Whitfield wp2

[Umaxman]

Well where to begin, I have a Whitfied Advantage pellet stove( have had it for 5 or 6 years) and the control board needed to be replaced this year.
I found a guy local that can fix them but it was going to be a month wait for him to look at it so I bought a new one instead.
The problem that I am having and have had in the past is the stove just doesn't seem to burn right and soots the door glass up in a day or two, It gets black enough that you can just barely see the flame. The flame burns low in the burn pot most of the time and sometimes the pellets burn up fairly fast like there is to much draft, but with the glass turning black is this a sign of not enough draft?
The draft control doesn't really seem to have much effect on the burn anyway ( the pull out draft control on the side)
I have cleaned the stove like it should be before starting it up........blowers, chimmeny, vents removed the baffles and even have a tube that I use on the vacuum and feed it through the stove in all the hidden passages....etc
I have talked to a couple of different dealers and service men and get two different stories, One tells me that the glass soot is normal and the stove need to be cleaned out every 2 or 3 days , The other one tells me that the glass should not get that dirty ever and I should only need to clean it ever week (6 or 7 days)
The stove is vented through the wall with a clean out tee out side and 5 feet of pipe up the side of the house with a turn down at the top.
I run the stove on two or three most of the time as it is not our main source of heat, just enjoy the extra heat and helps cut down on the oil bill. When the stove is set on two the flame burns just above the burn pot and lower(sometimes it looks like it went out but always seems to come back)\
Can anyone tell me how this stove should burn when working right as I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone around here.
Should it have a consistent flame and how long before the glass gets extremly black and how often do you have to clean out the stove(ashes and glass...etc)
Also the stove seems to be very hard to light, we use the gel firestarter.
Thanks in advance (sorry to be so long winded but I am starting to not like the pellet stove....

 

[hearthtools]

Well where to begin, I have a Whitfied Advantage pellet stove( have had it for 5 or 6 years) and the control board needed to be replaced this year.
I found a guy local that can fix them but it was going to be a month wait for him to look at it so I bought a new one instead.
The problem that I am having and have had in the past is the stove just doesn't seem to burn right and soots the door glass up in a day or two, It gets black enough that you can just barely see the flame. The flame burns low in the burn pot most of the time and sometimes the pellets burn up fairly fast like there is to much draft, but with the glass turning black is this a sign of not enough draft?
The draft control doesn't really seem to have much effect on the burn anyway ( the pull out draft control on the side)
I have cleaned the stove like it should be before starting it up........blowers, chimmeny, vents removed the baffles and even have a tube that I use on the vacuum and feed it through the stove in all the hidden passages....etc
I have talked to a couple of different dealers and service men and get two different stories, One tells me that the glass soot is normal and the stove need to be cleaned out every 2 or 3 days , The other one tells me that the glass should not get that dirty ever and I should only need to clean it ever week (6 or 7 days)
The stove is vented through the wall with a clean out tee out side and 5 feet of pipe up the side of the house with a turn down at the top.
I run the stove on two or three most of the time as it is not our main source of heat, just enjoy the extra heat and helps cut down on the oil bill. When the stove is set on two the flame burns just above the burn pot and lower(sometimes it looks like it went out but always seems to come back)
Can anyone tell me how this stove should burn when working right as I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone around here.
Should it have a consistent flame and how long before the glass gets extremly black and how often do you have to clean out the stove(ashes and glass...etc)
Also the stove seems to be very hard to light, we use the gel firestarter.
Thanks in advance (sorry to be so long winded but I am starting to not like the pellet stove....

I have a few post here about cleaning the stove and REALLY cleaning the stove
you can also follow all the Tips on our website
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/whitclean.htm Cleaning tip
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/lowlimit.htm Help trouble shooting

 

[Umaxman]

I have those sites in my favorite list already and have used them several times in the past, the stove has been really cleaned, the only thing I am not sure about is the gap in the glass "air wash" I will have to check on those. I have used a business card to clean them out.
How dirty does the glass normally get in a few days?
Thanks for the reply

 

[hearthtools]

If you have black soot and a lazy flame when you dont get a change in flame pattern when you pull the air rod all the way out
then you have a problem
an air leak at the firebox side of the stove
or the flue and or exhaust passages plugged up.

Have you done anything new with your stove.
Like add altra grate kit?

