Help! Have an older stove Ive never used and just turned on!

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rblackmoore

New Member
Jan 11, 2015
7
Carolinas
I am sorry its an old Black bart.
It has metal doors with little vents on the bottom of the doors.
There is a duct underneath and on each side of the stove.

We just turned this thing on for the first time. It hasnt been used in 10 years. We never even knew it was a working insert as we knew nothing about them.

I assume you are supposed to close the main doors when using the fan? I closed the doors and opened the little vents on the door bottoms to give air to the fire?

I closed the doors and It was blowing great for about 15 minutes. Then it stopped blowing. Now it comes on blows for 30 seconds and stops. It just keeps cycling off and on every 30 seconds. Is it broke? Should I unplug it?

The fire is burning normal as usual.

Really appreciate ANY help!
 
It's Sunday and we're watching football.:) or working on the "Honey Do List". May take awhile to get a response as things are slow at this time.
 
Sounds like the thermostat has s problem. There is usually a switch to go from auto to manual on the fan and you could try putting it on manual if you have one. Short of pulling the assembly and trying to figure out what's wrong I would unplug it and burn it without the fan. Won't hurt anything unless you get into an over fire situation and need to bleed heat anyway you can.
 
Can you post a picture? Used to have a Black Bart and wondering if it's the same one.
 
The more info you can provide the better. It may be a thermostat issue or you may not be getting the fire up to a high enough temperature. What type of wood are you burning and is it dry? Pictures are a must.
 
Sorry for the delay havent had chance to post until now.

1. I was burning wood from store. It was hardwood split logs.
Also was burning the eco-blocks as well http://www.eco-blockfirewood.com/

2. I had 2 blocks and a log in there.

Totally new to this. No idea what I am doing. Was going to have a chimney sweeper come clean it out in a few weeks as well.

The fan ran constant and was blowing good heat out for like 30 minutes and then it started going off an on 30 secs a pop. Then it was down to on for 5 to 10 seconds and then off for 20 seconds back and forth. Then it stopped blowing so I unplugged it. If there is a thermostat I am not sure. All I know is I turned the dial clockwise all the way to get it turned on initially. The dial is in the bottom right corner. I have no idea what the dial is for. I dont have a manual for this either . :(

Really appreciate the help though! Thank you!

Pardon the mess. Wife was cleaning ashes out of the fireplace and my little one wanted to help spill them. (made sure the ashes were cold)

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This could one of several problems. It could be the thermostatic snap switch is failing. These are fairly inexpensive. It could be that said snap switch has become dislodged and is no longer in good contact with the stove body. It could be the motor is failing and cutting out on overheat maybe? It could be faulty wiring that is only making the circuit intermittently.
 
Note that there is a good chance that this is a slammer installation. That is, there's no direct connection to the flue. These installations are no longer permitted. Having a sweep come out to verify and affirm the safety of the installation is a good idea.
 
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