Whitfield Prodigy fresh air intake?

[Oregonk5]

If you've followed my previous thread I've had a big time soot/ash problem this season with my Prodigy II. It all seemed to surface after my pre-season major service which included replacing all the door and glass gaskets.

I've tweaked combustion, cleaned it (and flue) repeatedly, tried different pellets...all to no avail.

So today I'm probing around the net and come across a thread on here about Whitfield fresh air intakes (looks like a miniature dryer hose).

My stove doesn't have this hose (although there is an 1.5" port on the back that goes nowhere). Could this be the problem since I've tightened up the burn box? Maybe lack of fresh air?

Where does the fresh air intake run from?

 

[MountainSean]

That air intake on the back is where the stove pulls the majority of its combustion air from. You can check it to make sure it isn't blocked which would impede the flow of air into the stove, but the most likely cause of your stoves new burn problems is related to either the combustion blower not working correctly or the control board not sending enough voltage to it. Another possibility is if you did any major tightening of your house over the summer. Installed new air tight windows, doors, new house wrap or installed any big air movers like a kitchen hood, bathroom fan things like that. The easiest way to test and see if it could be a lack of air for the stove to use is to crack open a window or door about inch near the stove and see if that helps the stove burn better.

 

[Oregonk5]

Thanks for the input Mountain Sean. No major housework, I tried cracking the window but it didn't seem to make a difference.

Is the combustion blower the one under the lid next to the pellet hopper?