I think I've finally solved the problem with my Whitfield Advantage II having a lazy flame with any setting over 1, so thought I'd post this in case it helps someone.
For years our stove has not been burning the pellets properly. Anything higher than a 3 would result in clinkers the next day even if the flame appeared to be energetic.
We thought we weren't cleaning our stove properly. And it seemed this was the case because after we emptied the tray and gave it a good cleaning, things worked better for a little while.
But then this year was the worst. Anything over the setting of 1 would result in a glowing brick of embers in the tray. Not just clinkers, but a solid brick that could be taken out in one piece.
Somewhere on this forum I read that the door has to fit securely for the combustion to work properly. It hasn't closed tight in years so I thought maybe we needed a new gasket.
But then I saw that both the top and bottom hinge pins that connect the door to the stove were popping out by about 1/2 inch. I remembers a few years ago when these pins were creeping out and I didn't notice. They came out so much that when I opened the door, the top came totally off the hinge in my hand. (Trying to maneuver a hot door back into place with one hand without getting burned or burning down the house was a major accomplishment.)
So this time I waited until the stove was cold and then I was able to pound the top pin back into place pretty easily, but the bottom pin wouldn't budge. It took 2 of us, me moving the door different ways and my husband pounding the pin with a hammer to get it back in, which popped the top pin out again. But we were finally able to get both pins in pretty well.
Now that the pins are both in place properly, the door is a lot harder to close, which is a good thing. It means it is a tighter fit.
And I'm happy to say that I have the stove on the setting of 3 right now with a very jumpy, happy flame.
I'm not sure why the door hinges get so out of alignment over time and the pins pop out, but at least now we know what to watch for.
For years our stove has not been burning the pellets properly. Anything higher than a 3 would result in clinkers the next day even if the flame appeared to be energetic.
We thought we weren't cleaning our stove properly. And it seemed this was the case because after we emptied the tray and gave it a good cleaning, things worked better for a little while.
But then this year was the worst. Anything over the setting of 1 would result in a glowing brick of embers in the tray. Not just clinkers, but a solid brick that could be taken out in one piece.
Somewhere on this forum I read that the door has to fit securely for the combustion to work properly. It hasn't closed tight in years so I thought maybe we needed a new gasket.
But then I saw that both the top and bottom hinge pins that connect the door to the stove were popping out by about 1/2 inch. I remembers a few years ago when these pins were creeping out and I didn't notice. They came out so much that when I opened the door, the top came totally off the hinge in my hand. (Trying to maneuver a hot door back into place with one hand without getting burned or burning down the house was a major accomplishment.)
So this time I waited until the stove was cold and then I was able to pound the top pin back into place pretty easily, but the bottom pin wouldn't budge. It took 2 of us, me moving the door different ways and my husband pounding the pin with a hammer to get it back in, which popped the top pin out again. But we were finally able to get both pins in pretty well.
Now that the pins are both in place properly, the door is a lot harder to close, which is a good thing. It means it is a tighter fit.
And I'm happy to say that I have the stove on the setting of 3 right now with a very jumpy, happy flame.
I'm not sure why the door hinges get so out of alignment over time and the pins pop out, but at least now we know what to watch for.
