Hi everyone. I recently bought a house that came with a lovely 1992 Whitfield Advantage iii. This is my first time with a pellet stove, having had wood stoves in the past, so I'm still learning how it differs. It's freestanding, with the single-piece glass. I had it serviced by the local stove dude everyone recommended before turning it on. He had nothing but good things to say about the condition, except noting my firebricks were cracked and should be replaced in the next year or two.
Two weeks ago the glass cracked. I'd had several acceptable burns previously with the same pellets (Warm Front) but it was showing signs of being starved for air on the last one or two despite cleaning the ash before each burn. At the time the glass cracked I was adjusting the damper and burn rate to help the air flow - don't know if that impacted anything. Certainly if the glass failed after 30+ years, it's understandable. I'm nervous that I'll break it again out of ignorance. It's a $500 piece of glass, so not a mistake I want to repeat! I got the OEM parts and will replace the glass this weekend (did the bricks last night). I found a massive pile of ash behind the cracked bricks, so now I know I need to check that when cleaning. It also likely was why the stove was starved.
Everyone who posted the threads here detailing the Whitfield glass replacement process - thank you! They were very helpful.
Any advice to help a newbie out here so I don't break the glass again? I'm not confident it was age/wear and tear as opposed to user error.
Two weeks ago the glass cracked. I'd had several acceptable burns previously with the same pellets (Warm Front) but it was showing signs of being starved for air on the last one or two despite cleaning the ash before each burn. At the time the glass cracked I was adjusting the damper and burn rate to help the air flow - don't know if that impacted anything. Certainly if the glass failed after 30+ years, it's understandable. I'm nervous that I'll break it again out of ignorance. It's a $500 piece of glass, so not a mistake I want to repeat! I got the OEM parts and will replace the glass this weekend (did the bricks last night). I found a massive pile of ash behind the cracked bricks, so now I know I need to check that when cleaning. It also likely was why the stove was starved.
Everyone who posted the threads here detailing the Whitfield glass replacement process - thank you! They were very helpful.
Any advice to help a newbie out here so I don't break the glass again? I'm not confident it was age/wear and tear as opposed to user error.