mins later, embers again.

The real test will be come morning when I can see how many pellets we went thru overnight. In the 90 mins it was on before i left the house tonight though, it was comfortable vs the crazy hot it would have been given it was 60 out today.

Here's the big question... is it a problem if i leave that (what we think is) faster motor on the bottom? Will it cause other issues? Should i just replace it, or save myself the $100ish bucks?

 

[Mt Bob]

Was gonna rant,but went back and reread whole thread.You are complaining you run out of pellets,in 12 hours,when before you could go a bit over 13 hours.40lbs of pellets(your hopper size), is a lot,for a smaller room,much like my downstairs.Larger stoves burn way more,on low,than a smaller stove.A slight increase of auger speed could account for this.Why are you not running it on a thermostat?A 1-2 hour difference,in 40 lbs, is minor.But,I suspect,the motor that is now your lower motor,is much faster(more than 1.2),and the flame out,then poof,will only cause you problems.You have a big stove,in a small room.I may be wrong,and will apologize when proven wrong.

 

[miteclipse]

I would buy another motor so that you have 2 new ones that are the same kind with the more rpm. They should compensate each other.

 

[Jmshuhart]

Was gonna rant,but went back and reread whole thread.You are complaining you run out of pellets,in 12 hours,when before you could go a bit over 13 hours.40lbs of pellets(your hopper size), is a lot,for a smaller room,much like my downstairs.Larger stoves burn way more,on low,than a smaller stove.A slight increase of auger speed could account for this.Why are you not running it on a thermostat?A 1-2 hour difference,in 40 lbs, is minor.But,I suspect,the motor that is now your lower motor,is much faster(more than 1.2),and the flame out,then poof,will only cause you problems.You have a big stove,in a small room.I may be wrong,and will apologize when proven wrong.

Not sure where you got a 1 or 2 hour difference. A 40 lb hopper, i left my house on NYE at 4pm & came back the next day around 130pm & caught it just before it ran out. Lately, I was doing 12 hour complete run outs, shut down, stove cooled & ready to be cleaned at a 1 setting. Winters past, i could do a 5 or 6 setting & catch it before it ran out in 13 hours. If it was 1 hour difference, I wouldn't complain.

Swapping the augers definitely helped. It was a mild night last night & when I woke up, house was a comfortable 68 degrees. It would have been 90+ given the weather.

 

[Jmshuhart]

I would buy another motor so that you have 2 new ones that are the same kind with the more rpm. They should compensate each other.

I feel like I would rather hit up Home Depot where i bought it & say - this motor is too fast, give me the correct replacement. And then they will both be 1 rpm.

 

[Pellet rick]

Was gonna rant,but went back and reread whole thread.You are complaining you run out of pellets,in 12 hours,when before you could go a bit over 13 hours.40lbs of pellets(your hopper size), is a lot,for a smaller room,much like my downstairs.Larger stoves burn way more,on low,than a smaller stove.A slight increase of auger speed could account for this.Why are you not running it on a thermostat?A 1-2 hour difference,in 40 lbs, is minor.But,I suspect,the motor that is now your lower motor,is much faster(more than 1.2),and the flame out,then poof,will only cause you problems.You have a big stove,in a small room.I may be wrong,and will apologize when proven wrong.

Bob you are one of the last people on here that I would want to correct but these Pdv / pdvc stoves do not react well to thermostats. Main reason is because of the lava piles or ash piles they leave in the burn pot. They do not like to restart if they burn out. As far as the stove being to big. I tend to agree but I also know from experience that you can dial them down to Luke warm air being released and consumption will last for days. They may be on the cheaper side of stoves but if you can figure out how to run yours they are great trouble free stoves that throw a lot of heat. Rant over sorry

 

[Pellet rick]

I feel like I would rather hit up Home Depot where i bought it & say - this motor is too fast, give me the correct replacement. And then they will both be 1 rpm.

I would try and take it back but with hd I would not hold out much luck. With winter over I would definitely change out the motor to the correct one over the summer.