FPX 33 Elite - 3 issues

[TresK3]

Hello All-

I have an FPX 33 Elite that we've had for about 15 years now. We burn about a cord to a cord and a half every year. There are three issues I'd like advice on:

1. The big one is that the blowers have developed a "squeal." Another thread talked about oiling them (I believe there are two, one on the right and one on the left). I just assumed that the bearings were all sealed and that there isn't much to lube. Is oiling/greasing the blowers a thing? Or will I need to replace one or both (I assume that disconnecting each one in turn will tell me which one is making the noise).

2. The thermocouple/rheostat is flaky. Sometimes (fairly often, actually), the blowers don't shut off when they should. Sometimes it takes a full day (if we're not burning), sometimes they stay "on" for more than a day (I say "on" because we use the rheostat to shut them off, if the stove's not in use). Sometimes it's the opposite problem and it takes quite a while for the blowers to kick on. The only part I see listed, with my scanty "manual," is a rheostat. Is the thermocouple build into that? Or are they separate parts? How tough is this to replace?

3. The bypass damper is, like a lot of people's, broken. It had a tendency to jamb a lot, before the rod broke off from the damper plate. I believe it is in the "in" position, allowing secondary combustion. I've seen a thread on fixing this, but frankly it looks like a lot of work. What is the downside of just leaving it like it is? The stove seems to light fine, very little smoke ever comes into the room when adding wood, and it burns well. What do I lose by not fixing this?

Thanks,
Tres

 

[Jotel me this]

Update: I just notcied you asked about a FPX 33 Elite. I thought you were talking about an Xtraordinaire.

Have you seen my instructions for how to fix the damper? It is a ton of work but its the only way to fix the problem once and for all.
Before I fixed it, I just kept the damper 80% closed. It burned through wood much faster than if it was closed, but it was open just enough to start a fire and keep a fire going.

Have you ever taken the blower out and cleaned it? Many people dont even know theres a filter in there that needs to be replaced. The last one I saw at a neighbors house was never cleaned in 20 years and it was a solid block of black nastyness.

I took the blower out, disconnected it, unscrewed the bolts, took it outside and stuck a leaf blower into it to blow out all the gunk. It was disgusting how much dust came out of it. That alone stopped the squeal for me.
Link here: https://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/product/TravisBlowerFilterReplacement

Your blower stays on for a full day even when theres no fire??
This is the rheostat: https://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/product/RheostatRegulator
By thermocouple, do you mean the snap disk on the right side which turns on the blower? Thats this:

Snap Switch Upgrade Kit | Travis Industries | Wood Parts

This is the replacement snap disc upgrade kit on Travis Industries wood stove and fireplace models

www.woodmanspartsplus.com

If you know how to change a light bulb, know the difference between AC/DC voltage, and dont shy away from replacing a dishwasher, you can have both replaced in 30 minutes.

By the way, a question I just asked, have you ever experienced smoke coming out of the top grate?

Smoke coming out of front plate?

I was watching tv and all of a sudden I swear I saw a little puff of smoke come out of the top grate in my Xtrordinair 44 Elite (where the hot air blows out from). Is this possible? Normal? An issue? Honestly, I dont know how this fireplace works. I know theres a blower in the house which...

www.hearth.com

 

[TresK3]

My bad... I thought FPX was a shorthand for Fireplace Xtrordinaire.

Yes, I have seen your instructions on fixing the damper - that's what looks like a small PITA to me.

By "thermocouple" I mean whatever temperature sensor is hooked to the rheostat, to control whether the fan gets power or not. It's a little hard to tell what the snap disc is or does, so I'm not sure if that will fix my problem. The switch that controls the fan speed, which I'm calling a rheostat, seems to work fine. I can dial the speed up or down, or click it into an "off" position. It just seems to always have power, regardless of the temperature of the fireplace.

We've been out of town for two days, so the the fireplace is stone cold (and, FWIW, the fan is still blowing if I turn the rheostat on). I plan to pull the fans tomorrow and try cleaning them. I'll see what that does for the squeal.

No, I've never seen smoke coming out of the top grate. I always assumed that this was NOT in anyway connected to the firebox, so there shouldn't be any way for smoke from the fire to escape into the room that way. I'd personally be very concerned if that were happening.

 

[Jotel me this]

My bad... I thought FPX was a shorthand for Fireplace Xtrordinaire.

Yes, I have seen your instructions on fixing the damper - that's what looks like a small PITA to me.

By "thermocouple" I mean whatever temperature sensor is hooked to the rheostat, to control whether the fan gets power or not. It's a little hard to tell what the snap disc is or does, so I'm not sure if that will fix my problem. The switch that controls the fan speed, which I'm calling a rheostat, seems to work fine. I can dial the speed up or down, or click it into an "off" position. It just seems to always have power, regardless of the temperature of the fireplace.

We've been out of town for two days, so the the fireplace is stone cold (and, FWIW, the fan is still blowing if I turn the rheostat on). I plan to pull the fans tomorrow and try cleaning them. I'll see what that does for the squeal.

No, I've never seen smoke coming out of the top grate. I always assumed that this was NOT in anyway connected to the firebox, so there shouldn't be any way for smoke from the fire to escape into the room that way. I'd personally be very concerned if that were happening.

Yes, its a PITA for sure.
The switch that controls the fan speed always has power to it, there is no 'off' on the switch. The thing that turns the fan on or off (fan meaning the blower which lets you feel warm air being blown into the room) is the snap disk. Its located on the right side behind on of the bricks. It has two pieces of metal in it which, when heated, expand, makes an electrical connection, and turns on the blower.

