I have an old Whitfield Advantage IIT pellet stove with the old knob type control panel. When it is running, the blower speeds up and slows down when set at a low speed. However, when I turn it up to a faster speed setting (more than half way turn of the knob) it seems to run steady. Any ideas what is causing the problem?
blower problem
- Thread starter billc
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
You can get a replacement motor at graingers for about 25 bucks. Just tell the conter guy where you work as most businesses have accounts.
Don't even brother buying used crap off ebay. Get the new stuff.
You can get a whitfield replacement but it will be much mre the 25 bucks.
Your most likely has worn buhings , bushes , and just plain worn.
Don't even brother buying used crap off ebay. Get the new stuff.
You can get a whitfield replacement but it will be much mre the 25 bucks.
Your most likely has worn buhings , bushes , and just plain worn.
My harman does this same thing once in a while.... but only when it's close to setpoint. the distribution blower will go from low and start to ramp up then go low again my thought on the harman, is the factory set hysterisis setpoint on the controller is not offset enough. no brushes in my blower though its a shaded pole blower, yeah it's a dayton which is a grainger motor. I don't know about whitfields though
You really need to check your power cord first, it could have a break in the wiring that could cause a fluctuation in your motor.
This is usually a problem at or near the plug in. One way to test this is when it's plugged in and running, gently pull on cord near plug, if it is a wire break, the power will fluctuate.
The other possibility is your blower is full of lint, hair and everything else that it picks up off the floor over the years. This slows the motor down unless you overcome the drag by giving it more power. Really no different than a floor fan, they need cleaning and servicing at least one a year.
I am not sure what your blower looks like, but if it's not either of these, it more than likely is the control knob. These control knobs have copper contacts, after a few years they get corroded and sticky causing fluctuations in current flow.
It could be as simple as changing your blower control knob or your power control knob.
Of course it could be other things, but I've seen a lot of problems with motors caused from the things mentioned above.
If you have a blower, vac out once a year and oil the bushings or bearings in motor unless they are sealed.
Robbie
This is usually a problem at or near the plug in. One way to test this is when it's plugged in and running, gently pull on cord near plug, if it is a wire break, the power will fluctuate.
The other possibility is your blower is full of lint, hair and everything else that it picks up off the floor over the years. This slows the motor down unless you overcome the drag by giving it more power. Really no different than a floor fan, they need cleaning and servicing at least one a year.
I am not sure what your blower looks like, but if it's not either of these, it more than likely is the control knob. These control knobs have copper contacts, after a few years they get corroded and sticky causing fluctuations in current flow.
It could be as simple as changing your blower control knob or your power control knob.
Of course it could be other things, but I've seen a lot of problems with motors caused from the things mentioned above.
If you have a blower, vac out once a year and oil the bushings or bearings in motor unless they are sealed.
Robbie
Hey homefire,
went back to LA for my wedding. Dana and I got married at the end of june in Mobile, and we took a quick trip down to New Orleans, and Lacombe, where we used to live. First time she had seen her house since Katrina. Was different. Whole new world down there. How's everybody here? I've been so damned busy with a new job, I haven't been able to check the forum for months.
Joshua
went back to LA for my wedding. Dana and I got married at the end of june in Mobile, and we took a quick trip down to New Orleans, and Lacombe, where we used to live. First time she had seen her house since Katrina. Was different. Whole new world down there. How's everybody here? I've been so damned busy with a new job, I haven't been able to check the forum for months.
Joshua
Thanks for all the suggestions/ideas. I took a whole 15 seconds for me to figure out that the speed up and slow down occurs when the auger goes on and off. Suggestions?
Congrats on the Wedding,
Whats the new job? Hopefully not law enforcement. Nothing against peace officer , fact is I have a lot of respect
for them.
You did your time and it is time to move on.
I am now retired from the State of NY , The Mrs. has another few years then we hit the road for a few years.
I am from the south but I love the north as I hate the super hot weather of the summers.
Whats the new job? Hopefully not law enforcement. Nothing against peace officer , fact is I have a lot of respect
for them.
You did your time and it is time to move on.
I am now retired from the State of NY , The Mrs. has another few years then we hit the road for a few years.
I am from the south but I love the north as I hate the super hot weather of the summers.
more experimenting.... I turned the auger off and kept the 'heat output' dial in the same postition. The same off and on pattern occured. Then, for the fun of it, with the auger still switched off I adjusted the heat output dial and, sure enough, the higher I turned the dial, the faster the fan sped up and slowed down. Hope this tells someone something.
Well just a guess without meters
It sounds like worn out bushings or bearings in one or both of your motors.
If they are getting old replace them all.
That is what I did this summer. The 3 motors on my stove cost less than $100 at Grangers.
Below is a rough idea of how your stove wired and the controls you need to make it work.
(broken link removed)
It sounds like worn out bushings or bearings in one or both of your motors.
If they are getting old replace them all.
That is what I did this summer. The 3 motors on my stove cost less than $100 at Grangers.
Below is a rough idea of how your stove wired and the controls you need to make it work.
(broken link removed)
Homefire is probably right, but if your auger is off, and your fan motor goes up and down like it should when you turn the control, then it could be something in the auger dragging your motor down.
Or does your fan speed up and slow down when you do this even without turning the knob ?
This is where I'm lost because I have never seen an auger or how it works.
