New to the forums, have been burning for several years in a VC Montpelier, without problems, until tonight. After cleaning and lubricating the fan motor, I made a mistake and didn't get the wiring tucked in correctly. The fan worked great, no noise, great airflow. When the door closed to the fan control, it was enough to smash the wire the rest of the way and I noticed a spark as the fan shutdown. I repaired the damaged wire and still no fan. I'm a fairly handy guy, but have not found any specs on the fan assembly to diagnose what component I have stupidly fried. Does anyone have suggestions on what I can do to bench test the blower? Other more informed suggestions? Any help is welcomed. Thank you for taking time to read.
Bypassing thermostat on Vermont Casting Montpelier
- Thread starter Smokehouse
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KaptJaq
Minister of Fire
There are two components that control the fan on the Montpelier, The snapdisk & the switch/rheostat. My first question would be did you blow the house breaker? Is the outlet still live?
NOTE: Unplug the unit while you are changing the electrical connections.
If the outlet is still live I would guess you blew the rheostat. The power goes via the black wire from the outlet to the switch/rheostat, to the snapdisk, then to the motor. From the motor the white wire returns to the outlet. Both the switch/rheostat and the snapdisk use slide connectors. Since you do not know if your snapdisk is in the "on" position, eliminate it from the circuit. There are two wires to the snapdisk, disconnect them and connect the wire from the switch/rheostat directly to the motor. Turn the switch to high speed. If the fan does not start then disconnect the wires from the switch/rheostat and connect the black power line directly to the motor. With both the switch/rheostat & the snapdisk out of the circuit the motor should spin at its highest speed.
Let me know what you find...
KaptJaq
NOTE: Unplug the unit while you are changing the electrical connections.
If the outlet is still live I would guess you blew the rheostat. The power goes via the black wire from the outlet to the switch/rheostat, to the snapdisk, then to the motor. From the motor the white wire returns to the outlet. Both the switch/rheostat and the snapdisk use slide connectors. Since you do not know if your snapdisk is in the "on" position, eliminate it from the circuit. There are two wires to the snapdisk, disconnect them and connect the wire from the switch/rheostat directly to the motor. Turn the switch to high speed. If the fan does not start then disconnect the wires from the switch/rheostat and connect the black power line directly to the motor. With both the switch/rheostat & the snapdisk out of the circuit the motor should spin at its highest speed.
Let me know what you find...
KaptJaq
Perfect! Worked like a charm. Rheostat is my problem. Thank you so much for your help. For now, I have bypassed the problem and am ordering the part. I'll have a warm fire going in no time.
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