new to the 25 pdvc

[Lumberjack]

Your burn rate sounds like about the right number of BTU/hr.
Make sure the impingement plate is securely against the back of the fire box in an upright position. If it does not block the openings on the front of the heat exchanger, the heat goes right out the vent

How tight is "tight"? I am new to this same stove this year. Bought mine new. When the plate is installed properly it still can move fore and aft slightly. Should I tweak it so it is tighter?

sorry for the highjack....

 

[Harvey Schneider]

I tapped the two tabs on mine gently so that the plate, when installed, sits flush to the back. The point is to stop the hot gases from bypassing most of the heat exchanger. The gases are supposed to enter the heat exchanger at the left end of the top of the heat exchanger.
The plate allows for an expendable surface for the flame to hit and allow access to the heat exchanger for cleaning.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

It occurs to me that if your stove isn't putting out much heat, you should check the thermostat jumper. It is possible that your stove is always in low feed because the jumper is open. If you have a thermostat wired, replace it with a jumper to see if the thermostat is the problem.

 

[rudy198]

I don't have the thermostat hooked up...even I crank up to 9 it seems likes it does nothing actually the thermometer went down

 

[Harvey Schneider]

I don't have the thermostat hooked up...even I crank up to 9 it seems likes it does nothing actually the thermometer went down

Is there a jumper on the thermostat terminals of the control board?

 

[rudy198]

Is there a jumper on the thermostat terminals of the control board?

What would I be looking for?

 

[CamperWill]

At the bottom of the board you should see two terminals with screws and a wire bridging the two

 

[rudy198]

The first white and the black wire below it are for the thermostat they just run down and the ends are snipped off from the previous owner

 

[Harvey Schneider]

The first white and the black wire below it are for the thermostat they just run down and the ends are snipped off from the previous owner

That would be your problem. The thermostat terminals as shown in this diagram (J18) should be jumpered if you aren't using a thermostat.

 

[rudy198]

Here is what I found dunno if should be this way

 

[CamperWill]

Tie those two wires together

 

[rudy198]

So if I run a thermostat I use those wires to the thermostat and if I don't I just tie them together, that sound right?

 

[CamperWill]

Correct

 

[rudy198]

well...in my case the workshop is 24x24 or so with a concrete floor. The walls are insulated with roll insulation and the roof is insulated with the 1" insulation board. The biggest problem for me is their are air leaks. There is a doggy door that doesn't shut all the way all the time from the wind. There is a garage door that flexes with the wind and gets hit with the wind head on quite often. I usually let the stove run at 2-2 at night, or even 1-1. my settings are 4-2-1. It takes the chill off a bit but that's it...when it's windy forget it. I've had snowmobile parties out there in the dead of winter and run the stove at 7-7 through 9-9 and had it 70 degrees in there though...but the conditions have to be still.
if it's crazy windy I won't even run the stove.

Since u say your garage isn't completely sealed do u have the air intake running outside?...I have been told not needed if in a garage

 

[Harvey Schneider]

All this talk of garage installations makes me nervous. Especially worrisome if the stove doesn't have an OAK.
If the garage is still used as a garage or, for that mater, is used for anything that involves volatile, flammable substances, there is a danger that the stove could ignite fumes. The last thing you want is your stove sucking in gasoline fumes.
In many areas installation of a stove in a garage is expressly forbidden, for just that reason.
Be warm, but be safe.

 

[rudy198]

They recommend 18" off the ground and I have no issue running the intake outside. ...had the stove going for 3hrs 5-5 and had the thermometer the hottest it blew was 75c (170f)...I put the jumper wire back in and to be didn't make a difference

 

[CladMaster]

They recommend 18" off the ground and I have no issue running the intake outside. ...had the stove going for 3hrs 5-5 and had the thermometer the hottest it blew was 75c (170f)...I put the jumper wire back in and to be didn't make a difference

This is either a low fuel feed issue or a lack of air issue or both.

Also, the pellets used can be a problem for some stoves, MWP are crap in my stove. Nature's Own on the other hand are great in it, nice heat output.



Get one of these and put it on the side of the stove. It will give you an idea of the heat that the stove is making with the pellets that you have in it. This was with the stove in 'd' mode last year on 2 heat / 3 blower with the lower 3 buttons set to 6 / 4 / 1. The pellets at the time where Maine Choice.

