I have a Quadrafire 7100 fireplace and I have a question about operating it in the event of a power outage. The fireplace has an internal blower system and when the fireplace gets to a certain temperature you can't shut the blower off with the switch even if you wanted too. So my concern is that the manufacture feels that blower should be running to keep the unit itself cooler. I don't recall seeing anything in the manual about this. Any thoughts as to wether or not I would be safely operating with no power to the blower.
Quadrafire 7100 question
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mdc0326
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I have been using the 7100 for 3 seasons, you should have 2 switches installed as outlined in the manual, one is a bypass that will bypass the snap disc so that you can operate the fans when the unit is not yet up to temperature. The second switch is a rheostat type rotary switch commonly used with ceiling fans, that will allow you to control the speed of the fan motors in the base of the unit, you will be able to turn the fans off if the switches are wired correctly. I have attached a couple of photos, if you look to the right of the fireplace you can see the two switches used to control the internal fans.
With that said, I rarely operate the unit with the internal fans running as the room that the unit is in gets way to warm, I do run the heat zone fans typically, but not always I would estimate that 20% of the time I operate the stove with no fans running at all. Running this way has not caused me any issues with the fans, i am still operating on the original fans and they still work, this will be the fourth season using them. the fans are on the bottom of the stove I don't think they get hot enough to damage them, and through convection a little bit of air will flow over the fans when the unit is in operation. Hope this helps.
With that said, I rarely operate the unit with the internal fans running as the room that the unit is in gets way to warm, I do run the heat zone fans typically, but not always I would estimate that 20% of the time I operate the stove with no fans running at all. Running this way has not caused me any issues with the fans, i am still operating on the original fans and they still work, this will be the fourth season using them. the fans are on the bottom of the stove I don't think they get hot enough to damage them, and through convection a little bit of air will flow over the fans when the unit is in operation. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the reply. I do have the two switches that you mention. I could be wrong when I say that you can't turn the blowers off when it's above a certain temperature. I'll check it out next fire. Has been too warm to burn here. I guess the main thing is that you can use the fireplace without the blowers and not cause any problems.
Blue2ndaries
Minister of Fire
I agree w/Matt wrt to the switchability if wired correctly. Here are some configurations w/the switch and rheo:
1- Switch off, Rheo off (rotated all the way to the left past "click") = Fans totally off
2- Switch on, Rheo off = Fans off
3- Switch on, Rheo On (anywhere right past the click) = Fans always on, variable depending on amount turned
4- Switch off, Rheo on = Fans on, but will cut off automatically when temps drop down
Be careful with scenario 3 where the switch is on and rheo is on but turned ALL the way to the right. The fans are on so low, you will not hear them and they will STAY ON. My 3 yr old could reach the switch and I noticed one quiet weekend day a very faint hum. Found the fans on low...who knows how long they had been like that...
1- Switch off, Rheo off (rotated all the way to the left past "click") = Fans totally off
2- Switch on, Rheo off = Fans off
3- Switch on, Rheo On (anywhere right past the click) = Fans always on, variable depending on amount turned
4- Switch off, Rheo on = Fans on, but will cut off automatically when temps drop down
Be careful with scenario 3 where the switch is on and rheo is on but turned ALL the way to the right. The fans are on so low, you will not hear them and they will STAY ON. My 3 yr old could reach the switch and I noticed one quiet weekend day a very faint hum. Found the fans on low...who knows how long they had been like that...
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