To be on the safe side, you would be better off do what Homefire said and go ahead and have it changed out to new motors etc.
Robbie
Or does your fan speed up and slow down when you do this even without turning the knob ?
This is where I'm lost because I have never seen an auger or how it works.
To be on the safe side, you would be better off do what Homefire said and go ahead and have it changed out to new motors etc.
Robbie
sorry for confusion. The problem occurs whether the auger is on or not. It does not seem to play a role in this--or does it? By turning the heat output dial, I am able to increase or decrease the frequency of the speeding up and slowing down of the fans. For example, with the heat output dial at its lowest setting, the speeding up and slowing down cycle of the fan is, say 10 seconds. With the heat output dial set at medium speed, the speeding up and slowing down cycle takes 5 seconds. With the heat output dial set at the highest speed the cycle is completed after about 3 seconds.
No confusion, it's just really hard to tell what these type problems might be without removing the motor and switch etc. and having a look.
There are just too many variables in my opinion. You may have to just start eliminating things one by one and narrow it down.
As I most everyone says, it could be motor bearings, they do get old and then slow down. This could be why you hear an up and down thing, they could be dragging from friction.
If it's bearings or bushings, you may start smelling something getting hot pretty soon, this happens sometimes when they go out.
I would not wait to get this checked.
Robbie
There are just too many variables in my opinion. You may have to just start eliminating things one by one and narrow it down.
As I most everyone says, it could be motor bearings, they do get old and then slow down. This could be why you hear an up and down thing, they could be dragging from friction.
If it's bearings or bushings, you may start smelling something getting hot pretty soon, this happens sometimes when they go out.
I would not wait to get this checked.
Robbie
billc said:
On a Harman there is 2 knobs one is temp and the other is blower (actually labeled room temp) not sure on yours...
Try this:
Regardless of where you have the heat output dial (I assume that this is the blower speed) if it is going up and down in speed try turning the stove temp up.
If this stops the speed fluctuation.... than it is the controler as msg said (most likely) It may just need to be adjusted by a service tech.
Again it's called Hysterisis No i'm not joking it's a real term.
Hysterisis basically is a temperature offset an example would be if you have a heat control set at 70* and hysterisis is set at 2* than heat output would be on till temp reached 72* and conversely would not turn on again till temp hits 68*. This is there to prevent what is considered temperature overshoot imagine if your furnace turns off at 70* and the room is still spreading the heat and it immediately turns on again after 15 seconds. Not too efficient huh!
Try what I said and let us know from there
:coolsmile:
It's the board. It's a common problem. If you want to test it take the thing apart and hook 110 straight to the blower. My bet is that it runs consistently.
OK, I got a new control board from my friendly, local pellet stove shop--they owed me a favor. The board is not the dial kind like the old, original one. Instead it is a push button, electronic board. I have a #on it that reads: 12055902. It says it is for an "Advantage & Plus". My stove is an Advantage IIT. The This shop has let me down once before and the new control board has an extra "male" plug of some sort that the original one does not have.
I plugged it in and fired the sucker up. The blower now runs smoothly.... BUT it does not crank out much of a breeze. I adjusted a dial on the back of the control panel that appears to control the blower speed, but not MUCH happens. It speeds up a little, but nothing like max. setting of the old panel.
Does this little piece of info help anyone?
I plugged it in and fired the sucker up. The blower now runs smoothly.... BUT it does not crank out much of a breeze. I adjusted a dial on the back of the control panel that appears to control the blower speed, but not MUCH happens. It speeds up a little, but nothing like max. setting of the old panel.
Does this little piece of info help anyone?
How old is it do you know the serial #?
On your old control board was the face color black or grey?
The part # for the grey faced control board is the 12055902 good for stoves 1990-2000 serial #s 18145 and up
The part # for the black faced is 25250801 for stoves prior to 1990 serial #s 7401 to 18144
The 2nd one is about twice the price as the first one.
Found this info at (broken link removed to http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/replacement_parts_for_advantage.htm)
they have a wiring diagram there also for your board if it is the 12055902 that is at
(broken link removed to http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/digwirelarge.gif)
good luck :coolsmile:
On your old control board was the face color black or grey?
The part # for the grey faced control board is the 12055902 good for stoves 1990-2000 serial #s 18145 and up
The part # for the black faced is 25250801 for stoves prior to 1990 serial #s 7401 to 18144
The 2nd one is about twice the price as the first one.
Found this info at (broken link removed to http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/replacement_parts_for_advantage.htm)
they have a wiring diagram there also for your board if it is the 12055902 that is at
(broken link removed to http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/digwirelarge.gif)
good luck :coolsmile:
after I posted this I tried the links and it won't connect.
Just type them up in the address bar and they should come up if not just go to the main page at www.hearthtools.com and search for parts and you'll find the links.
Just type them up in the address bar and they should come up if not just go to the main page at www.hearthtools.com and search for parts and you'll find the links.
OK. It looks like it is the correct board, but it still does not pump out much heat. Does it require the stove to reach a certain operating temperature before the blower really kicks in?
Did you check the site it mentioned that before you install this board you should check the wiring diagram.
not sure why?
not sure why?
I would not know what to do with the wiring diagram if I saw one. According to the serial number and the person who found the board for me, it is the correct one.
- Status
Similar threads