Go through the check list I did on this post to find the problem.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/12660/

 

[Umaxman]

No nothing new to the stove other than the new board (blower 3years ago)which seems to working just fine, the flame is a nice color and has sharp points on the flame and seems to be burning ok most of the time but the glass still soots up fairly quick and sometimes the pellets burn up to quickly in the burn pot or so it seems.
I think the problem might be the glass (airwash) not right. I may put a new door seal on and see if that helps.
Maybe a new seal on the exhaust blower as well and see if it helps any(won't hurt to do it anyway)
The list that you linked to is good and I will check it out.
The stove is an older model but has the new ultra grate in it as it is different than the one in the pictures I have seen and behind the fire brick it has the opening like the newer style?
Whitfield WP2 Advantage ser#80899
Thanks for the link and help
The clean out door does not have a seal and never did but I have seen this mentioned before and had to check again but It never had one?

 

[Mr Whitfield]

If your stove is a older advantage, you mite have to re-wire the stove to the correct wiring for the new controller. Rod posted a wiring diagram about a month ago. this could be your problem.
What do you think Rob..

 

[hearthtools]

Na
not that because if he connected a new board and it still had the old resistor block it would have blown the fuse on the control board
If he dont have black soot it might just be Crappie pellets or his air needs to be adjusted better.

 

[hearthtools]

Oh MR whitfield
You posted about the NEW Ultra grate with base plate kit Liner now has 13 bars or something like that
I opened shipment I got this week (with the same Part # you posted) from Lennox and they still were 10 bars
you might have see the After Market ones that someone is making.
Some of the older stoves dont have room for the wider liner.

 

[don.beale]

Suggest that yoy check the seals around the ash trap door.
I had the same problem and replaceing the seal solved the problem.

 

[Umaxman]

Suggest that yoy check the seals around the ash trap door.
I had the same problem and replaceing the seal solved the problem.

The Whitfield that I have does not have any seal around the ash pan door it just snaps shut.
I believe my problem is the seal around the door itself, I will replace it after Christmas and see how it goes....hopefully it will fix it.
I have to add that this is a great place to come for information....I thank you all

 

[mystro]

Seasons Greetz all and thanks for an interesting/helpful forum.
I also have the window soot issue almost exactly as Firestarter described. I understand you can test the main door seal by pulling a single thickness writing paper eight places along the the door looking for slight resistance..mine passes this test except for about 6" along part of the bottom so I tried fluffing the gasket rope till I can replace it but that only works partially..I'll also check the rope around the ash door. Question, since 3/4 of the seal seems good, has anyone tried replacing just part of the rope overlapping it enough to cover the seam or will I need to remove the whole rope?

Any good sources for material/rope etc?

 

[don.beale]

Forget about replaceing part of the seal. It is just not worth it.
The cost of replacemet seals againt the nausia and fiddle of replaceing the whol eite in on go is just no contest.

Before I replaced my door seal I thought it looked in fairley good condition.
On replaceing the seal the change in the operation of the fire was amazing.
I do not need to clean the glass for weeks at a time the fire has a higher heat output and I do not need to run the fire at full setting any more.

I suggest that the seal aroun the door is replaced at least every two years.
It is very simple to do just follow the instrucions including leaving the gasket cement to go tackey for 15 minutes before installing the seal.
Do not streach the seal when fitting as it will go thin..

All the best
Don Beale

 

[Umaxman]

Thats good to hear about the gasket seal ....as I am going to replace mine in the next week.
Does anyone know off hand what size gasket it takes, I think it is half inch but not sure?

 

[gratz]

Umax,

Wanted to bump this back up, wondering how the gasket job went. I just found this site as I was looking for answers as to why my Whitfield stove glass is suddenly getting real dark, real quick. I've cleaned the stove regularly, used the same pellets for the entire winter and now, all of a sudden, the window gets dark in a day or so. It also isn't just the dust that normally built up in the past, it's a heavy black layer that is somewhat difficult to clean.

I'll test the door seals and glass wash again, but wondering how the replacement went.

Thanks

Gratz

 

[Umaxman]

I did not replace the gasket on the door, I just cleaned and checked the air wash on the door glass and kept playing with the draft control until it cleared up.
It has been running ever since (except for cleaning time)
I have been using two different types of pellets both seem to work good except the LG brand has a LOTof fines. The Eastern embers have very little to none but don't seem to burn as hot or as long?

 

[gratz]

Thanks Umax,

Did you do anything special as far as cleaning the air wash? I've been burning the same pellets for about 2 years and this just started happening, so I'm a bit confused.

Thanks

Gratz