Whitfield Advantage II T C Freestanding smoke smell in room

What I was trying to say was that I took the plugs out and lubticared them. We are finding it difficult to get the fire started. We have to close the air off completely to get the pellets to-burn enough to turn the auger on. Igniter not working obviously. One the pellets start burning I open the air gate half way and start to smell the burning smell in the back of the stove. Fan seemsto be running at a constant speed based in sound. Should ivreplacr the combustion blower?

 

NO GIVE UP



When were the inner ash baffles cleaned out????

Remove the fire brick panels carefully by loosening the two side sheet metal retainers and then lifting them off the key hole slots. ( TWO HEX HEAD SCREWS)

The out baffles right behind the fire brick on each side catch most of the ash.

These can over time fill up and clog off the air channel at the top of the baffle.

After these areas are cleaned you need to look into the channels.

There are two screws...one top and one bottom in the baffle.

Remove them and then wiggle the baffles towards the center of the stove and rotate them so they will come out of the fire box. (LIKE A CHINESE PUZZLE...BE EASY AND THEY WIGGLE OUT TOWARDS THE CENTER)

Behind these are the main passageway to the exhaust fan chamber.

A good bottle brush works to clear that area.

Have you ever done the LEAF BLOWER TRICK ????

Place the SUCTION SIDE of the leaf blower on the vent outside and letterip.
STOVE DOOR OPEN....STOVE DOOR OPEN

This will suck out all the old ash in the stoves innards...
BE SURE TO UNHOOK THE ORANGE HOSE FROM THE LITTLE PRESSURE SWITCH WHILE SUCKING THE UNIT OUT (KEEP FROM DAMAGING THE SWITCH)

Get all the ash out of the fire box and then reassemble the baffles..replace the screws.
Reinstall the fire bricks...RESUCK THE STOVE TO FINISH CLEARING THE UPPER AREA BY THE HEAT TUBES.

Hook up the orange hose.
Replace the side panel.

This should gitterdone

 

Clearing the baffles of ash should be done monthly...

I clean my firebox every week...then every other week I clean the baffles and suck out with the leaf blower....we burn nut shells and they make more ash....

Lube the exhaust motor every couple months...
Clean out the entire stove really good and lube the motor at seasons end.

One the other side vacuum the end of the room air fan as dust, pet hair and crud suck into the motors.

Exhaust fan too.

Vacuum out the mechanical cabinet (rear of stove yearly) UNPLUG STOVE FOR THIS MANEUVER TO PREVENT CONTACT WITH HIGH VOLTAGE...

Keep us posted

Hey

My name is Robyn too

 

I am starting to think that your issue is a really plugged up stove and that the room air fan is creating a vacuum in the cabinet and sucking the smoke back from the base of the fire pot and into the fan.

My big Whit was this plugged up when I bought it.

I was a train wreck... clogged up badly...really full of dirt, dust and pet hair.

Took the leafer to it, tore all the fans out, blew them out with the air compressor.
Took the shop vac to the fire box and after a good cleaning it ran like a million $$$$

 

OK, I couldn't give up and let all of you down! I assumed the repair guy had thoroughly cleaned it but decided to check. I took the baffles off an found this much ash behind and above and around them! I have never taken the baffle off before so I guess I have been very lucky! I also noticed the inside was very black and began thinking it was the hamer hot ones. The pellet stove place told me after I bought them that they did not recommend that pellet for my stove. I cleaned it out as much as I could, brushed the air intake and tried to get as much of the burned stuff out of the burn chamber as I could. Turned it back on and and I haven't noticed a smell yet! Its only been 10 minutes so holding my breath! Thanks to all of you for your perseverance and not letting me give up cuz I was ready! I have 3 tons of hamer hot ones so I will try them again to rule them out once I am sure I fixed the problem. I will be making a trip to the pellet store with my photo and I will be very pizzed!

 

Smell is back

 

Smell is your boy in the back of the stove now. Air coming out has no odor.

 

Sorry smell is only in the back of the stove. Air coming out of stove has no odor

 

Robyn
Have you cleaned the vent/chimney??
Getting the ash traps cleared is a good thing.

If the vent is partially plugged it will seriously affect the airflow.

How much trouble to clean the vent pipe ????

Can you get a picture of the fire burning ???? how lively is it ???

If you have never had the baffles out then this stove really needs a leaf blower suck out.

DOOR OPEN...ORANGE HOSE UNHOOKED FROM THE LITTLE PRESSURE SWITCH.

When the repair dude replaced the gasket on the motor did he clean the back passage with a shop vac???

 

First, I'd fire the "repair guy" that you thought was so good.......that much ash behind the panels, that should have been cleaned as part of the service, is unacceptable, IMO.

Second, since you only smell it behind the stove, my thought is that it HAS to be either the exhaust blower seal or the flange.

 

I really hope I'm misunderstanding this......you didn't put oil on the plugs, right?

Also, a previous poster asked if you had the smoke smell BEFORE the stove was moved. I would like to know what was done to the stove IMMEDIATELY BEFORE you started to smell the smoke???

 

Robyn

I am suspect of the rear passage and vent being clogged.

Allow the stove to cool

Unplug the stove
Remove the nuts holding the exhaust fan to the housing.

Carefully remove the exhaust fan.
Get a look inside the rear passage.

Once you get the exhaust van off snap a piccy or two of the fan housing and up into that rear passage...(Where the little damper plate slides)

Check to the rear of the fan housing looking into the vent pipe to see if there is an accumulation of ash. (The rear passage on these stoves is rather rough and ash can/does collect in there)
(You can see up the rear passage all the way across the stove..the two large openings behind the baffles lead directly into the rear passage...the entire passage system is rough right angle corners and is prone to clogging up)
You mentioned the stove was black inside???? Glass getting really dirty sooty black ???

If so this is a sign of a lack of airflow.

I am starting to wonder if the exhaust fan is running at the speed it should ?????

Is the fire lively "brisk dancing flames" ???

You mentioned that the smell RETURNS after the stove is running good..

A smoke smell should come quickly right after start up....
What heat setting are you using ?????

The exhaust fan speed is controlled by the heat setting.....

 

Good call on Snowy's part....I was thinking the same thing before, and forgot to mention it in my last post. Black stove = lack of airflow ....AKA dirty stove.

Somewhere inside it there is a blockage.

 

No, we took the little plugs out first !!! The stove has been in the same spot for 4 years. Nothing changed other than a different type of pellet.

 

Was any service/work done to the stove right before the smell started?

 

I am not sure what you are saying. Here is a picture. Can you tell me which bolts you want me to remove? Will I need a new gasket if I do this? Also once it is removed, can it be tested to see if it is running at full capacity? My neighbor is a mechanic . . .

 

Here is your piccy marked up.
Remove all the nuts around the fan plate. (6 nuts total)

As the gasket was just replaced...just be easy on things when you remove the fan and the gasket should be fine.

Get a few spares as cleaning this area is needed from time to time.

Yes...you can run it.

If you leave it plugged into its harness you can sit the fan motor so it can be observed and then start the stove up (Press start with switch set to draft fan only) you don't need the thing feeding pellets.

Allow the fan to run for a bit.. 5 minutes maybe
It should whiz right along at a good clip.

If it starts slowing down and getting sluggish then there is an issue.

Be careful while working around electrical connections...there are several spots in the cabinet that you could touch HOT WIRES...BE SAFE..