Whitfield Advantage Plus questions (New Question added at end)

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dl351

New Member
Dec 26, 2011
8
California
Hello all! I'm new here and (as the title says) I have some questions about the Whitfield Advantage Plus. My wife and I were recently given a used Advantage Plus pellet stove. We have installed it, and it works great! Does anyone here have any recommendation on spare parts that I should purchase? In other words, are there parts on these stoves that have a reputation for needing replacing? I might need to buy new firebrick (unless there is a way to repair a forming hole). Also, I noticed that the glass on these things is quite expensive. Is there anything I should know about glass care so I won't ever have to replace it? Also, with this being a used stove that was free for us, is this a good stove to keep repairing if components wear out, or would it be better to simply replace the entire stove with something new a few years down the road? One last thing; this stove does not have the auto ignite feature. I have found a kit to add it for about $225. Would that be worth the cost? I have been using some starters for pellet stoves and have no problem with that.

In advance, thank you for any help!
 
parts are readily availble for that stove, and with regular maint, it should last . keep it clean. there is a good section on cleaning and maintaining a Whitfield stove here on this site.
 
You can repair that fire brick by using retort/furnace mortar/cement you build it up in thin layers. Rutland is one maker.

There are several places that can provide you with replacement parts for that Whitfield. They can even provide you with service manuals.

www.woodheatstoves.com is one.

Glass care is simple, do not strike the glass, do not slam the doors shut, do not scratch the glass, clean with a ceramic glass cleaner or other low abrasive cleaner, do not clean with products containing ammonia.

A good low abrasive cleaner is the ash from the pellets you burned. A slightly damp piece of cloth dipped in the ash will clean it right up. Follow with a damp cloth and a dry cloth.

Folks also use crumpled up newspaper to clean the glass.
 
Thanks for the help!

SmokeyTheBear said:
Glass care is simple, do not strike the glass, do not slam the doors shut, do not scratch the glass, clean with a ceramic glass cleaner or other low abrasive cleaner, do not clean with products containing ammonia.

A good low abrasive cleaner is the ash from the pellets you burned. A slightly damp piece of cloth dipped in the ash will clean it right up. Follow with a damp cloth and a dry cloth.

Folks also use crumpled up newspaper to clean the glass.

For the glass, I noticed that there are some faint surface scratches on the outside. Probably from not cleaning it well. They can't be felt at all. Should I be concerned about these, or no?

Also, what is the reason not to use a cleaner with ammonia?
 
dl351 said:
For the glass, I noticed that there are some faint surface scratches on the outside. Probably from not cleaning it well. They can't be felt at all. Should I be concerned about these, or no?

Also, what is the reason not to use a cleaner with ammonia?

Don't be concerned with the scratches.

The reason to not use ammonia is probably that the "glass" on the stove isn't really regular glass at all....it's ceramic glass and ammonia may start to etch into it.

Just clean the glass with a paper towel wet, or wet and dipped into the stove ashes. A Magic eraser works well too. If you want to open the door while the stove is hot to give the glass a quick wiping, just use paper towel, newspaper, or an old rag dry.
 
What about fireplace/stove glass cleaners from hardware stores? I got some from a Lowe's that works really well. Is most of this kind of cleaner ok, since (I assume) it is specifically made for these types of glasses?
 
dl351 said:
What about fireplace/stove glass cleaners from hardware stores? I got some from a Lowe's that works really well. Is most of this kind of cleaner ok, since (I assume) it is specifically made for these types of glasses?

Yes but the ash is free.
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
dl351 said:
What about fireplace/stove glass cleaners from hardware stores? I got some from a Lowe's that works really well. Is most of this kind of cleaner ok, since (I assume) it is specifically made for these types of glasses?

Yes but the ash is free.

Yep, ash is free, and water and paper towels are pretty cheap too.

