I have a twenty year old Whitfield. I have finally got it to run fairly well by cleaning it thoroughly. When I took the combustion blower off I expected to find a lot of soot. I did not. The ohm reading was within tolerance but a few of the fan blades were bent. I did not attempt to bend them back for fear they would break. I still get a build up of pellets after a few days of burning. A new combustion blower costs $250. Does anyone know if a new combustion blower will make a significant improvement to justify the cost? Thanks for your help.
New Combustion Blower Question
- Thread starter CamperDan
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i would think that the $10 or so investment in a new impellar might do the trick for you dan. its not uncommon on older whitfields to have the combustion blower get a bit lazy, but if you have bend fins on the fan i'd point to that first. Small changes in the airflow can lead to vast changes in the combustion.
What is your damper setting? If the whole stove is perfectly clean and you need to run it with the damper full open then the blower needs attention. If it runs on normal damper settings then a new combustion blower won't do a thing for you.
Hello CD, you can buy a new motor and impeller assembly for $185 + freight (not $250), and it's worth the expense to "liven" up the old stove. You can send me a message for more information if you'd like. A weak or tired motor can contribute to a lazy burn. If you know that the entire stove, vent system and cap are thoroughly cleaned, all ya have left is the motor and pellet quality - as long as the controller is doing it's job.
I do need to run the stove with the damper fully open or the burn pot fills and the fire goes out. I thought about replceing the impeller but it is a sealed unit.
Have you tried cleaning the stove using a leafblower? It may very well be plugged in all those hidden places... that will cause a pellet build-up. Since you cleaned the stove and it's gotten better I'd bet that would fix it.
Thanks. Now that the weather has broken I will take it outside and try that. I have used a large shop vac but not a leaf blower.
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