Whitfield Advantage back panel ventilation upgrade

[Don2222]

Hello
The Advantage Plus WP7 and the older Advantage wood pellet stoves do not have enough ventilation holes or slots on the back panel to keep the internal motors as cool as they should. If you look at the backs of the newer Travis Avalon Astoria & Lopi Yankee Bay which are strangely their bodies are almost identical to the Whitfield Advantage Plus you will see a lot more ventilation openings! Apparently someone knew that was a problem! This lack of ventilation can create more heat around the motors which is the number one cause of motor bearing failure!
Therefore, I went over to the Local Hardware Store and picked out a nice looking metal panel sheet they sell for approx $30.00
This will keep animals and little fingers out of a hazardous place and allow nice cooler air in!
It is just a matter of cutting to size and then tracing the protruding parts and snipping holes for them with metal cutting sheets.
Then just a couple coats of high temp Satin Black spray paint and bingo. Looks good and works great!

Pic 1 - Original back with little ventilation
Pic 2 - Metal sheet
Pic 3 - cutting around protruding parts
Pic 4 - Drilling Mounting holes where needed
Pic 5 - Painting with Stove Bright 2 Light coats
Pic 5 - All Done!