Whitfield Profile 30 FS - Major smoking problem Help?!

Hi! I have had this Whitfield pellet stove over 13 years. It worked great until the last two years, I've had issues with smoke leaking into the house. The last 2 weeks it's really smoking up the house. It starts up with a lot of rolling smoke. After a couple of minutes it starts blowing into the house. I replaced the door gasket, which helped for a while. I give it regular good cleanings and have been trying different types of pellets, since it has started to build up ugly black ash. The flame seems to be burning quickly enough, not really lazy, but the pellets start to build up in the grate and then fall over and burn in the side areas.

The most pressing issue that I'm experiencing is that smoke starts to build up and be blown into the room when it is starting up. This morning the pellet stove had turned itself off and the fault light was blinking. I cleaned out the grate, which had ash build-up but not any clinkers. I started it and right away it was blowing smoke into the room. I opened up the side door and I noticed that the exhaust motor was not running. I tapped it lightly with my palm and the fan blades started to turn, which stopped the smoking problem. Is this an issue with needing to replace the motor gasket (I have a brand new one here), or should I look at buying a new exhaust motor? Also, I've noticed is that smoke is leaking from the ash pan into the room. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

wwert said:

Time for a new combustion fan. 13 years, you can't complain

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Wwert, I have taken this thing apart to clean it but am not that savvy about knowing which parts to order/replace. So, it sounds like the combustion fan. Is that the fan that is in the casing with the exhaust motor? Do you have any suggestions of which supply stores would carry Whitfield stove parts? Yes, I agree with you that we've gotten years of good service from this pellet stove with no issues until now. I'm estimating low on how long it's been since we purchased it new, it's probably been closer to 14 years at least. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

Thank you wwert and Stovensen. I was able to get the part ordered on ebay so hopefully this will take care of the issue. I will update this thread as soon as I get the part delivered and installed.