Convection Blower Question on Whitfiled AII

[CamperDan]

I have cleaned this stove up and down. It worked fairly well for the first part of the winter. I cleaned it again on a warm January day. I took it outside and used an air compressor to clean it all out. A few days after re-installing it started again with the pellet build up. Now it will not burn the night without snuffing it self out. I went to purchase a new stove becauseIi am very frustrated. The stove is 20 years old. The dealer said that the Whitfiled stove is a good basic stove and that i probably did not need a new stove. When I told him what the symtoms were he told me that it had to be the combustion blower. He told me to check the amperage. The manual states it should draw .9. I put the amprobe on it and it read .854. Does the convection blower have any affect on combustion? I am glad that I did not just change the blower because it is almost $200. By the way, I have taken off the unit and cleaned it. I was disappointed that there was not more ash in there. I also think that I am getting too much ash in my burn pot. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[hearthtools]

I have cleaned this stove up and down. It worked fairly well for the first part of the winter. I cleaned it again on a warm January day. I took it outside and used an air compressor to clean it all out. A few days after re-installing it started again with the pellet build up. Now it will not burn the night without snuffing it self out. I went to purchase a new stove becauseIi am very frustrated. The stove is 20 years old. The dealer said that the Whitfiled stove is a good basic stove and that i probably did not need a new stove. When I told him what the symtoms were he told me that it had to be the combustion blower. He told me to check the amperage. The manual states it should draw .9. I put the amprobe on it and it read .854. Does the convection blower have any affect on combustion? I am glad that I did not just change the blower because it is almost $200. By the way, I have taken off the unit and cleaned it. I was disappointed that there was not more ash in there. I also think that I am getting too much ash in my burn pot. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Did you do a full cleaning
Remove the firebrick and baffles behind the brick?

did you remove the blowers and clean them?

Is you ash pan and main door sealing and shutting tight?.
if your gasket is good you can tighten the door hinge and Latch bolt * access behind the firebrick

all of this is linked in the yellow sticky pages at the top of the pellet room
here is a direct link to my cleaning page
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/whitclean.htm
and here is photos of cleaning behind the firebrick
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/adavantageII_clean.htm

 

[CamperDan]

Yes. I did a full cleaning. I took the fire brick off and cleaned behind there. The blowers were taken down. Frankly, I thought I would find more ash in the blowers than I did. I also noticed a tear in the door gasket and replaced that, too. It is very tight and passes the paper in the door test. I do not know what else to do with this stove. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Did you check the damper if any and for anything having gotten into the air intake?

 

[CamperDan]

I have tried adjusting the damper and it makes no difference whether it is open all the way or only 2 inches. I also have blown the whole stove out with an air compressor including the air in take.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I have tried adjusting the damper and it makes no difference whether it is open all the way or only 2 inches. I also have blown the whole stove out with an air compressor including the air in take.

Has the burn pot warped or cracked and is there a burn pot gasket in that stove?

ETA: Did you clean the vent when you cleaned the stove and did you include the cap in that cleaning?

 

[CamperDan]

I don't believe the burn pot is cracked or warped. By the burn pot you mean what the grate sits in? There is a gasket at the end of the tube that fits into the back of the stove. It seemed okay the last time I looked at it during the last cleaning. I will look at it again tonight. I did clean the vent as well. It only goes up about three foot and then has a 45 on it. Based upon the questions I am getting can I assume the room blower has no relation to my problem?

 

[imacman]

.......Based upon the questions I am getting can I assume the room blower has no relation to my problem?

Correct. The room air (convection) blower has no effect on combustion air, unless there was a hole or crack in the heat exchanger system, and that would probably just make the pellets burn faster.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I don't believe the burn pot is cracked or warped. By the burn pot you mean what the grate sits in? There is a gasket at the end of the tube that fits into the back of the stove. It seemed okay the last time I looked at it during the last cleaning. I will look at it again tonight. I did clean the vent as well. It only goes up about three foot and then has a 45 on it. Based upon the questions I am getting can I assume the room blower has no relation to my problem?

The burn pot is where the fire is, they have been known to deform in various ways and it can lead to your combustion air bypassing the fire, you might also want to check out this reply in another Whitfield thread:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewreply/593117/

 

[CamperDan]

Thanks for your all of your help. I will look there tonight.

 

[lmjr]

I have cleaned this stove up and down. It worked fairly well for the first part of the winter. I cleaned it again on a warm January day. I took it outside and used an air compressor to clean it all out. A few days after re-installing it started again with the pellet build up. Now it will not burn the night without snuffing it self out. I went to purchase a new stove becauseIi am very frustrated. The stove is 20 years old. The dealer said that the Whitfiled stove is a good basic stove and that i probably did not need a new stove. When I told him what the symtoms were he told me that it had to be the combustion blower. He told me to check the amperage. The manual states it should draw .9. I put the amprobe on it and it read .854. Does the convection blower have any affect on combustion? I am glad that I did not just change the blower because it is almost $200. By the way, I have taken off the unit and cleaned it. I was disappointed that there was not more ash in there. I also think that I am getting too much ash in my burn pot. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Poor combustion on 20 year old stove...besides what has already been mentioned...I would point you toward looking if you have a leak, as in, worn out door and/or ash pan door gasket.

You can test w/ 1" wide strip of thin paper placed at various locations and door closed and latched...slight resistance should be felt when tugging paper strip.