 

[CamperWill]

Just for comparison.. running at 3-4 with the bottom 3 at 6-4-1 we are normally at 150-175F burning FSU's, this is measured with the same thermostat CladMaster is using except we have it on the left corner (looking at the stove).

 

[rudy198]

If air or feed are the issue how do would I beable to tell if either or both....and if I adjust one of the 2 how would I have to wait to notice a difference?
Only pellets here are from Canadian Tire called Canwick I believe they have hard and soft pellets

 

[kenstogie]

A bare concret floor can be a huge heat sink..... may be a contributing factor.....that being said my 25 pdvc used to heat my 1800 sf home.

 

[ECXFM]

I, had the same problem with 1 of my 25 PDVC stoves blowing cold on one side. I, have one stove I,bought back in '08 no issues with heat output, auger jams or anything really. I, then bought a second one for my basement in 2010 that had a manufacture date of 06/2009 which had this problem as well as major upper auger jams frequently. This is what I, noticed, if you look thru the top where the heat blows out, inside there is a plate that is welded at an angle. I, would say this some how diverts the air coming from the blower fan to scavenge the heat off the exchanger. What I noticed was that the one I have that was made in '08 the plate was welded in pointing in a different direction than the one from 2010. I, ended up taking the hopper out and cutting the welds that hold the top plate on the stove to gain access to this plate. I, cut the divert-er plate and reinstalled it in the same fashion as the one from '08. Now I get the heat coming out the front like it should. Cutting the welds was a pain especially the ones in the back where the hopper sits. I, used a Dremel with a Carbide Burr to thin the welds down then broke them with a hammer and chisel. It was a little work to get at but it drove me nuts that I was not getting the heat output like I should.

I, just recently got the auger jam issue fixed after trying everything. Even called Englander a while back great guys but, was no real help in solving my problem. One thing they suggested was to change pellets but, that theory didn't hold with me cause I had no problems with my other stove running any kind of pellet. I, deburred the auger, aligned everything, cleaned everything even bought new auger and motor. Sometimes it would run for 2 weeks not problem other days I wanted to put a sledge hammer to it. About 4 weeks ago 5 jams in one day I was at my wits end. Some where that night I started reading on here of course something about the jam taking place at the drop chute to the lower auger. I, never even thought to look at this as being an issue always focusing my attention to the top auger. I, pulled the lower auger and noticed the drop chute got narrow at the bottom where it extends down to the lower auger. The angle for drop ramp also seemed to kind of flatten out where it transitions in to the lower auger.

I, figured lets open this up and see what happens after going to Lowes and buying the snake attachment for the Dremel and some burrs and grinding stones 6 hours later this thing was ported smooth and bored out. I, even hacked out the part in the casting on the drop ramp that flattened off probably about 3/16". I, put it back together and 4 weeks later no jam up I've even put a hand full of sawdust right in to the auger with the hopper empty to simulate the problem with the "fines" to try and jam it.Still going. Not sure if any of this will help but these were some of my issues and what I did to solve them. Finally I got 2 "decent" working stoves I, was really disappointed with my second stove and put a lot of effort into it to getting it to work right. I'm not going to blast Englander stoves I, like the product for what it is but, have noticed that looking at the 2 stoves I, have in comparison their quality on fit and finish went down ( just my opinion with the ones I have).

 

[Harvey Schneider]

I, had the same problem with 1 of my 25 PDVC stoves blowing cold on one side. I, have one stove I,bought back in '08 no issues with heat output, auger jams or anything really. I, then bought a second one for my basement in 2010 that had a manufacture date of 06/2009 which had this problem as well as major upper auger jams frequently. This is what I, noticed, if you look thru the top where the heat blows out, inside there is a plate that is welded at an angle. I, would say this some how diverts the air coming from the blower fan to scavenge the heat off the exchanger. What I noticed was that the one I have that was made in '08 the plate was welded in pointing in a different direction than the one from 2010. I, ended up taking the hopper out and cutting the welds that hold the top plate on the stove to gain access to this plate. I, cut the divert-er plate and reinstalled it in the same fashion as the one from '08. Now I get the heat coming out the front like it should. Cutting the welds was a pain especially the ones in the back where the hopper sits. I, used a Dremel with a Carbide Burr to thin the welds down then broke them with a hammer and chisel. It was a little work to get at but it drove me nuts that I was not getting the heat output like I should.

