Whitfield Advantage II-T: Repair or Replace?

The installer is planning on coring through the smoke box (I learned a term today...) for the OAK.

On a slightly different topic; are there any pellet brands to avoid or prefer?

 

There is a big difference between various brands of pellets. Try to find out what's available in your area and list them here and people will be able to guide you as to what's best. Up here in Maine our choices are somewhat limited so I wouldn't be much help.

 

Rojhan Any update?

 

The stove was delivered, but I haven't had the opportunity to do anything more than just make sure there was no obvious damage. I'll hopefully be able to do a functional test this weekend.

Final inspection and prep for install is next week with the install itself not until July.

 

If you can do a function test, try to do the burn-in outside too.

Also, the electronics on these stoves are somewhat delicate, and a real good quality surge protector is a must. Replacement control boards are $$$

 

That could be an interesting home-automation project. Arduino or Raspberry Pi used as a control system, which would also also perform monitoring/logging and external events/sensors to modify behavior. "Hm....."

"For these pellets, use this profile. If outside temperature is below <blah> and the heat pump is running, ramp up the auger and the fan...." Use a CO2 and CO sensor to fine-tune the auger and fan speeds (like closed-loop on a vehicle...).

Oh, you have started such a dangerous train of thought....

 

There's really nothing I can complain about as far as "cosmetic blemishes". If I was hyper-critical, yes, but I'm fully satisfied with the appearance. Initial functional test is promising, although I haven't seen indication of the automatic ignition firing up (pun somewhat intended). It was outside in the sun, though, so I moved it inside facing the garage door so I can do the operational test once it finishes the shutdown process since I interrupted power to it.

 

Igniter warming up, pellets catching, startup-mode and then settled.

The first run through the stove generated an E-2 (burning/flame not detected), but I think it was one or both of the auger tube not being full or old/wet pellets.

Physical inspection and functional test complete and acceptable.

 

That was a pleasant suprise.... Not only were the contractors on-time, they over-estimated labor and the install was $400 less. Somwhere around $2,500 total for the Englander and install. Literally 1/2 the price of the original quote for a new Empress getting installed. The install included new 3" and 4" venting run up through the chimney and a new chimney cap.

The only negative is the surround. The way it's designed it looks like the whole stove has to come out for cleaning and mainteance. The panels are screwed on from the "inside" and they can't be individually removed for side access.

 

Looks good! Is it hooked to a T-Stat? Is there a GOOD surge protector hooked to it?

As for the cleaning, I'm guessing that the unit should be able to be cleaned fairly well w/o removing it, based on what I read in the owners manual. That would probably be during the end-of-burning-season cleanout. Is the chimney cap accessible to you to use the LBT?

 

No tstat. The stove is intended for helping out the heat pump when the outside temperature goes below freezing. It's on a good surge protector, though.

What is the LBT?

 

LBT=Leaf Blower Trick for cleaning the pellet stove flue vent.
See my vid

 

As you can see in Don's video, it uses a Leaf Blower to suck out a lot of "hidden" ash. It has to be a "blower/vac" type.

It works the best if you do a thorough stove clean first, including some whacks on the STEEL back walls of the firebox with a small hammer or heavy rubber mallet to dislodge hidden/stuck ash. It's kinda the "final touch". Doesn't have to be a gas model.....there are some very high MPH electric jobs that do a great job and aren't too $$.

Here's an example:
Sears.com

 

It's been a while, but figured it's worth a follow-up for anybody that might be in the same situation.

The Whitfield is likely scrap metal somewhere.
The Englander has been installed for a couple of months now.

House layout is single-level ranch. Stove is in the family room on one end, feeds into the kitchen/dining area which opens to the living room and hall, and the hall leads to the bedrooms. HVAC return is in the hall between the living room and dining room.

The Englander is actually sufficient to keep the whole house (~1,700sqft) warm (65F) all by itself. I use the HVAC fan either continuous or circulate (9 minutes per hour) to distribute the air.

Using a helper fan in the family room makes a huge difference in having the heat all concentrated in one spot. The fan is between the family room and the kitchen. One surprise, found online and true in reality, is to push cold air into the family room and not try to pull hot air out of it. Much more even heat and the heat in the family room is no longer overpowering. I also have ceiling fans in the family room and kitchen that are in "winter mode" (blowing toward the ceiling).

I'm running about a bag of pellets a day with overnight temperature between 15 and 40F. The heat pump has been essentially off for the entire period. I did add a dumb tstat and set the Englander to High/Low instead of On/Off mode. It seems like I might be getting excess ash, but I don't know how much is "right" and haven't actually measured it.

The HVAC and stove tstats aren't cooperating with each other. I'd like the heat pump to kick on when it's appropriate, but avoid using the heat strips.

Next steps:
- Move the the heat strips to aux2 on the tstat
- Add a 24VAC relay on aux1 for the stove (remove the secondary tstat)

The idea is for "one thermostat to rule them all". If heat pump is enough, just run the heat pump. If it's getting cold and less efficient, let the stove kick in. If it's still not enough, light up the heat strips.

If that works, the next step is to repackage it with a DIY microcontroller and logic that also has the ability for remote-indoor and outdoor sensors as well as access to the weather forecast, and spiffy it up with a color display.

I am also looking at putting a return register, possibly with a controlled baffle and/or helper fan in the ceiling near the stove to help dump the heat more directly into the HVAC system and remove the helper fan.

Thanks to everybody on the forum that got me pointed in the right direction to get what I needed for the stove.

 

Glad to hear it. They are simple, but surprisingly efficient heaters.

 

I consolidated the thermostat.
Stage 1: Heat pump
Aux 1: Pellet stove (currently on high/low)
Aux 2: Heat strip

LFF-LBA-AOT are set for 1-4-1 on the Englander. I'd like to try 1-3-1 for it to act more as a "pilot" light for the high/low, but unable to change with either the blower and heat buttons. Anybody know the secret?

 

Press the LBA button....present setting should show in right window. Press down button. LBA (low burn air) only makes small changes, and going down will cut down on air through the pot.....dirtier burn. IMO, leave at 1-4-1

 

Thanks, imacman.
Tried that. It didn't work. Does it need to be done on a cold start (off, unplug, plug-in)?

With it at 1-4-1 and high/low, it can still throw too much heat unless I turn it off.

 

Actually, my brain has caught up. The auger speed is as low as it will go (unless zero is a setting ), so the feed rate won't change and pellet consumption won't change. Just quality of the burn.