Hubby is learning to use his new pellet stove, and wants me to ask this question. Says there is a nob on the side and another on the front near the top that slide in and out. What do these do? Says it is obvious the one on top should be pushed in during operation, but what position should the one on the side be in when running stove? Thank for input, mary

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), April 11, 2001

Answers

The one on the front is used to clean soot off the exchanger coils. It should be pulled back and forth before you clean the interior. Make sure you have the door closed otherwise the soot will fly all over. You keep it pushed in all the way when running the stove. The knob on the side regulates the amount of air entering the chamber and thus controls the combustion. When you first start to use the stove or when you change pellet manufacturers you have to adjust the amount of air to achieve a good flame. You want a nice bright yellow flame as opposed to a blue one or one that looks sooty. Play with it until you get it right then lock it into that position. I haven't altered mine in the 4 years I've had it. I have a video that shows proper operation of the stove plus the owners manual if you have other questions

-- teresa (teresam@ascent.net), April 11, 2001.

Last year someone gave my husband & I a Whitfield pellet stove, and I emailed the company for a manual. They cheerfully sent one free of charge. Check out their website.

-- Mary S. (1deal@quik.com), April 11, 2001.