Whitfield Convection Blower Won't Run

[kbilling]

Ok, what's the initiation around here for newbies who just installed their first used pellet stove and basked in its radiant glow and gushing hot air only to have it break down days later? I may as well get it over with. It seems that's the price you pay for not dishing out for retail. At least that's been my experience; cars, appliances, you name it.

Oh, yeah. My problem. The stove is a Whitfield Advantage II-T C insert (DOB 10/1991) but in excellent condition for its age. It came from California where it was used very little. Honestly, it looks practically new. I thoroughly cleaned it out and tested it before installing. It fired up and ran flawlessly for two days until some time in the middle of last night when the convection blower stopped, the pot flooded with pellets, and the fire went out.

I've read all the posts about Whitfield troubleshooting and maintenance, here and elsewhere on the Net. I've confirmed the blower itself is good by applying direct power, even from the control board plug. I tried jumping the low limit switch as suggested elsewhere and checked the pressure switch tubing. Still no joy. The combustion fan and auger work fine. This suggests to me that the control board had a stroke. I hope not, because, oh my God, $280 for a new control board is insanity. I paid not much more than that for the entire stove.

Anyone care to confirm based on my symptoms and tests?

Is this a common failure for this board or stove?

Thanks in advance.

 

[rap69ri]

I wouldn't say the problem is common, but nothing lasts forever. If you have gone through the troubleshooting steps, then it does in fact sound like your control board is bad. There is a post on here from a person selling Whitfield parts in WA, and I have purchased a board from her for my stove for a good deal less than what is the normal going rate. If/when you do replace the board make sure you have a UPS (battery backup) connected to it. This will keep power spikes, sags or brown outs from affecting your electronics.

This is the link to the post on this forum: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/15678/

Good Luck

 

[kbilling]

Hee, hee. I contacted her already and just this morning she said that she sold the last one she had. Maybe it was to you! If you can think of any other economical solutions, I'd appreciate hearing about them, of course.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I can pay it forward sometime.

 

[rap69ri]

Hee, hee. I contacted her already and just this morning she said that she sold the last one she had. Maybe it was to you! If you can think of any other economical solutions, I'd appreciate hearing about them, of course.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I can pay it forward sometime.

I may have, and if I did sorry. Unless somebody else has any other ideas for making the fan run it looks like you need to spend the cash for a replacement. Out of curiosity how much did you spend for the stove?

 

[kbilling]

I gave $400 for it including vent pipe. I've seen them go up to $50 cheaper around here, but figured this one was worth it for the condition and it being the bronze color that my wife likes better in our living room. You know the saying, "Happy wife, happy life!" But she's not too happy now with the stove cold.

 

[rap69ri]

That's really not a bad price at all. I have bought several Whitfields that needed some help, and once running they throw some great heat. It's probably worth fixing if it's in good shape.

One last thought, have you checked the wires running to the fan for continuity from one end to the other? You may have a broken wire that's not visible to naked eye. I had this problem with a low limit switch wire last season.

Good Luck

 

[kbilling]

Yes, I did test continuity to the fan, first across the fan leads, then across the leads at the control board connector and it blows fine. I did more testing tonight: continuity across the limit switches and pressure switch is normal, and impedence across the fans and auger motor are each normal. I even swapped wires around and ran the fan through each of the switch circuits as confirmation. So, it must be the rheostat circuit on the controller board has an open somewhere. I suspect it's a pretty simple circuit since the convection fan isn't regulated by anything but the rheostat. So, I'm going to try to trace its circuit and test each component there. I may get lucky and find the culprit.

In the mean time, I got to thinking about a possible workaround, short term or otherwise. Somebody check out my logic here. What would be wrong with patching the convection fan into the combustion fan circuit? Speed control wouldn't be independent of heat, but that's not a biggey. Interlocking the two fan speeds would be an acceptable short term compromise. And there would be no convective cool down after the fire is out. Again, manageable. What I'm not sure of, though, is if the control board can handle the increased impedence of both motors; the 18 ohms of the combustion fan plus the 12 ohms of the convection fan. The design, according to the schematic and notes I have, suggests that it could handle up to at least 26 ohms. Anybody know?

Yeah, I know. I should rely on a certified Whitfield service representative (none), shouldn't modify the appliance, shoot BB guns, run with sharp objects, yada, yada. I'm not (quite) an engineer, but humor me here. We Whitfield owners of orphaned stoves are pretty much on our own. I'll listen to facts.

 

[webbie]

I'm not an engineer or an electrician either, but assuming all the safety stuff works....like the thing is shutting down now on overheat when the convection fan comes on, etc.

Can't speak for exactly where to patch it in, but in theory you could have a completely separate plug or wire it right into 110 before the control board, and then use a magnetic stove stat like this....
(broken link removed to http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5SA-9600)
or even wire up your own snap disk and place it somewhere on the exhaust or somewhere else that gets hot.....

I don't see why this would not work.

Hopefully , hearthtools or Mike Butkus will be along to confirm or deny.

 

[rap69ri]

That's a great idea Craig. Definitely doable.

 

[kbilling]

Here's an interim update on the saga. Thanks for the ideas, Craig. In fact, Northline Express even sells a more economical (broken link removed to http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5SA-4008&eq;=) in a plug that the fan could be independently wired to if a guy didn't want to buy a new board and still have fan speed control. But, upon further research I found a lead on a possible permanent, 100% stock fix for the board and it's cheap. In about a week I should have the $1.02 replacement part soldered in and tested. I'll post detailed results here either way it turns out.

In the mean time, I've simply patched the fan into different terminals on the stove that run the fan on high as long as the stove is plugged in. This takes the fan completely out of the control circuit but doesn't add it to the combustion fan circuit, which could possibly cause an overload and more board damage. The result is a little too much fan noise when the heat output is turned down, but plenty of heat and that's what counts while winter is going out like a lion here in the Inland Northwest.

On my stove, this modification is done by moving the white fan wire from terminal 3 to terminal 1 on the terminal strip, which has an existing bridge to terminal 2, the common side of the line input. Also move the other white fan wire from terminal 6 to terminal 7, which is directly after the high limit switch on the hot side of line input.

Attached is an annotated pic showing the modification. Others attempting this modification should note that this may or may not work on your stove depending on the serial number of your stove. The wiring differs over the years this stove was manufactured. Consult the wiring schematic for your particular stove and adjust your modification accordingly. I accept no responsibility for any possible damage this might cause to you or your stove if you make a mistake.

Stay tuned...

 

[gamie]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this site but I hope I can give insite. We are having the same trouble with our conbustion fan. Our stove is a Whitfield Advantage 2T. We have replaced both blowers and the control board with no sucess. The stove is thirteen years old and is on from fall thru spring so we figured it was due time for new parts. I am about to call on the repair techician now. I'll keep you updated!