I, just recently got the auger jam issue fixed after trying everything. Even called Englander a while back great guys but, was no real help in solving my problem. One thing they suggested was to change pellets but, that theory didn't hold with me cause I had no problems with my other stove running any kind of pellet. I, deburred the auger, aligned everything, cleaned everything even bought new auger and motor. Sometimes it would run for 2 weeks not problem other days I wanted to put a sledge hammer to it. About 4 weeks ago 5 jams in one day I was at my wits end. Some where that night I started reading on here of course something about the jam taking place at the drop chute to the lower auger. I, never even thought to look at this as being an issue always focusing my attention to the top auger. I, pulled the lower auger and noticed the drop chute got narrow at the bottom where it extends down to the lower auger. The angle for drop ramp also seemed to kind of flatten out where it transitions in to the lower auger.

I, figured lets open this up and see what happens after going to Lowes and buying the snake attachment for the Dremel and some burrs and grinding stones 6 hours later this thing was ported smooth and bored out. I, even hacked out the part in the casting on the drop ramp that flattened off probably about 3/16". I, put it back together and 4 weeks later no jam up I've even put a hand full of sawdust right in to the auger with the hopper empty to simulate the problem with the "fines" to try and jam it.Still going. Not sure if any of this will help but these were some of my issues and what I did to solve them. Finally I got 2 "decent" working stoves I, was really disappointed with my second stove and put a lot of effort into it to getting it to work right. I'm not going to blast Englander stoves I, like the product for what it is but, have noticed that looking at the 2 stoves I, have in comparison their quality on fit and finish went down ( just my opinion with the ones I have).

No pictures.....It didn't really happen. No, really, I understand that you were preoccupied with fixing your problem, but pictures would really be appreciated.

 

[Lake Girl]

If air or feed are the issue how do would I beable to tell if either or both....and if I adjust one of the 2 how would I have to wait to notice a difference?
Only pellets here are from Canadian Tire called Canwick I believe they have hard and soft pellets

Cannawick pellets have not been getting good reviews from some members on the forum...

 

[ECXFM]

No pictures.....It didn't really happen. No, really, I understand that you were preoccupied with fixing your problem, but pictures would really be appreciated.

Yea you got me there! Never really think to take pics. until after the job is done.Sorry I, didn't get any of the drop chute but did on the heat exchanger plate.
This is how the plate was when I took the top off.
This is how I re-did it. The plate on my older stove was welded on in this direction. I, added the plate in the right corner to try and push the air around the exchanger a little better. Just below this corner plate is where the fan blows right into the heat exchanger I, find that the plate in the corner helps push the air back around the exchanger instead of straight up and out. I messed around quite a bit with a thermometer taking temps. of the air coming out the front moving the plates around and found this gave me some of the best readings with this set up. It definitely took care of the cold air issue I, was having.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Yea you got me there! Never really think to take pics. until after the job is done.Sorry I, didn't get any of the drop chute but did on the heat exchanger plate.
View attachment 122759 This is how the plate was when I took the top off.
View attachment 122760 This is how I re-did it. The plate on my older stove was welded on in this direction. I, added the plate in the right corner to try and push the air around the exchanger a little better. Just below this corner plate is where the fan blows right into the heat exchanger I, find that the plate in the corner helps push the air back around the exchanger instead of straight up and out. I messed around quite a bit with a thermometer taking temps. of the air coming out the front moving the plates around and found this gave me some of the best readings with this set up. It definitely took care of the cold air issue I, was having.

The Engineer in me needs to speak up.
The total heat extracted from the stove is dependent on both the temperature of the convection output and also the volume of the convection output. Maximising efficiency can be approximated by getting the product of (temperature x Volume) to it's maximum.
The problem is that adding objects that deflect the flow always also reduce the volume of air being moved. This is because those objects increase the resistance to flow by increasing turbulence. That same turbulence is what improves heat transfer from the metal surface to the flowing air.
I am not saying that what you have done won't improve the stove's efficiency. It is difficult to predict what will work and what won't. If you don't have a $40K dynamic flow software package, experience is the best guide to design.
Just my $0.02.