I have a older Whitfield pellet stove which came with the house. I have it cleaned 1 time a year by a professional, and clean myself after several bags. My blower began to sound odd the other day, like it was laboring. It barely blows out any air. Any clues??? It is Model WP2 ADVANTAGE. The exhaust plower is working, however the blowere which blows into the room is labored and starts and stops. Any help would be greatly appreciate. Steve.
Whitfield Pellet Stove Blower sounds labored?
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SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
tec6422 said:
When was the last time you cleaned the convection blower and if it has oil ports oiled it?
I would think over the summer when it was last cleaned. I think my manual has directions for that. I remembere seeing him oiling the motor.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
Then the questions become how many pellets have you burned since then and does the blower fan turn freely (remember make certain the stove is off, cold, and unplugged before checking) by hand?
I have burned almost a ton of pellets. I will take it apart tonight to see if the fan moves freely... Do you know where it is located on thins model. I am looking for my manual as we speak? Thaks for the suggestion, I will certainly let you know the results. Steve
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
Haven't a clue as to exactly where it is on your stove, just that they tend to get loaded up with crud and between that and the heat inside the stove shell they have a tendency to gum up.
If it is free turning then the likely culprits would be something in the convection piping as to what it would be I haven't a clue or the control board is having problems.
Always check for crud, etc ... first as it is the cheapest thing you can do. If it needs to be freed up you should use the oil recommended by the motor manufacturer if that is a SAE #20 then the 3 in 1 blue and white can is the oil to use. If this turns out to be the case then I recommend a couple of extra drops be added after working the first load into the bearings by hand spinning the blower in both directions.
If it is free turning then the likely culprits would be something in the convection piping as to what it would be I haven't a clue or the control board is having problems.
Always check for crud, etc ... first as it is the cheapest thing you can do. If it needs to be freed up you should use the oil recommended by the motor manufacturer if that is a SAE #20 then the 3 in 1 blue and white can is the oil to use. If this turns out to be the case then I recommend a couple of extra drops be added after working the first load into the bearings by hand spinning the blower in both directions.
I have found the fan, and it moves freely. I also disconnected ant hooked to electric and it works fine. Now the problem is why it is laboring? I cleaned it and it is good. Sound like a control panel problem??? Thanks, Steve
Snowy Rivers
Minister of Fire
HI
The fan on these is controlled through the main control board using a triac setup (Micro electronic device to control voltage)
Your stove should have a fan speed knob down near the bottom of the panel.
When the boards start going south the speed control will become less and less effective at changing the motor speed.
What happens is the Triac fails and the motor will eventually stop and then burn up.
A triac is a device that basically chops off a varying portion of the alternating current above and below the 0 line ( the 2 different phases)
This is called pulse width modulation and is a very common way to control the speed on these little motors.
You have a couple choices, get a new updated control board or you can simply wire in a cieling fan controller to take care of the room air fan.
Tap into the line voltage lugs and then through the little controller and then to the fan.
This will allow you to run the fan seperately from the control board.
Unfortunately the board is probably in its death throes and the draft fan could head south next.
If your control has the round knobs for the heat setting and the fan speed, its the old style.
The newer ones are a touch pad design and all digital controls
I have an Advantage 2 T and am in the middle of building my own set of controls for it.
I am using separate industrial grade solid state relays to control the feed and seperate controls for the two fans.
If you either replace the board or add a separate control for it you can save the fan. continued running on the old board will eventually burn up the fan motor.
Keep us posted
Snowy
The fan on these is controlled through the main control board using a triac setup (Micro electronic device to control voltage)
Your stove should have a fan speed knob down near the bottom of the panel.
When the boards start going south the speed control will become less and less effective at changing the motor speed.
What happens is the Triac fails and the motor will eventually stop and then burn up.
A triac is a device that basically chops off a varying portion of the alternating current above and below the 0 line ( the 2 different phases)
This is called pulse width modulation and is a very common way to control the speed on these little motors.
You have a couple choices, get a new updated control board or you can simply wire in a cieling fan controller to take care of the room air fan.
Tap into the line voltage lugs and then through the little controller and then to the fan.
This will allow you to run the fan seperately from the control board.
Unfortunately the board is probably in its death throes and the draft fan could head south next.
If your control has the round knobs for the heat setting and the fan speed, its the old style.
The newer ones are a touch pad design and all digital controls
I have an Advantage 2 T and am in the middle of building my own set of controls for it.
I am using separate industrial grade solid state relays to control the feed and seperate controls for the two fans.
If you either replace the board or add a separate control for it you can save the fan. continued running on the old board will eventually burn up the fan motor.
Keep us posted
Snowy
Snowy,
Thanks for the quick and excellent reply. Now that you say that, the round knob controlling the fan never really changed it much.. I usually had it on high all the time as I have it in a basement/family room. I am not an electrician, so i am not quite sure what you mean by 'tap into the voltage lugs', but i will find someone who does. I appreciate the help. Steve
Thanks for the quick and excellent reply. Now that you say that, the round knob controlling the fan never really changed it much.. I usually had it on high all the time as I have it in a basement/family room. I am not an electrician, so i am not quite sure what you mean by 'tap into the voltage lugs', but i will find someone who does. I appreciate the help. Steve
Mr Whitfield
Feeling the Heat
Test the fan by it's self. Put a 120 volts to the fan, if the fan run's full speed, odds are you have a bad Control Board. Make sure you have a s/n for your stove, this will help with getting the right control board.
Snowy Rivers
Minister of Fire
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