Whitfield Profile 20 Control Board Problem

[ndlloyd]

I have a Profile 20 pellet stove purchased in January of 2000. The control board has been apparently failing for a couple of months and now will not start the stove at all. The problem initially started happening when it would run out of pellets. The stove would shut off and go into a mode where the board would flash on and off at about 1 second intervals. I was always able to press and hold the on/off button a few times and get it to work normally but last night we turned down the thermostat to a lower temperature and went to bed. When we got up this AM, it was flashing again and nothing I've tried will start it up. It didn't run out of pellets this time either. I suspect that the control board has failed but does anyone have other ideas?
On that same train of thought, I've looked at replacement boards and find that all the board listed have a P/N of 16053941 while mine has the number 16023941 on a sticker. Is this the same board or is mine so old that no one stocks it anymore. The stove was manufactured by Hearth Trends not Lennox.
Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[hearthtools]

I have a Profile 20 pellet stove purchased in January of 2000. The control board has been apparently failing for a couple of months and now will not start the stove at all. The problem initially started happening when it would run out of pellets. The stove would shut off and go into a mode where the board would flash on and off at about 1 second intervals. I was always able to press and hold the on/off button a few times and get it to work normally but last night we turned down the thermostat to a lower temperature and went to bed. When we got up this AM, it was flashing again and nothing I've tried will start it up. It didn't run out of pellets this time either. I suspect that the control board has failed but does anyone have other ideas?
On that same train of thought, I've looked at replacement boards and find that all the board listed have a P/N of 16053941 while mine has the number 16023941 on a sticker. Is this the same board or is mine so old that no one stocks it anymore. The stove was manufactured by Hearth Trends not Lennox.
Thanks in advance for any help!

Lennox changes the part # with every revision
there still is only one board for the 20 listed on our parts page
and it is the most current chip revision.
PRODUCT: Whitfield Profile 20 Control Board-C, P9 16053941 --
$279.00

 

[ndlloyd]

Thanks Rod. Do the symptoms I describe sound like the board is going bad? It actually started again after sitting for 5 hours.

 

[ADSchultz]

I joined this forum this evening looking for solutions to this same problem. As I have been surfing, I have found several people with this same problem. I'm not one just to roll over and buy a new control panel, I would like to fix mine. I like to start with a schematic, but I have not been able to find one. If somebody has a dead board for a Profile 30 (or equivalent) I would be willing to pay freight both ways in order to trace a schematic. I would also be happy to post my results here. So far I have found where to buy flame sensors for $16.00 and igniters for less than $20.00.

 

[ndlloyd]

AD,

I searched in some other forums and eventually came across an electronics forum that addressed this issue. Apparently there is no schematic easily found and the parts are specific to this board. I ended up paying for a new board and now have a nicely running stove. The cost is a total rip but without designing a complete new control panel, I couldn't see a way around it. I thought that I bookmarked the electronics forum but I can't seem to find it now. Good luck,

Nolan

 

[ndlloyd]

Actually after a short search, here's a link: http://forum.servomagazine.com/viewtopic.php?t=212

Nolan

 

[ADSchultz]

I took my control panel apart today. I applied power to the board on the test bench and quickly found excessive ripple on the power supply. The most likely culprit under these circumstances is a lazy filter capacitor on the output of the full wave bridge. It measured 38 uF when it should have been 470 uF. I replaced it, took the attached photo, reassembled it, put it back in the stove, and VOILA, it works!

In the photo the replacement capacitor is already mounted on the board. It is a 50 volt part and is a little bit larger than the original capacitor which was 35 volt.

I hope this helps somebody with their stove.

Now, I'm going to take the money I saved and go shopping. Since I didn't spend money on a new control panel I'm going to break even! That's Enron accounting.

 

[assasin]

thank you! very very much...profile 20 would not start any more, the lights on control panel would click on and off constantly..and eventually the stove would start up...but it got worse, until one day it would not start any more...changed the capacitor and voila ..2 months and still running perfectly..thank you again, i saved alottt of money...computer + technician ~ 700.00$... instead cost me 35 cents + 20$ for an electrician to solder it on. :zip:

 

[JIMWWHS]

Thank you ADShultz. My Profile 20 would not start up this season, the control panel would flash weakly when the thermostat called for heat. Found the capacitor at Radio Shack for $1.48 to replace the old one. Stove started right up and seems to run better overall than it has for the last 2 years. I was "retired by the recession" so this really helps the family budget. Hope to pay it forward. With the recent power outages in CT I've thought about running the stove off of a generator but I'm not sure it's worth risking the circuit board.

 

[bellizia]

i changed the cap in my profile 20 due to the advice (very grateful) and my leds on the control board went out and after 5 minutes of operation i blew the fuse. any ideas please?

 

[marionet]

Thanks ADShultz it works for me.

as you said...time to go shopping with the money we saved.

up north ...it is cold

 

[JustEd]

I took my control panel apart today. I applied power to the board on the test bench and quickly found excessive ripple on the power supply. The most likely culprit under these circumstances is a lazy filter capacitor on the output of the full wave bridge. It measured 38 uF when it should have been 470 uF. I replaced it, took the attached photo, reassembled it, put it back in the stove, and VOILA, it works!

In the photo the replacement capacitor is already mounted on the board. It is a 50 volt part and is a little bit larger than the original capacitor which was 35 volt.

I hope this helps somebody with their stove.

Now, I'm going to take the money I saved and go shopping. Since I didn't spend money on a new control panel I'm going to break even! That's Enron accounting.

Thank you ADShultz.

Just repaired my failed profile 20 control board by replacing the 470uf cap. Went with the 50volt cap.
My control unit had 2 boards connected with soldered header pins. I was able to carfully replace the cap without separating the two boards.

 

[sjs84]

I took my control panel apart today. I applied power to the board on the test bench and quickly found excessive ripple on the power supply. The most likely culprit under these circumstances is a lazy filter capacitor on the output of the full wave bridge. It measured 38 uF when it should have been 470 uF. I replaced it, took the attached photo, reassembled it, put it back in the stove, and VOILA, it works!

In the photo the replacement capacitor is already mounted on the board. It is a 50 volt part and is a little bit larger than the original capacitor which was 35 volt.

I hope this helps somebody with their stove.

Now, I'm going to take the money I saved and go shopping. Since I didn't spend money on a new control panel I'm going to break even! That's Enron accounting.

Just wanted to say thank you to ADSchultz. I sent my controller off to be repaired, two months later, they shipped it back and said they could not repair it. Found this page and gave the cap replacement a try. My Profile 30 is now up and running for 2 bucks. Thank you, thank you!!

 

[Trainwreck]

Just registered so I can reply to this thread. My original capacitor was reading 280uf. Thought it might still be in range. But since my board was just flickering and clicking. I said what have I got to lose. $2 capacitor from micro center. Replaced it and viola. My profile 20 is back in business. Thank you so much. Saved me $300 for a replacement board.