I guess what we're saying is that the fancy stove glass cleaners aren't needed....it just helps the companies profit line.
 
dl351,

If you spend much time reading on here you'll soon discover that most of us on here like to save our pennies for important things like pellets.

A lot of us prefer keeping it simple, especially us old geezers.
 
imacman said:
SmokeyTheBear said:
dl351 said:
What about fireplace/stove glass cleaners from hardware stores? I got some from a Lowe's that works really well. Is most of this kind of cleaner ok, since (I assume) it is specifically made for these types of glasses?

Yes but the ash is free.

Yep, ash is free, and water and paper towels are pretty cheap too.

I guess what we're saying is that the fancy stove glass cleaners aren't needed....it just helps the companies profit line.

Interesting! I just cleaned my glass last night, so it will be a week or two until I clean it again. My parents have an Advantage II and my dad cleans the glass on that religiously! I'll let him know about using the ash and maybe he will try it before I do. Thanks for the helpful information!
 
There was no one cheaper than my dear old dad and he used a wet newspaper and stove ashes, followed by a dry newspaper wipe on his wood stove glass to great effect. I have continued this family tradition with great success.

Don't waste you money on stove glass cleaners!

Dave
 
This stove will last you a long time,you need to keep it clean. I would buy the auto ignite kit, easy for the wife to start. Push one button, set it and forget it. I would not buy spare parts, you can find what you need on the Internet and have it shipped.
 
I have a new question. Should I be hearing "gear" noise from the auger motor on my Advantage Plus? I found that my parent's Advantage II uses the same motor/gearbox and there's is nearly silent. I don't hear anything grinding, just typical gear noise. Do these things need to be lubricated periodically?

Thanks again for all of your help!
 
dl351 said:
I have a new question. Should I be hearing "gear" noise from the auger motor on my Advantage Plus? I found that my parent's Advantage II uses the same motor/gearbox and there's is nearly silent. I don't hear anything grinding, just typical gear noise. Do these things need to be lubricated periodically?

Thanks again for all of your help!

All motors need to be maintained and usually that involves checking the lubricant situation. Some motors have sealed bearings you can't oil, those can frequently be quieted down by replacing the bearing that is going. Some like gear motors use a hard pack lubricant that tends to dry out and cake up, being very careful one can open them up and replenish the grease. You might even find some auger systems with grease fittings.
 
hmmm should I drill and tap it to make it readily greaseable??? I see zirks, grease and gun drill and bits... hmmmmm I thinks its a 10 cent washer on a Whitfield if bearing good correct?
 
End bushings can wear and cause problems if you are talking about the nylatron bushing etc... situation.

Basically anything that moves can have wear on itself and what it moves against.
 
Welcome to the forums dl351! You have came to the right place for answers!
 
dl351 said:
I have a new question. Should I be hearing "gear" noise from the auger motor on my Advantage Plus? I found that my parent's Advantage II uses the same motor/gearbox and there's is nearly silent. I don't hear anything grinding, just typical gear noise. Do these things need to be lubricated periodically?

Thanks again for all of your help!

I have the advantage 2 and love it. It came with the house I bought. My auger make no noise at all, in fact you can barely tell its outputting pellets unless you're crouching down and looking.
 
The grease in the auger motor's gearbox can dry up and then you'll hear more noise than a new freshly greased one.

Like anything with gears in it if not taken care of it can develop noises and even fail.

Folks have been known to carefully open up the gear case and replace the grease.
 
DirtyDave said:
hmmm should I drill and tap it to make it readily greaseable??? I see zirks, grease and gun drill and bits...

There have been a couple of forum members that have drilled & tapped the case for a zerk fitting.

Carefully open the case up first, and CAREFULLY scrape out any old, dried-up looking grease. Drill, tap, and put the fitting somewhere near the middle, close the case up, and give it a couple of shots until it starts squeezing out the edges....just like greasing a tie rod or ball joint. If and when mine ever starts making noise, that's what I'll be doing.

Don't forget to put some light oil on the armature end bearings.
 
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