QuadraFire 7100 Blower

I have a 7100 that I had installed when we built our house back in 2004. It gets used often. The blower has started to squeak and squeal and make those sounds that electric motors make when they want to warn you of their pending death. I have an e-mail into the company about replacement, but I found this site in the interim, and there seem to be all sorts of knowledgable folks here! Is this a manufacturer-only part or could I replace with something from another source? It appears to be an easy replacement(except for maybe having to drill out the cover plate screws), but I'd appreciate any tips and tricks.

Thanks to everyone.

EDIT: Perhaps I spoke too soon, or perhaps not, but now the blower is back to normal sounding.......

When was the last time you cleaned it out?
Maybe something got stuck in there.

I have never cleaned it out. That compartment is sealed from the firebox--am I supposed to open that up and clean it out regularly?

My quad manual does not say anything about cleaning out the fans. I did it this year for the first time and it was basically clean and this is my 12th year. I am not sure what the fans in the 7100 are like but the ones in my 5100 are like computer fans that run on 110 volts. When I need to replace them I will likely look for another source because they are extremely expensive from the dealer. I think you need to match the CFM and that should be good. I may be wrong but there are replacements a lot cheaper so I think it is worth a try.

I think the 5100 insert setup is quite different from the 7100. The 7100 fans are 2 mini squirrel cages attached to a central motor.
I have the HeatnGlot North Star, it's basically the same as the 7100 (7100 is slightly larger firebox), the fans for it are the same part# (I've looked at the manuals for both).

I don't think I'd use anything other than the factory part #'s. The first design had issues (couldn't take the heat, some of the blades started getting soft), so they came up with a new design..and so on.
Your's may be the old design (without shields and other mods). So if you put some generic fans in there, I suspect you might have some issues.

I've read on here if you didn't replace your access screws when it was new, they will be a PITA to get out.

I've only had mine 1 full season, and this is the second season, last spring I took the whole fascia off (4 screws) and cleaned the fans and OAK closeoff door really well., wihle you can't get the fans out thru the front with the fascia off, you can reach in there real easy and clean them, I'd recommend it. THey can suck alot of ashes thru them if your not the most careful person when doing ash removal.

With the Northstar you can reach in there with just the fasica off, the 7100 is different due to the AUX air setup.

Anyway.... I have yet to have to drill out the screws on an access door. Get a wire brush and clean the heads out really good, they should come out with some good force. Now getting the plate up is another story, since they use red silicone to stick it down. Good flat screwdriver does wonders.

I would use the OEM part.

There is also a timer / fan upgrade kit. Does your startup air timer ever jam up and bind? You might be able to get your dealer to do the fan / timer upgrade under warranty.

"an upgrade kit"

Can anyone point me to a link for either a replacement or upgrade blowers?

I am VERY disappointed with the air flow of my QF-7100. I need to put my hand about 6" from the grate to feel any air flow! I even modified the top opening of the facia to make sure nothing blocks the air.
Am I the only one with this issue? Any info about faster blower fans would be highly appreciated!

Thanks,
Zevi

Do you have the Mission Hill front fasica? It blocks a lot of the air flow from the bottom (intake) and top. Thats just the way it is unfortunately.

Thanks for the reply, jtp. Took me a couple days to respond, because I wanted to post pictures.

I think my facia is the "Mission Hill". As I mentioned before -- I modified that outlet restriction: see images attached. The sharper image is the earlier one (it was taken with my "real" camera), the more blurry one is from my phone camera, and it shows the modified facia.
You can clearly see that the top opening was cut at its bottom curve, and it is now flush with the top of the stove body.

Also, I'm not sure I see what inlet restriction there in the QF7100.

You mentioned in an earlier post about upgraded fan; can you provide some details/link?

Thanks!
Zevi.

That is the valley forge front.

The fan upgrade kit is to fix an issue with the cages melting. The fans are the same.

Hey Zevi_B,
Thanks for sharing your frustration as I have the very same situation. I also modified my facia last year, as I had the same problem. I had a great experience with a Quad (2100?) insert I a purchased in 2002. This system had excellent heat distribution resulting in sufficient heat for the entire house (2,200 sq ft) We built a new house in 2006 and i designed the 7100 into the house with remote heat venting in two locations. I had the local dealer help me design this. Regretfully, the remote heat venting did not work and the heat distribution is insufficient. We live in a 3000 sq foot house and the system heats 1/2 of the first floor (800 sq ft).


Since then, I have disconnected the remote venting since I could never get it to work. I have had the dealer, quadra fire sales manager, and quadra fire district manager look at this multiple times and spoke to tech support on the phone. They explained that system is designed to heat through radiant heat and less with the blower. It seems that more powerful blowers would be a easy fix for this problem.


Please let me know if you make any progress on this. As I am sure you are, I am incredible frustrated with the situation after investing so much time and money.

Thanks,
Pete

Hi Pete,

well, unfortunately I do not have any breaking news on this issue.

After several visits to my home by technicians/support representatives (some under warranty, some I actually had to pay for), the general response that I got was along the lines of "that a normal functionality of this fireplace."

I am not happy with it, but I'm afraid that at this point, other than regretting buying this particular fireplace I am out of options.

"that system is designed to heat through radiant heat and less with the blower" I do believe that any such explanation given to you by an official representative is a bunch of bull to say the least. There's no way to radiantly heat area like the specified heating capacity of the 7100 (about 3,500 sqFt).

My main point of reference is my in-laws fireplace (http://www.fireplacex.com/product_guide/detail.aspx?id=97). I can stand a good 6-8 ft from it and feel the blowing hot air. Even at a low burning rate. I have to set my burning rate to be mostly medium-blazing to heat my house. If I were to buy a fireplace today, I'd definitely buy that Fireplace Xtrordinaire.

Good luck,
Zevi

Hmmm... just realzed I never asked this.

Do you have the AUX air handle to the left? Also, do you have anything hooked up the AUX air inlet?

I may have a solution that will help somewhat, PM me if you want more info on it.

PM Sent.

Thanks,
Zevi

I have a set of shields and timer unit/bracket for sale for the 7100 quad. I bought the upgrade kit, as told it'd work in the northstar. It does not and I'm not modding anything to make work. So I have shields, bracket/with timer to sell. Unsure if selling on here is ok, but guess I'll find out. Send my a PM and you can call me and I'll describe to you the shieds and what I'm asking. I'm not gonna discribe here.
Thx, DM