whitfield profile 30 burn problem

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profile30

New Member
Dec 16, 2010
10
Bangor, PA
Hello, I have a profile 30 that was given to me last year. It burned great all of last winter. At the end of last winter the auger motor was groaning loud. Over the summer I replaced the auger motor, combustion blower, and did a real good cleaning/inspection.

The problem I am having is after 1 hour of running the burn pot starts to fill up and over flow. The stove has also shut down on me a couple times. After DAYS of searching this forum I am led to believe it is a dirty stove condition . I have cleaned the whole exhaust path from the vent pipe(vented straight out the wall with a 90 degree elbow pointed down) to the top of the exhaust baffles on the sides. My auger timing is good also. I clean the photo eye every 3 days. I have also tried 4 different brands of pellets to rule that out. The air intake path is also clean(pulling room air).

Any ideas on this would be great. I know from reading on here that this stove is a pain in the a$$ to keep running smooth. I got the stove for free and would like to make it last a while for me.

Thanks,
Randy
 
"90 degree elbow pointed down" not a proper horizontal termination cap.

Did you open and clean the ash traps, and if the stove has them any secondary ash traps?

Did you verify that all of the gaskets are good?

Is any ash pan door fully closed?

Is any air chamber under the fire pot clean?
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
"90 degree elbow pointed down" not a proper horizontal termination cap.

Did you open and clean the ash traps, and if the stove has them any secondary ash traps?

Did you verify that all of the gaskets are good?

Is any ash pan door fully closed?

Is any air chamber under the fire pot clean?


My local stove dealer told me that was all i needed for termination. What should i have ?

All traps where opened up. Opening the traps in the fire box is how I clean the passages that run vertical towards the convection tubes.

All gaskets are good.

The ash pan and ash slide are tight.

Everything under the burn pot are clean and clear.

The only place I dont know how to access is behind the convection tubes. I can only brush from the front of them.
 
you could also try opening the damper a bit more.
 
profile30 said:
It does not matter where I have the damper. I have tried the damper at all settings. Smokey thanks for the pics.
So you're saying that while it's burning, if you move the damper in or out, it makes NO difference in the flame? Does it feel like it's attached to a sliding plate? Is it possible the damper door has become detached or is not in the correct position?

What you surmised in your first post seems correct....when the pot starts filling up w/ pellets, it's a sure sign of poor airflow through the pot.....dirty stove.

Can you try the leaf blower trick on this stove?
 
When i move the damper the flame does react to it as in wiggles around more. I inspected the damper for proper operation and looks to be good. I am going to buy the leaf blower and have at the stove. There has to be a clog that I can not reach in the stove.
 
I also forgot to say I replaced the door gasket when I did the new motors. I made sure the gasket was set perfect with strips of paper.
 
Some stoves have an ash trap that is accessed via the first level ash trap.

If you have a small mirror use it to see what is at the top of the fire box.

If you thump on the baffles with a small block of wood against them and using a small hammer to strike the wood block (do not do any of this if your stove is cast iron) you will help loosen crud up. Just remember the object is to loosen things up, not to act like Hercules.

If you have access to a brass bore brush of the correct size you can use one of them to scrap the crud around the outside if any heat exchanger tubing.

ETA: We can't see the insides of your setup so you have to be our eyes.
 
profile30 said:
I will try the wood tapping. The only ash traps that I know of is to the left and right of the burn pot.

Check for traps along the back of the ash traps you know of.

There is a thread on here about another (non Whitfield) stove that was having problems and they had cleaned "all four of the ash traps" the only problem was there were six.

It pays to have a service manual, hearth.com member Wood Heat Stoves likely has one for your stove.

I'm just operating on possibilities.
 
Ok I think I found the problem !!! On the lower right and left corners on the face of the convection tubes there are plates. I believe behind these plates are the exhaust ports. With a inspection mirror I can see some ash build up. The problem is there is no way to access this area as the plates are welded to the firbox and have a tight clearance to the tubes.

I did get the service book from member wood heat stoves. After reading it I noticed the tube scraper was not traveling all the way down the tubes due to this ash build up behind the plates. I have been using a long putty knife to try knocking it loose but it is rock hard. With only a 1/4" of clearance it is very difficult to get at it. I tried going up the vertical ports on the sides with brushes to get at it but cant due to a 90* bend at the top. I am hoping I can find some small diameter tube extensions for my air compressor to hopefully blow it out. Being it is like cement in there I doubt it will work.

I really don't know how this stove burned fine for me last winter !!! When I got it I just installed it and ran it. It was not until I found this forum that I realized what needed to be cleaned. When I cleaned the stove it was a nightmare of ash build up. But the stove was free and I am not complaining about the situation LOL.
 
If you find a brass bore brush and a flexible shaft to mount it on you might have some luck.

Visit the local Wal*Mart

The brass brush should be able to cut away at the build up.
 
Profile30:

Did cleaning back there work for you? I'm having a similar problem. I've cleaned there with a bent coat-hanger and some bore brushes and my ash scraper moves to what appears to be the bottom. The only thing I have left to do is replace the door gasket or combustion blower.

-Tad
 
Nazrat said:
Profile30:

Did cleaning back there work for you? I'm having a similar problem. I've cleaned there with a bent coat-hanger and some bore brushes and my ash scraper moves to what appears to be the bottom. The only thing I have left to do is replace the door gasket or combustion blower.

-Tad

Yes, cleaning there solved 90% of my problem. I am still not happy with the way the stove is burning though. I am in the process of making an attachment for my air gun that is run off my compressor. I want to get behind the plates and convection tubes and really blast it out. The part that sucks is I can not see into this area even with my inspection mirror. I know I still need more air flow because my burning pellets are barley jumping around and I am getting some ash build up in the pot.
 
I made mine usable again by recalibrating it using the button under the door on the control panel. I took the combustion air up to the top and took the pellet feed down to the 3rd from the bottom.

-Tad
 
Nazrat said:
I made mine usable again by recalibrating it using the button under the door on the control panel. I took the combustion air up to the top and took the pellet feed down to the 3rd from the bottom.

-Tad

Thats how I have mine running right now lol. It runs ok that way but I want to make it burn right without having to max out the combustion air. Having to max it out is telling me that I still have a blockage. I will be blasting my stove with my compressor tomorrow so I will report back if that worked.
 
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