Whitfield Advantage combustion blower problem

[Oregonk5]

Why do pellet stoves have such a perverse sense of humor? They always choose to fail in the single digit days of winter.

So tonight the combustion blower stopped working. I verified it had voltage but didn't run, in fact it wouldn't even spin by hand. Took the whole motor apart and blew out a decade of crud and oiled it until it spun easily by hand. Jumpered to AC power and it ran wonderfully.

Put the stove all back together and all was fine...for a few minutes. Then the combustion air got really weak and I noticed the combustion fan was stopped. I plugged it back into AC directly and it spun like a propeller. Next I put a DVM on the connector plug and found the fan is only getting about 70 volts and can peak up to 80 volts if I crank the combustion fan pot all the way up.

So do I have a control board problem too?

 

[heat seeker]

Just a WAG, but if your stove is like mine, it doesn't get full line voltage all the time. It depends on the settings. I think the motor should still run at a good clip with 70 or 80 volts on it. The bearings may have seized up again. How does it spin by hand - nice and freely still?

My guess is that your control board is still okay.

 

[Oregonk5]

Just a WAG, but if your stove is like mine, it doesn't get full line voltage all the time. It depends on the settings. I think the motor should still run at a good clip with 70 or 80 volts on it. The bearings may have seized up again. How does it spin by hand - nice and freely still?

My guess is that your control board is still okay.

Yeah, I think you may be right. I put the DVOM back on the plug and ran the stove again...at initial start up it sends 104VAC to the motor and then tapers off to 80V. I'm betting you are right that the bearings are dragging. I think I'll take a gamble and find a new motor. Thank you!

 

[heat seeker]

You're welcome!

Depending on the bearing type, you may be able to save the old one. Somewhere around here is a thread that shows how to replace/lube bearings. You might take a look on YouTube, for general pellet stove motor repairs and lubrication. Worth a try, anyway.

 

[Pellet-King]

In 17 yr's of 24/7 use 6 month's a year, I've replaced my Combustion blower and Auger motor, they wear out and all the lube/cleaning wont save it.
I did buy a new blower from Jason Munsun on Ebay and it would hardly spin and had to return it

 

[alternativeheat]

Yeah, I think you may be right. I put the DVOM back on the plug and ran the stove again...at initial start up it sends 104VAC to the motor and then tapers off to 80V. I'm betting you are right that the bearings are dragging. I think I'll take a gamble and find a new motor. Thank you!

What you really need to know is how many amps the motor is drawing compared with what it should be drawing. A high amp draw heats up motor components and it then slows down. As the board delivers less voltage for speed control the motor heats up even more and then really slows down or even stops. And it can spin perfectly freely by hand with not power to the motor. So what I'm speaking of has nothing to do with bearings.

 

[Oregonk5]

Thanks for the helpful input guys. I hear what you are saying about the amp draw.

I've order a new blower motor assembly just because I know the other one is still in poor shape, despite my cleaning and lubing. At least if the problem is still there I can rule out the combustion blower!

Thanks again and I'll post an update when I get it back together. It will be soon, I die a little inside every time the house furnace kicks on

 

[Doug Doty]

This thread makes me want to take some voltage and amp draw readings on the various settings on my stove while it is still new, might be nice to reference back to in the future.

I am disappointed to hear of the motor problem with a brand new motor from J.M. was it replaced successfully. ?? I just found him last evening and bookmarked his site.

 

[heat seeker]

It will be soon, I die a little inside every time the house furnace kicks on

I feel the same way!

 

[alternativeheat]

I feel the same way!

I feel the same way!

Every time that stupid thing lights up I have a vision. It's one of my personal checks with $700 written to the oil company.
.

 

[heat seeker]

Just got a delivery today - $3.10/gal. And now the burner is "stuttering" - burns a few seconds, then stops, then burns a few seconds, stops….never heard that before. Gotta wonder if there's something wrong with the oil delivered.

 

[Bioburner]

When was the last time you replaced fuel filter? Cleaned injection nozzle? Sure I am missing at three other things.

 

[JDenyer236]

Just got a delivery today - $3.10/gal. And now the burner is "stuttering" - burns a few seconds, then stops, then burns a few seconds, stops….never heard that before. Gotta wonder if there's something wrong with the oil delivered.

Sometimes when they fill your tank up lots of junk gets stirred up. Any water from condensation can sometimes get into the fuel line. An air bubble in the line can cause the same surging. Changing the oil filter and nozzle might solve your issue. Hey pellet stoves aren't the only ones that require maintenance

 

[heat seeker]

It has been a while since the burner has been serviced. It just seems odd that right after the fill-up it started acting up. It's still doing it, but a bit less, lending credence to the air-in-the-line idea.

It's due for service, but I'd like to avoid an "emergency" call and the extra cost. Of course, we don't need it for heat, but a hot shower would be nice! I'll let it go until tomorrow and see what happens. Either way, I'll get it serviced. My days of doing it myself are past, and it's in an awkward place.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Oregonk5]

Got the new motor tonight and it must be my lucky night because it was the right one and went right in. I was so relieved to see it come on and the stove start burning like it should! In fact, I will go out on a limb and say that it has never burned this well. The flames are much more active and not a hint of lazy like before.

Thanks y'all!

 

[heat seeker]

Good news! And apologies for hijacking your thread.

 

[Pellet-King]

Just got a delivery today - $3.10/gal. And now the burner is "stuttering" - burns a few seconds, then stops, then burns a few seconds, stops….never heard that before. Gotta wonder if there's something wrong with the oil delivered.

you live near me, you should of looked on this site....................
www.newenglandoil.com $2.85 going rate paylessforoil, i used springer and got 100 ballons 2 weeks ago, first oil in over 4 year's as backup

 

[excursion]

I personally wouldn't buy a thing from Jason munson...he once told me that my combustion fan motor direction didn't make a difference...it was going clockwise while it needed to go ccw, he said it should work fine....duhhhh, my 7 year old son even knew it wouldn't work!