Just installed used Whitfield Advantage II-T

[HeavyG]

I have read a great deal on this forum. I am continually amazed at the great content and enormous knowledge here. This is my first post so I have a pretty basic question. Is there a rule of thumb about how many bags of pellets I should be burning in a 24 hour period on medium auger speed.

See, I picked up an old ('94 or '95) Advantage II-T from a friend of mine. It as in storage for about 10 years and he just wanted it out of his way. I installed it in my basement where I had a vacant hearth. Everything on it works and it is in good shape. I cleaned it up and started it up. I am finding that I am burning about 1.5 bags in 24 hours on position 3. Damper is adjusted in just to the point where the flame is not lazy and sooty. I am getting some great heat from it. I don't think that I am saving any money though. Pellets here range from $4.34 for Lowes/Home Depot brands to $6.50 for Turman. I like Turman. Very little ash. Oil prices here are currently $4.20/gal (primary heat oil furnace with heat pump). I burned 1.5 gallons of oil per day from Dec.12 through Feb. 14.

Am I expecting too much from this old Whitfiled?

 

[DexterDay]

1.5 bags a day is average for cold temps. But heating from a basement and asking to heat the Whole House? That's asking a lot.

Did you clean the ash traps and exhaust path within the stove? Even with it stored so long, I would give it a Super thorough cleaning. The old Whits are awesome stoves, but need to have the small exhaust passages and ash traps kept clean.

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Pellet-King]

Does the control board have knobs or push button's?
Only a woodstove can generate enough heat from a basement to heat the whole house, that stove should be in your living room fireplace, unless you spend alot of time in the cellar it wont heat much upstairs

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

I have read a great deal on this forum. I am continually amazed at the great content and enormous knowledge here. This is my first post so I have a pretty basic question. Is there a rule of thumb about how many bags of pellets I should be burning in a 24 hour period on medium auger speed.

See, I picked up an old ('94 or '95) Advantage II-T from a friend of mine. It as in storage for about 10 years and he just wanted it out of his way. I installed it in my basement where I had a vacant hearth. Everything on it works and it is in good shape. I cleaned it up and started it up. I am finding that I am burning about 1.5 bags in 24 hours on position 3. Damper is adjusted in just to the point where the flame is not lazy and sooty. I am getting some great heat from it. I don't think that I am saving any money though. Pellets here range from $4.34 for Lowes/Home Depot brands to $6.50 for Turman. I like Turman. Very little ash. Oil prices here are currently $4.20/gal (primary heat oil furnace with heat pump). I burned 1.5 gallons of oil per day from Dec.12 through Feb. 14.

Am I expecting too much from this old Whitfiled?

I had a Whitfield, can't kill em'! I found that by running the damper almost wide open for best heat and economy. I use to use a bag day on medium when the stove was clean and burning good pellets!

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

I have read a great deal on this forum. I am continually amazed at the great content and enormous knowledge here. This is my first post so I have a pretty basic question. Is there a rule of thumb about how many bags of pellets I should be burning in a 24 hour period on medium auger speed.

See, I picked up an old ('94 or '95) Advantage II-T from a friend of mine. It as in storage for about 10 years and he just wanted it out of his way. I installed it in my basement where I had a vacant hearth. Everything on it works and it is in good shape. I cleaned it up and started it up. I am finding that I am burning about 1.5 bags in 24 hours on position 3. Damper is adjusted in just to the point where the flame is not lazy and sooty. I am getting some great heat from it. I don't think that I am saving any money though. Pellets here range from $4.34 for Lowes/Home Depot brands to $6.50 for Turman. I like Turman. Very little ash. Oil prices here are currently $4.20/gal (primary heat oil furnace with heat pump). I burned 1.5 gallons of oil per day from Dec.12 through Feb. 14.

Am I expecting too much from this old Whitfiled?

I agree with Dexter, can't heat both downstairs and upstairs. Welcome to the Forum!

 

[glenc0322]

I usually Burn between 1 and 2 bags a day depending on the out side temperature. And keep the house around 72 degrees. 1.5 gallons of oil sounds a little low but if that is what you are getting that is great I have a few questions

1. what temp did you keep the house at with oil and what is the temp of the house with the pellets?

2. You are giving an average of oil use What time of year did you do your calculations?.

3. What was the temperature out side when you did your average if you are taking the time between fillups to average your oil usage then you should use the same time for your pellet usage. Its easier to do your pellets but you cant just use a February day for your pellets and then your average oil usage for a month or two.
you get the idea any way welcome to the forum good luck with your new stove. Like you will hear alot make sure the stove is CLEAN all the way through everything

 

[HeavyG]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read my post. We are new to pellet stoves so I guess I am expecting too much from my Whitfield. We live in northern Maryland near the PA line. We had a heatpump installed last summer replacing an old AC unit (oil furnace is now auxiliary heat). Last heating season we used a lot of oil and with the prices skyrocketing, thought that the heatpump would help. It has helped cut down on the oil bill quite a bit. We don't normally heat our basement so I thought if the pellet stove could heat the whole house, we would feel more comfortable while using the basement rec room. We keep the furnace/heatpump thermostat on 69 degrees while we are awake at home and 65 degrees at night and while at work/school. Our Whitfield control board has knobs. I have it set on 3 currently. I have cleaned every passage, nook and cranny that I can find. I have even used a fiber optic inspection scope to look around the corners.

