Whitfield Advantage II-T trouble shooting

[Shaggyant]

I guess I'm a glutton for punishment because I bought a 1990 model Whitman Advantage II-T pellet stove for $100 from a garage sale.

I brought it in un working condition. When I plug it in all the lights in the touch pad control panel seem to act like it's working but none of the motors come on.

When I hit the low limit switch with a torch the whole machine comes to life and works just great until the switch cools off and then it all dies again.

Isn't there supposed to be like a five minute timer I the control panel that lets it run long enough to heat up and close the low limit switch?

Does this mean I need a new control panel?

Thanks for helping me rescue this good old stove

 

[Stovensen]

I guess I'm a glutton for punishment because I bought a 1990 model Whitman Advantage II-T pellet stove for $100 from a garage sale.

Hi Shaggyant, welcome to the forum and congratulations with your purchase. $100 is a really good find and should allow for some financial room for spare parts.
The Advantage stoves are real work horses based on well proven technology, so with a little luck you could soon have it working without spending a fortune in parts.

I brought it in un working condition. When I plug it in all the lights in the touch pad control panel seem to act like it's working but none of the motors come on.

When I hit the low limit switch with a torch the whole machine comes to life and works just great until the switch cools off and then it all dies again.

This is very good news, and points in the direction of a faulty bypass relay on the control board. Through the years I remember several Whitfield stoves with a similar issue addressed here on the forum.
The bypass relay should make an audible "click", when you press the start button. If it doesn't, something is wrong. You can hear it clearly here on my video, when I start my Whitfield Quest Plus.
Note: My Quest Plus also has an igniter relay that is energized at start up, so your click ( if any ? ) will probably be more faint. Since your stove is from 1990 it has no igniter installed, right?
Link to my video. You can hear the relays clicking immediately after I press the start button:

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Isn't there supposed to be like a five minute timer I the control panel that lets it run long enough to heat up and close the low limit switch?

Correct! Well, actually the bypass sequence at start up is 30 minutes in order to allow the stove to warm up and wait for the low limit switch to close.

Does this mean I need a new control panel?

If you're not skilled with soldering and electronics repair, I suggest you send your control board to David in Ontario for repair. Last year his price was $128 for a standard repair.
Link to a video with David's emailaddress:

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The original service manual will also be useful for you. I have attached it below. Just click on the icon for download.

Good luck and take care. Keep us posted.

Bo

 

[Shaggyant]

Wow! You guys are awesome here. Thanks for that thorough post.

I decided that I wasn't going to let this stove beat me and I stayed up last night tracing the circuit on the control board and testing the relay.

At about midnight I fixed the problem.
There was a cold solder joint at the pin on the board that feeds the white wire and delivers the initial 30 minute startup power.

I also took that stupid current sensing relay and wired it up without one like the newer stoves are.

Now all that's left is to give it a thorough cleaning and give her a test firing in my driveway before I cut a hole in my house for installation.

 

[Stovensen]

Shaggyant, this is your lucky day... now you have a perfectly working Advantage II-T for only $100. The Advantage is one of the best pellet stoves ever made.
I can't wait to see pics of the install. You know, as they say here on the forum: Pics, or it didn't happen

 

[Shaggyant]

I would post pics but I need to close in this new house before I start cutting holes in it. The current owner might frown upon me cutting a hole in the side of their house before all the closing paperwork is done

How many BTU's is this Advantage II stove capable of? I'm looking at a 3 floor 3300 square foot house and I think I may need at least two of these stoves on two levels to stay warm?

If I put this one in the basement and use the central heating fan and ducts to circulate air will I be killing the stove at full bore all the time?

In about a month I should be able to show some install pics.

 

[Stovensen]

According to the installation/owners manual the Advantage II-T can handle a max. heat input of 38000 BTUs. The approximate maximum heat output should then be possible to calculate/estimate by multiplying the maximum heat input with the stoves efficiency which is close to 80%. This gives a max. heat output of 30400 BTUs.

Good luck with the install. Looking forward to the pics. I have attached the installation/owners manual for download below. It has very useful information especially related to the installation. Click on the icon for download.

 

[Shaggyant]

According to the installation/owners manual the Advantage II-T can handle a max. heat input of 38000 BTUs. The approximate maximum heat output should then be possible to calculate/estimate by multiplying the maximum heat input with the stoves efficiency which is close to 80%. This gives a max. heat output of 30400 BTUs.

Good luck with the install. Looking forward to the pics. I have attached the installation/owners manual for download below. It has very useful information especially related to the installation. Click on the icon for download.

Well crap, I'm going to need at least two of these things. Maybe even three if it gets real cold. I guess I better keep combing Craigslist.

 

[Fire1500]

I have a Whitfield Advantage 11 pellet stove. I purchased it in 2002. I replaced the auger motor and the low limit switch. When I light the stove everything works fine for about 20 minutes and then everything shouts off, just like if I unplugged the stove.

 

[Stovensen]

I have a Whitfield Advantage 11 pellet stove. I purchased it in 2002. I replaced the auger motor and the low limit switch. When I light the stove everything works fine for about 20 minutes and then everything shouts off, just like if I unplugged the stove.

The new low limit switch could be faulty, since stove is shutting down after 20-30 minutes. Very rare issue, but still possible.
Try to jump the low limit switch temporarily ( only temporarily! ) and see what happens.

Jumper wire:

 

[MButkus]

If you don't have a jumper wire like that. ONE: It's 120V back there, pull the powercord. By the exhaust fan is the low limit switch, some $25 on line. You can bypass it by screwing both contacts on one screw. If you want the stove to go off.... pull the plug with the bypass on.

 

[Stovensen]

It's 120V back there, pull the powercord.

Always unplug stove as the first thing, before any service is commenced on the wiring or other items inside stove.

If you want the stove to go off.... pull the plug with the bypass on

The low limit switch is a safety device on a pellet stove. It is the flame watch of the stove, the proof of fire, so it should only be bypassed/jumped temporarily for testing purposes. Never permanently.
A possible dangerous scenario:
Some people leave the stove running, while they are away from the house. It could easily occur that the fire went out in the burn pot due to uneven pellet feed. With no active flame watch ( low limit switch ) the stove would continue feeding pellets, until the hopper was empty. In the mean time, some embers in the burn pot could have ignited the huge pile of pellets building up from the ever feeding auger motor. Very dangerous situation!
Conclusion: Never ever bypass the low limit switch permanently.

 

[stellep]

Further conclusion: Never bypass the vacuum or high limit switches permanently either.
They are there for safety as well.