I dont understand what you mean by 'when you turn the rheostat on'. Turned all the way to the left is 'low', not off, so the switch shouldnt have an off setting. Mine at least doesnt have a click setting that turns it actually off, so im confused in this department.

If im hearing you correctly, youre saying that the actual blower which pushes hot air into the house, is actually still blowing even when the fireplace is completely cold???? (???) I dont get why someone more knowledgable isnt annswering here. That sound completely wrong.
The only thing I can think off is your snap disk is broken and is broken in the 'on' setting; meaning the metal disk is permentely set to on so that your blower is always on. What I would do is turn off the circuit breaker, take the brick out, remove the disk, turn the power back on, and see if the blower comes on. If it doesnt, its your snap disk which needs to be replaced.

 

[TresK3]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, my rheostat has a true off setting. If turn it all the way down (counterclockwise) it will click into off. This matches what my manual describes. And yes, you are correct, the fans currently always have power - I can control the speed, or turn them off with the rheostat, but it doesn't respond to cooling temps in the stove. Always blowing. I agree that it is probably this snap disk that is causing the trouble. When the unit was first installed, the blowers never came on. After convincing the installer that, yes, I did have the fireplace hot enough, he came out and replaced... well, I thought he called it a thermocouple, but probably the snap disc. I'm just going to order a new one of those.

 

[Jotel me this]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, my rheostat has a true off setting. If turn it all the way down (counterclockwise) it will click into off. This matches what my manual describes. And yes, you are correct, the fans currently always have power - I can control the speed, or turn them off with the rheostat, but it doesn't respond to cooling temps in the stove. Always blowing. I agree that it is probably this snap disk that is causing the trouble. When the unit was first installed, the blowers never came on. After convincing the installer that, yes, I did have the fireplace hot enough, he came out and replaced... well, I thought he called it a thermocouple, but probably the snap disc. I'm just going to order a new one of those.

Please post updates as to what you found. Im interested to know. Maybe he installed it wrong, wires are touching wrong, or the item he installed was faulty. I wish my knob had a true off setting.

 

[Jotel me this]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, my rheostat has a true off setting. If turn it all the way down (counterclockwise) it will click into off. This matches what my manual describes. And yes, you are correct, the fans currently always have power - I can control the speed, or turn them off with the rheostat, but it doesn't respond to cooling temps in the stove. Always blowing. I agree that it is probably this snap disk that is causing the trouble. When the unit was first installed, the blowers never came on. After convincing the installer that, yes, I did have the fireplace hot enough, he came out and replaced... well, I thought he called it a thermocouple, but probably the snap disc. I'm just going to order a new one of those.

I got to thinking. Does your fireplace have one or two knobs? Most have just one, which does not have a 'click' when you turn it off. Its used to adjust the blower fans speed.

The other knob you can have installed is the summer switch which lets you turn the blower on during the summer months to bring cool fresh air into the house. This knob does have a 'click' to it when you turn it off.

So.. im thinking, if you only have one knob, and you said it clicks when you turn it off, is it possible your fireplace has the summer fan switch installed instead of the regular blower knob?

 

[TresK3]

Just one switch, with a "click" off position. This is exactly how the owners manual describes it. Until recently (the end of last season and this one) it worked fine; when the insert was cold, the fan was off. When the insert warmed up, the fan kicked on. By the next morning the insert had cooled enough that the fans had shut off again. When they were running, I could adjust fan speed, or turn them off entirely, with the rheostat switch. I don't think there was ever anything installed incorrectly. We've had the insert for, like, 14 or 15 years and it's been working fine. No "summer switch" and until now I'd never heard of such a thing.

My local dealer claims they can't find a part number for the snap disk and want me to track that down. Apparently the unit is too old for their schematics. They're not actually the dealer that sold us the insert - that place has since gone out of business. Arrgh!

I did clean the fans and everything around them (no filters on my model) and squirted a little WD-40 on the bearings on the left fan. That stopped the squeal but it didn't last long. I'm guessing the oil evaporated or burned off. I took the fan all the way out today and down to my workshop, where I pushed grease into the end bearings (behind a red, rubber dust cap) and used a gel lubricant on the other end. I'm not terribly optimistic that this will be a long-term solution - I will probably need a new fan sooner or later.

 

[TresK3]

Just one switch, with a "click" off position. This is exactly how the owners manual describes it. Until recently (the end of last season and this one) it worked fine; when the insert was cold, the fan was off. When the insert warmed up, the fan kicked on. By the next morning the insert had cooled enough that the fans had shut off again. When they were running, I could adjust fan speed, or turn them off entirely, with the rheostat switch. I don't think there was ever anything installed incorrectly. We've had the insert for, like, 14 or 15 years and it's been working fine. No "summer switch" and until now I'd never heard of such a thing.

My local dealer claims they can't find a part number for the snap disk and want me to track that down. Apparently the unit is too old for their schematics. They're not actually the dealer that sold us the insert - that place has since gone out of business. Arrgh!

I did clean the fans and everything around them (no filters on my model) and squirted a little WD-40 on the bearings on the left fan. That stopped the squeal but it didn't last long. I'm guessing the oil evaporated or burned off. I took the fan all the way out today and down to my workshop, where I pushed grease into the end bearings (behind a red, rubber dust cap) and used a gel lubricant on the other end. I'm not terribly optimistic that this will be a long-term solution - I will probably need a new fan sooner or later.

UPDATE: It's been about two weeks now since I forced grease into end bearings and it is still quiet. Fingers crossed it lasts the season.