The one thing that I am not sure about is the chimney. I have a 21 foot exterior masonry chimney to a thimble in the basement 2 feet of the hearth. this chimney is lined with a 6 inch stainless steel liner. I have the 3 inch exhaust from the stove coming out to a cleanout tee and up to a 90 degree elbow. From there I have a 3 foot long 3 inch pipe going through a 3 to 6 transition. 2 feet of this pipe is in the thimble and stops where the vertical run starts. The remaining 1 foot is goes to the 90 degree elbow. Will the stove be much more efficient if I run a 4 inch liner up the chimney?

The 1.5 gallons of oil was calculated from this heating season, December 12 delivery through February 14 delivery of 100 gallons. So 100 gallons divided by 65 days is 1.5 gal/day. At the Feb. 14 delivery, the price was $4.20/gal. That's $6.30/day for oil. Turman pellets here are $6.50/bag and Big Box store brands are $4.34/bag. If I try to heat the house with cheaper pellets (alot more ash), then I am spending $6.50/day. None of this includes the electricity costs or my time for maintaining the pellet stove. I do understand that I am not considering the cost of heating the basement with oil/heatpump

At this point, I think that we will only be using the pellet stove to heat the basement when we want to spend time down there. I would like to put it in the upstairs living room but my wife is not fond of having it there.

 

[imacman]

...... I guess I am expecting too much from my Whitfield...... I thought if the pellet stove could heat the whole house, we would feel more comfortable while using the basement rec room........At this point, I think that we will only be using the pellet stove to heat the basement when we want to spend time down there. I would like to put it in the upstairs living room but my wife is not fond of having it there.

Unfortunately, many new pellet burners believe that putting the stove in the basement will heat the rest of the house because "heat goes up". Well, it works sometimes, but more often than not it doesn't. It's best to put the stove where you want the heat.

As for the cost, try putting your costs into this calculator and see which method is cheaper:

http://pelletheat.org/pellets/compare-fuel-costs/

 

[DirtyDave]

I have to add that for years ( almost 18 ) we use 1 bag a day in about 30 hours on 1. 1.5 in 24 on 3 and 2 on 5 in 24.. it is extreamly important tho to turn the room fan up when you use higher settings to remove the heat from the heat exchanger tubes, and pull the ash remover handle a couple times a day to keep them clean and making max heat. there is a cleaning your stove video on here that is good viewing for an old Whitfield. Oil the motors religously and keep her clean and it will give many years trouble free operation. Dinosour or not they are probly the best made out there IMHO. best of luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[HeavyG]

Thanks for the help. I have just finished cleaning the stove and re-lit it. I will be using it to heat the basement from now on. I will have to search this forum to see if anyone has successfully used the furnace fan to distribute the pellet stove heat.

DirtyDave, can you direct me to the video for cleaning my stove? Thank you.

Great forum! Thanks to everyone.

 

[DirtyDave]

http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/adavantageII_clean.htm

this is a good place for more info also
http://www.butkus.org/whitfield_pellet_stove.htm

 

[whlago]

At this point, I think that we will only be using the pellet stove to heat the basement when we want to spend time down there. I would like to put it in the upstairs living room but my wife is not fond of having it there​

HeavyG I see a second pellet stove in your future!

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[HeavyG]

DirtyDave, I don't think that www.hearthtools..com has been online for a few years now. The last activity I can find from that site on the Wayback Machine is in 2009.

whlago, If I can find an insert for my upstairs family room for a few dollars, I will get it.

Thanks to everyone for the 'warm' welcome.

 

[Stovensen]

DirtyDave, I don't think that www.hearthtools..com has been online for a few years now. The last activity I can find from that site on the Wayback Machine is in 2009.

Thanks to everyone for the 'warm' welcome.

Unfortunately hearthtools.com is not online anymore. There was a lot of useful info there. Among other things there was a pdf with some service notes related to your Advantage stove ( and other Whits ). Luckily I saved it on my computer and I've attached it to this post. It should open once you click on it below.

Oh, and welcome to the forum. A great place full of friendly and helpful people. I couldn't have made it without the tips and advice from here through the years. You see, the Whitfield/Lennox stoves are no longer imported to Denmark, and the dealer who sold mine is long out of business, so spare parts must be ordered from the United States. If a blower motor quits ( 230Volt/50Hz ), I'll have to order a new one directly from Lennox.
My Quest Plus stove still has the original blowers from 1998 and they work perfectly with no signs/sounds of wear... pretty amazing actually.

I wish you many years of safe and happy heating from your Advantage stove

Bo

Edit: Arhhg, the pdf with the service notes is too big ( 3 MB ) to be attached to this post. There's a 2 MB limit, so HeavyG, if you are interested in the pdf with the service notes, please inform me via the conversation feature and I'll be happy to send it to you in an e-mail.