Whitfield advantage hard to start

[Drgyver]

Hello all,
New member here but long time pellet burner. Having trouble with my old Whitfield. Bought and installed in finished basement in early 1990's. Cleaned regularly and has been relatively problem free. Last year it became very hard to start. It does not have an auto start. When start button pushed, all 5 red and green lights go on as well as blower but then shuts off after 2-3 seconds. If I push auger button at just the right time it will go into start up mode and run fine. Control panel? It also needs to have feed setting one notch higher than blower to keep running as pellets don't drop with every turn of auger at times. Just tried to clean out and clean fans, and blades along with oiling motors but same result. I did notice the combustion/exhaust fan blades are rusting thru and very thin. Also had smoke belching back on start up but thought it was downdraft or backdraft since it's so windy with storm that just went thru, but maybe related?
Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Ssyko]

Probably wouldn’t hurt to upgrade some components after all the years. New impellers are 20 bucks. If the combustion blower doesn’t move enough air it wont run. Also your control contacts may be worn out.

 

[DneprDave]

One of my Whitfield's, with the push button control board, does that sometimes, it runs for a few seconds with all the lights lit up and then shuts down. I believe it has a sticking relay. If I unplug it for about ten minutes and then plug it in again, it starts normally. When I re-plug it in, I can hear two distinct clicks. If I only hear one click, It will do the all lights and shut down thing again.

For me, It is a random occurrence and I have just lived with it for the last couple of years. It hasn't done it for a couple of months.

 

[Stovensen]

your control contacts may be worn out

I believe it has a sticking relay

I'm with Ssyko and DneprDave on their suggestions. Through the years I remember many Whits with exactly the same issue as described by the OP.
The bypass relay delivers neutral to the entire stove during the start up procedure ( controlled by a 30 min. one shot timer ). Relays are electromechanical components with a limited lifetime.
One way to verify that the bypass relay is faulty is to temporarily bypass the low limit switch. That way the stove gets its neutral from another wire, namely the wire that the low limit switch uses when it closes after warming up.
If the blowers run ok with a bypassed low limit switch at start up, the bypass relay has to be the culprit.
So replacing the bypass relay ( few $$ ) could save you from buying a new control board ( many $$ ).
Only thing is that the relay is a five pin component soldered to a double sided circuit board. This soldering job requires a lot of experience. You could easily damage the copper traces on the board, so Drgyver, maybe it's time for a new control board, or... if you are an electronics geek like me and like challenges, then it's time to heat up the soldering iron and start repairing stuff.
I'll be happy to help you finding the right relay etc.
Good luck and take care. Keep us posted.

 

[Drgyver]

Great info! I think it is worth it to me to spend a few $$ to keep this unit going. Was going to put in a small propane unit since we don't use the basement room as much now but can't beat the pellet heat. Since the fan blades are almost shot I will start there, then door seals, firebricks and control board if I have to... I am not comfortable soldering the board but if the worst case is replacement, may give it a shot. May give you a shout Stovensen if I try.

Thanks again