FPX Elite 44 Owners

[Snakebit12]

As I near the finish line for buying a ZC fireplace, the FPX Elite line has become a major player. It appears from the installation manuals that the Elite 36 blower must draw air from outside the house while the Elite 44 blower can (depending on your location) draw air from either the outside or inside.

My questions for all the FPX Elite 44 owners here:

1. Is your blower drawing inside or outside air?
2. Are you happy with your choice on blower location?

Thanks in advance.

 

[sticks]

Don't own one but have installed plenty . The only time I have seen outside blowers be a real problem was an extremly tight house and fireplace wasn' t used much. Something needed air and it was strong enough to open the door that is on the blower.

 

[Isaiah53]

My wife and I had an FPX 44 Elite installed in a new vacation/retirement home we built two years ago in Colorado. I used this site extensively as a visitor to research and learn about wood burning and it was a great resource. Your post prompted me to join. My wife and kids lived in the house the entire winter last year, using it as the primary source of heat. My wife loves it.

The dealer/installer recommended the outside air set-up. I was concerned about some of the negative reviews I read here about cold air leakage problems. The dealer told me Travis had but some type of spring loaded damper device in the system to block the air when not in use, but very strong winds could still open this damper and create cold air issues. Our house is located on the side of a mountain and routinely sees 30-50 mph winds in the winter so he offered to put the blower in the attic to protect it from the wind (along with the cooling air ducts). He said it was allowed by Travis and he had done other installations this way without issue. The blower is about 10 feet above the fireplace in the attic directly above it. Worked out well for the cooling air duct routing as well with the P-traps in the attic.

I have not had any problems with this set-up. The unit produces massive amounts of hot air when it is in use. It easily maintains our 1600 ft2 upstairs living area with vaulted ceilings in the high 70's with outside temperatures below zero. I personally like having the blower located remotely from the fireplace to minimize the blower noise. Our house and rural neighborhood are extremely quiet and my wife hates noise. The blowers on theses ZC fireplaces can be fairly loud. Even with it in the attic and I can hear it when I go to bed. Not enough to keep me awake, but I often notice it when the blower starts to cycle on and off as the fireplace cools. I would consider that if you are at all concerned about noise.

 

[Snakebit12]

Thanks for the feedback.

My situation sounds very similar to yours. The installer wants to vent the cooling air ducts and the blower (if possible) in a ventilated attic - this is a huge advantage for the FPX over the other fireplace I am considering, the Opel 3. Attic ventilation is not allowed by RSF.

My issue is that the access to the ventilated attic is via the chase. The chase is 22 x 22 and would have to house the chimney, two cooling ducts and the blower duct. If the blower duct won't fit, then they will have to install it on an interior wall on the main floor and draw inside air. I have done rough diagrams and you should be able to run a 12" OD chimney, (2) 7" OD cooling vents and a 6" OD Blower vent into a 22 x 22 space. It appears that the only clearance requirement in the chase is for the chimney - 2" from combustibles. I would think that the cooling and blower ducts could pretty much be bunched together to save space - but I'll let the installer make that call.

In case the blower vent simply will not fit, I am curious to know how using inside air impacts the fireplace performance.

 

[Viewfinder]

We have the FPX36 and have the blower drawing outside air. The benefits of this include creating positive pressure in the house and a source of fresh air in the Winter. Because the blower assembly is mounted on an exterior wall 10 feet away the blower noise is minimal. The blower assembly has a weighted damper that helps keep out unwanted drafts in the Winter(see attached photo). That damper definatly would not hold back the 30+mph winds that Isaiah53 experiences. On really cold days, single digits or below zero, I turn the fan to its lowest setting to decrease the volume of air going through the heat exchanger. This creates a lower volume of air but a higher temperature. The advantage you would have drawing inside air is that your air would already be preheated. This way you could leave your fan on high and move a greater volume of air through the fireplace.

 

[Snakebit12]

Thanks Viewfinder for your input.

Can you share the thought process you went through in choosing the 36 over the 44?

My scorecard says:

FPX 36

• $600 Cheaper
• Single Door (which we prefer)
• Requires 3.5" less clearance to the mantel (I have a 20" hearth so the mantel is getting pretty high)

FPX 44

• Bigger firebox (less frequent reloading)
• May be able to heat nearly the entire house

Did anything else factor into your decision?