Insert Fan Question

[hardwood715]

A friends father in my town has the exact same stove as I, 1980 Fireplace insert. His fan motor is shot, and he refuses to use the stove until the fan is replaced.I asked why, and he stated it may get too hot or something. I agree the heat wont be as good or travel as far, but I often turn the fan off on my stove, when I peak out at 80 something,or the rooms get too hot. I wired mine to an on/ off switch, along with a stove stat, so when the stove cools at night it will shut off, but I also can shut it off manually. I just dont see how it hurts the stove, the back half is in the fireplace, the top shelf or outer wall is just as thick as the inner wall, any one know different?

 

[Shane]

It really depends on the insert and I'm not personally familiar with the Gold Marc. Some inserts and EPA rated fireplaces for that matter do indeed require that the blower run for cooling purposes. The Earthstove BC4000 and 400C are prime examples heat those up past 350-400 w/out the blowers running and the entire blower assembly will melt down. The FPX Elite series also require that the blowers not be shut off. I contacted them about installing one in a cabin powered by a generator that would be shut off at night. The tech dept didn't recommend the fireplace for such an install. Also the rheostat does not have an "off" position, it's on/off function is controlled solely by the fan snap switch.
Edit: Controlled by teh fan snap switch and the door switch that kills the fan when the door opens.

 

[ozarkjeep]

earth stove bc4000c, fan blades havent melted yet.
ive had to 500 degrees top temp, with the fans off. ( the blades are plastic, there are metal blades available, but supposedly noiser?

BUT, there is ALOT more creosote on the FAN side of the inside firebox.

250CFM is quite a bit of air I guess.

the product manual states NOT to use the fan until the insert is of a certain temp I think, I do not recall a warning about HAVING to run the fan.

( the fan makes a HUGE difference in heat output though)

It really depends on the insert and I'm not personally familiar with the Gold Marc. Some inserts and EPA rated fireplaces for that matter do indeed require that the blower run for cooling purposes. The Earthstove BC4000 and 400C are prime examples heat those up past 350-400 w/out the blowers running and the entire blower assembly will melt down. The FPX Elite series also require that the blowers not be shut off. I contacted them about installing one in a cabin powered by a generator that would be shut off at night. The tech dept didn't recommend the fireplace for such an install. Also the rheostat does not have an "off" position, it's on/off function is controlled solely by the fan snap switch.
Edit: Controlled by teh fan snap switch and the door switch that kills the fan when the door opens.

 

[BrotherBart]

I worried about running the old Sierra without the fans running when it was up to operating heat because I was concerned about cooking the fans. When the power went out for seven days last year it did just fine. I would check and the convection air it was pulling through the channels kept the fans cool.

 

[hardwood715]

Cool, The fan on this puppy mounts on the left side sits away from the unit, it bolts to the outer wall with flange bolts fasco motor with squirrel cage, I never feel it get hot even though the stove wall will be up there in the 500s, weird, but true, metal puppy.