fire going out

[dennisswaim]

i have a whitfield pellet stove and it will start up fine and then will get a real big orange flame for a few minutes but then it dies down to a small flame. it will then pick back up a few times but eventually go out. the glass on the door gets really black really quick and the fan speed will not change. any clue

 

[Delta-T]

could you tell us which model of whitfield? would help very much. dirty glass usually means restriction in combustion path....popular place for ash to party is behind the firebrick in the channels located on either side...and of course the party always spills out into the combustion blower and venting when too many peeps show up.

 

[dennisswaim]

whitfield freestanding model profile 30 FS-2. it just shut off and there are still pellets burning in the box. i cleaned behind the fire brick and in all of the ports

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Air intake could also have crud in it or the damper has been hit and closed.

Gaskets could be bad.

Venting plugged.

Proof of fire switch not closing.

Does the room (convection/distribution blower) start?

 

[dennisswaim]

it starts fine but then after burning a few big flames it shuts off. the blower never cycles down to the low speed. damper is open

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Any error code on the control panel?

 

[dennisswaim]

when it shuts down it blinks meaning fault but thats all i know about it

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Do you have access to a leaf blower with vacuum capability?

If you do and you can get to the venting outside you can use the leaf blower in vacuum mode to really give the venting and a large portion of the stove inner exhaust paths a good cleaning.

If you thump on the metal baffles before using the leaf blower you'll get even more of the crud out of the system.

Here is a youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLRfu4WNaR8

 

[dennisswaim]

it vents into my flu. i took all of the piping apart that goes into the flu and everything is clean and clear

 

[Stovensen]

The Profile 30 has a photo-eye that does the proof of fire task just like the low-limit switch, but if this photo-eye gets dirty, your stove will behave exactly like it does. This issue has been explained in various threads in this forum.

It should be possible to clean from the hopper.

Also, somewhere in this forum there was a thread with a guide on how to bypass this photo-eye and install the well-known/-proven low-limit switch in the combustion blower housing.

The photo-eye is known to be a nuisance, since it rapidly gets covered with soot.

 

[Delta-T]

i'm gonna guess.....dirty photoeye lens or sawdust blocking the photoeye slot (depends which photeye location you have).....shutdown pretty consistent at the 15 minute mark is a sure indicator of the photeye on those buggers.

 

[Delta-T]

The Profile 30 has a photo-eye that does the proof of fire task just like the low-limit switch, only if this photo-eye gets dirty, your stove will behave exactly like it does. This issue has been explained in various threads in this forum.

It should be possible to clean from the hopper.

Also, somewhere in this forum there was a thread with a guide how to bypass this photo-eye and install the well-known/-proven low-limit switch in the combustion blower housing.

The photo-eye is known to be a nuisance, since it rapidly gets covered with soot.

great minds think alike..or so they say. %-P

 

[dennisswaim]

you guys are awesome, i cleaned the photo eye and the filter under it and it seems to have worked. thanks for your help

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

The Profile 30 has a photo-eye that does the proof of fire task just like the low-limit switch, but if this photo-eye gets dirty, your stove will behave exactly like it does. This issue has been explained in various threads in this forum.

It should be possible to clean from the hopper.

Also, somewhere in this forum there was a thread with a guide on how to bypass this photo-eye and install the well-known/-proven low-limit switch in the combustion blower housing.

The photo-eye is known to be a nuisance, since it rapidly gets covered with soot.

good point.
but on earlier models that were not upgraded, it is on the side of the feed chute, and much harder to remove for cleaning
the op doesn't mention serial number so i cant tell if it needed the upgrade or not///