I have a Whitfield Quest Plus freestanding - purchased 2nd hand thru eBay. The former owners say they got good flame and heat from this unit. I don't get either, yet. My installation of this freestanding unit is vented thru a masonry, tile lined fireplace chimney. A 3" Selkirk T is coupled to a 3" to 4" galvy increaser with 4" Z Flex screwed and overtaped with heat proof foil tape at the union to seal. 10' of the Z-Flex goes up the chimney, total piece length meas. from union at the T. A two piece damper plate, packed with fiber glass to seal any gaps, was professionally installed. The stove has been stripped down and blown out by compressor to clear the exhaust plenum and manifold as well as some beating on the plenum front and rear to loosen ash. All components were then reassembled with a new gasket for the combustion fan.
The burn characteristics have changed from a large flame that was quite sooty (1 1/2 hr to blacken the window) and pellets piling up in the burn pot to the burn pot's grate being visible and dancing orange embers with orange embers flying up and out and considerable brown ash around the pot. At times the flame is only 1" to 3" in height from the grate of the burn pot, even with the manual damper fully closed. This stove doesn't have an external air inlet pipe, but a rectangular tube with part of one wall missing to permit air flow unrestricted to the combustion chamber. It's located in the belly of the machine beside the igniter tube, though I'm firing manually with parafin impregnated sawdust blocks and 5-6 minute preheat before starting blowers, which both work. Despite all this, poor heat output!
The question is; is this stove capable of the 'Blast Furnace' style of combustion that we see in our neighbors' more modern stoves? A buddy's dad has a Whitfield Advantage that performs so well that it shuts down (by thermostat) for long periods to prevent roasting the family. It only cycles about 10 mins. on per hour becasuse it produces so much heat. My neighbor's St Croix insert burns as though you are looking into the Sun, it's almost an explosion of the pellets. Next question; how do I get my stove to perform that way?
Are there homeowner tests to evaluate my control board? The feed rate and combustion fan adjustments seem to be stripped out and produce no visible effect. Is it necessary to spend the $150 on a tech visit? Is it necessary to continue my Z-Flex to beyond the chimney crown and seal off the flue due to excessive cooling of the Z-Flex? Though it's fading, I still have some belief that this stove can perform well, but is a decorative flame all I should expect? I'd much rather have that controlled explosion style of blast furnace combustion. Can anyone assist? PS I'm using the same premium hardwood pellets from Carver, Mass that my neighbor is using that produce a 'Blast Furnace' in his 2 yr. old St Croix insert. What changes were implemented to change the burn from large flame to 'Blast Furnace' ?
Thanks in advance
Update; Strong, clean burning flame after diddling feed rate setting, but though producing heat, not blast furnace combustion. Perhaps an injection blower to kick up the burn, or an upgraded combustion/exhaust blower? What about duct taping over a portion of the air inlet, or mixing in corn to increase the firepot temp? Is there any reason not to mix corn with pellets? Any techs viewing? Any inputs at all?
The burn characteristics have changed from a large flame that was quite sooty (1 1/2 hr to blacken the window) and pellets piling up in the burn pot to the burn pot's grate being visible and dancing orange embers with orange embers flying up and out and considerable brown ash around the pot. At times the flame is only 1" to 3" in height from the grate of the burn pot, even with the manual damper fully closed. This stove doesn't have an external air inlet pipe, but a rectangular tube with part of one wall missing to permit air flow unrestricted to the combustion chamber. It's located in the belly of the machine beside the igniter tube, though I'm firing manually with parafin impregnated sawdust blocks and 5-6 minute preheat before starting blowers, which both work. Despite all this, poor heat output!
The question is; is this stove capable of the 'Blast Furnace' style of combustion that we see in our neighbors' more modern stoves? A buddy's dad has a Whitfield Advantage that performs so well that it shuts down (by thermostat) for long periods to prevent roasting the family. It only cycles about 10 mins. on per hour becasuse it produces so much heat. My neighbor's St Croix insert burns as though you are looking into the Sun, it's almost an explosion of the pellets. Next question; how do I get my stove to perform that way?
Are there homeowner tests to evaluate my control board? The feed rate and combustion fan adjustments seem to be stripped out and produce no visible effect. Is it necessary to spend the $150 on a tech visit? Is it necessary to continue my Z-Flex to beyond the chimney crown and seal off the flue due to excessive cooling of the Z-Flex? Though it's fading, I still have some belief that this stove can perform well, but is a decorative flame all I should expect? I'd much rather have that controlled explosion style of blast furnace combustion. Can anyone assist? PS I'm using the same premium hardwood pellets from Carver, Mass that my neighbor is using that produce a 'Blast Furnace' in his 2 yr. old St Croix insert. What changes were implemented to change the burn from large flame to 'Blast Furnace' ?
Thanks in advance
Update; Strong, clean burning flame after diddling feed rate setting, but though producing heat, not blast furnace combustion. Perhaps an injection blower to kick up the burn, or an upgraded combustion/exhaust blower? What about duct taping over a portion of the air inlet, or mixing in corn to increase the firepot temp? Is there any reason not to mix corn with pellets? Any techs viewing? Any inputs at all?
