Question on Blowers for Direct Vent Gas Insert

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tarheel

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Oct 12, 2007
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I am considering a gas insert (direct vent) for my fireplace (maybe the Xtrordinaire or Regency).
What do most people do as far as a power source for the blower? Do I just plug the cord into the nearest electrical outlet? My outlet is about 4-5 feet away from the left side of the fireplace opening.
One company said it would be better to get an electrician to install an outlet in or near the fireplace so the cord would not show.
Is the cord really conspicuous? I have just put down nice travertine on my hearth and surround and hate to think the power cord would show. Is it worth the expense to have an outlet installed closer to the fireplace? They would have to drill through brick which is probably expensive.

Thanks!
 
tottart said:
We just purchased a gas insert. We are going to send the electrical cord down through the ash tray to our basement and go from there.
Click to expand...

Check with your AHJ, that is probably a code violation. We have an electrician run conduit up and install an outlet in the old fireplace and plug the insert into that. We attempted to shoot the cord down and plug it in, in the basement once recently and the inspector tagged it. Most of our customers think it is worth the $300 for the electrician so they don't see the cord, some don't mind it.
 
jtp10181 said:
tottart said:
We just purchased a gas insert. We are going to send the electrical cord down through the ash tray to our basement and go from there.
Click to expand...

Check with your AHJ, that is probably a code violation. We have an electrician run conduit up and install an outlet in the old fireplace and plug the insert into that. We attempted to shoot the cord down and plug it in, in the basement once recently and the inspector tagged it. Most of our customers think it is worth the $300 for the electrician so they don't see the cord, some don't mind it.
Click to expand...

Not "probably a code violation" - it IS a violation... The rules on electrics say that your outlet has to be in the same room as the thing you plug into it. No running powercords into other rooms, or between floors. You also are not supposed to run the cord in such a way that it can't be readily removed.

Assuming it is OK per the stove manual to put an outlet inside the firebox, that is the only legit way to do it.

Gooserider
 
I always wonder about putting the outlet in the old fireplace, but hey, that's why we pay electricians to do it. If it comes out that its not legal.... they did it, not us! Of course I would not want to knowingly do it if it was not legit, but the electricians say its fine so we will run with that. No inspector has questioned it yet.

There is nothing saying you can or cannot do that in the manuals that I have seen. They use all metal boxes and plates. We have been doing it for a couple years now and haven't had anything melt yet.

Maybe keyman can comment? Isn't he an electrician by day?
 
I'm not sure about what the code is on putting an outlet in a fireplace box - I would imagine it's related to the heat exposure the outlet would see, but that's just a guess.

I know our woodstove hearth has an outlet in the middle of it, just about where the back edge of a stove would fall, It seems like an odd location to me, but I'm not going to argue it. Far as I can tell, it's been there since the house was built, hasn't melted yet.

Gooserider
 
Thanks everyone for the extremely good information. I obviously didn't consider all of these other issues you have brought up. I will definitely do some more research on this and consult an electrician.
 
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