Whitfield advange plus burn issue

[jwoot]

Hello... so I am going to post yet another it doesn't burn post (sorry). My question is going to actually be about cleaning this thing because I'm sure I'm missing something subtle...but hey I don't mind being wrong either

So specifically I just picked up a Whitfield advantage plus stove used a little bit ago and I am getting around to cleaning it and install it/etc. This model is a manual light model...so I'll do that with firegel and let it catch for a few seconds and close the door and attempt to start. The problem is at that point it just smolders out after a short period of time.

Things tried so far

• Pulled every nut/bolt/cover/etc off and vacuumed all dirt that can be reached. This includes all motors (combustion/room/auger/etc) and internal plates/the fire brick stuff/etc
• New door gaskets and window gaskets/gaskets for combustion motor/etc
• Tried another known good combustion motor just in case the current one was staring to die. same results
• Once all seals were set... leaf blower cleaning just because. (yeah my garage still has a layer of flyash from that one lol
• Played with the damper on all sorts of settings (between open / close/etc)

With all of that...the fire still dies out. By all accounts this should work and it doesn't. I suspect there is fly ash caught up in the burn pot vents on the top left and right but for the life of me can not see a way to get in there for cleaning. I could be wrong but this thing has me befuddled-ed

Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pellet-King]

Did you remove the fire brick and clean ?, sounds like your auger is stopping, maybe your auger bushing needs lube or is worn or the motor is tired

 

[jwoot]

Hello....sorry didn't realize there was a reply. To answer your question...I pulled the firebrick and just about any component off the front that I could get at to find cleaning access ports/etc and vacuumed wherever I could get to.

As for the auger.... it seems to work fine as the pellet flow seems to be steady. This really seems to be a choked air issue (read something is dirty/clogged) but for the life of me I can't seem to find it.

 

[DneprDave]

Mine smolders out if I don't put enough accelerant on the handful of pellets I put in the burn pot prior to lighting it. I use barbeque lighting fluid as an accelerant to get the pellets burning. Maybe you should be more generous with the fire gel.

It's that or the temperature sensor is faulty and it isn't telling the control board that the stove is hot and the auger is shutting down after the programed warm up delay period.

 

[jwoot]

Hello,

I tried using more fire gel and the initial fire was better but after this it smothered out after about 15 minutes (ish). As for the high temp sensor...I was initially hopeful of this but during the burn test tonight it continued to feed pellets the entire time :/ I've worked on a number of these...but honestly I'm kinda stumped. Going to figure it out...it is now a moral imperative

 

[Ssyko]

Looks like it's starving for air. Google leaf blower trick.

 

[DneprDave]

Does the flame from the fire gel get more robust after you close the door? If it doesn't, then combustion air isn't getting to the burnpot.

 

[jwoot]

afternoon,

it definitely seems like it is starving for air once the door is closed after a while.. I've already done the leaf blower technique twice and have had all of the motors off and cleaned every darn corner of the thing I can get to inside and out. This problem just feels to be a airflow issue but can't quite seem to find where the blockage might be.

definitely a puzzler.... got the afternoon off so I'm thinking some quality time with the stove and a few beverages are in order

 

[GeoBoyOSu]

Jwoot,

(I know it's been a year, but figured I'd add to the conversation...the Advantage Plus seem to be different than all the other Advantages, and have some quirks that no one ever seems to address)

I have an Advantage Plus (the insert model). After inheriting it 6 years ago with this house, I FINALLY found the "ash traps" that people talk about cleaning. Other Advantage models have them accessible behind the firebrick. On my Plus insert, there are two round plugs on the left and right INSIDE walls of the ash tray. The manual doesn't even mention them...which is odd?

The freestanding ash tray is much different than mine, but you might look down there. I used a 90 degree pick to pull them off...took a bit of oomph. The trap on the right was completely clogged, and the one on the left was pretty full too. Had to MacGyver up some flex tube to the end of my shop vac hose, so I could snake it around in there, to clean out the ash.

Might be something to look into, as people always says that ash build up in these traps causes a poor burn?

-Hank

 

[MButkus]

Also, check out the exhaust fan area. Unplug the stove as you have the snap circuit right there. Five bolts and watch the gasket. It gets clogged with soot. Plus I have a small hose on my ash vacuum and jam it back there to break off any ash and vacuum it out.
Is your fan up to speed, mine can adjust the fan at the control panel. Could be you have a very weak fan ?