Blower Fire - Close Call - Better Ways to Prevent?

[IntentionHill]

I have a Drolet 1800i with a blower. It is the primary heat source for my house. I clean the blower daily, after finding that it really gets dusty quickly. I turn off the blower when loading the stove to reduce ash getting into the blower. A couple times a week, I use a brush to further clean off the cylinders (fans). Keeping them clean maintains balance, and keeps them running quietly. However there is limited access to clean the inner part of the cylinders, and inner workings of the motor and basically any tight space. Really I should have been inspecting this routinely.

Yesterday as I was standing in front of the stove, sparks started flying out of the vent. I turned off the blower, and removed the lid to have a look. There was smoke coming from it, as the plastic burned. I couldn't see what could be igniting it. I took a small tool and started scraping between the tines and found there was lint/dog hair/dust. I looked at the other side, which was not burning, and pulled out about a teaspoon of lint. Once I started shaking the blower box, and really looking through it, I was pretty alarmed by how dirty it was. I wasn't taking it off the stove and really looking inside it, just cleaning from the it's seated position on the stove.


I'm so grateful I was standing there. My house could have burned down. I'm rather afraid to use the blower now, especially if not home. For today I have a box fan in front of the stove.

If I use it again, I think vacuuming the blower weekly is a must. But I'm not sure it will be sufficient. I'm wondering about other ways to really clean the tight spaces of the blower. Or is there a blower with a design that might be easier to keep clean? Or perhaps some sort of filter screen that might be safe?

 

[begreen]

I'm glad that you caught this in time. This may be the first time I have seen this reported. Based on the location of the burn in the middle of the squirrel cage I would speculate that maybe a hot ember or coal got pulled into the blower from the hearth. That's just a guess. Or maybe so much lint and animal hair had gathered on the outside that it was hitting the bottom of the stove? Sounds like a weekly cleaning would help. As a preventative, always turn off the blower before opening up the stove door and clean the hearth before it is turned back on.

 

[begreen]

I think it's fairly easy to remove the blower assembly on this insert. It just hooks in place. The ash lip needs to be removed first by lifting it upward. The instructions in the manual illustrate the process. That will make it easier to clean.

How old is the insert? The replacement blowers appear to have a full shroud over the fan blades which might have helped prevent this.

 

[IntentionHill]

I think it's fairly easy to remove the blower assembly on this insert. It just hooks in place. The ash lip needs to be removed first by lifting it upward. The instructions in the manual illustrate the process. That will make it easier to clean.

How old is the insert? The replacement blowers appear to have a full shroud over the fan blades which might have helped prevent this.

It's very easy to remove, but that doesn't make it easier to clean the internal part of the squirrel cage. None of this lint/hair was visible, even while it was burning. It only became apparent when I inserted a blade and started scooping around. So I'd say it's not apparently easy to clean if you can't visualize the state of it. Here is also the enclosed section where the squirrel cage attaches, which is where I pulled lint from on the other side of the blower.

 

[begreen]

Yes, squirrel cage blowers can be a pain to clean. More frequent cleanings and blowing out the fan blades with compressed air should help you keep up with it.