New FPX 36 Elite blower question

[bjones]

First time poster here but was hoping someone (other than the dealer) would be able to answer a question regarding the typical volume of air I should be getting from my FPX 36 Elite blower at full throttle.

I had this installed in my new cabin just a couple months ago and have fired it up several times for periods of several hours at a time. The unit drafts beautifully, the thermostatically controlled blower comes on as expected, and it puts out a lot of heat. However, I'm concerned there is some sort of blockage between the outside mounted blower and the face of the fireplace because there is very little volume of air coming out. The blower control is working and turned full right. I've checked the outside filter and it is clear. There is very little noise on the inside but I know the blower is working since it is quite loud on the outside.

Does anyone have some first hand experience with this model? Thanks in advance. Brad

 

[Isaiah53]

Nice looking hearth and cabin. I have a 44 Elite, but I believe they both use the same blower. I can hear the air blowing though the grate on mine, and certainly feel it coming out with my hands from close distance (maybe up to a 6-8" away I would guess) . It is a relatively large blower (388 CFM) compared to other ZC fireplaces I have seen. Not sure if you really have a problem if it is putting out the heat you expect, but some potential problems I can think of other than the filter would include:

1. Too much duct between the blower and the fire place. I believe the installation manual limits this to 15 feet for 6" and 25 feet for 8" duct. If that is the blower intake on the outside of the chimney in the first picture, then this should not be an issue.

2. There is a barometric damper on the discharge port of the blower to prevent cold air from entering the house when it is not in use. The damper could be somehow restricted from opening fully.

3. The blower motor could be set up for the wrong direction of rotation. I don't know the details of the blower construction, but I would think it would affect the capacity. From what little I know of electrical, it is not as simple as switching the motor leads. I would expect the blower would be extra loud if this was occurring although it is relatively loud anyway. I have never heard of this happening, but I suppose there is always a first time.

 

[webby3650]

The blower has a damper that opens when the blower kicks on. I'm betting that the screws that attach the duct to the blower box itself are preventing the damper from opening. Take the cover and filter off and see. You should be able to see that flap with the filter removed. Make sure it moves freely.

 

[FPX Dude]

Hmmm, weird how you describe very little volume of air coming out even though it puts out a lot of heat. Ok, so here's my scientific test I just conducted, I took some toilet paper about 8" in length (uh, 2 squares if you know what I mean) held it up above the vents so it was hanging straight down, at about 3"4 inches away from face. Then, slowly lowered it down over the vents to see how much it would waiver, it went about 80+ degrees straight out and fluttering. The speed was set to about 3/4, and I didn't touch that, but on the dial I'd say it's kept to about 7:30 on the dial for airflow. I know it's not "myth busters" kinda research but hope that helps for airflow for you. For you, sounds like something is blocking, or not correctly connected and getting proper volume. When mine is on cruise control, you literally cannot sit on hearth directly in front of door with blower air hitting you in the back for maybe a minute. It's awesome!

 

[webby3650]

You should also have 2 cooling vents somewhere on the outside of the chase. I can't see them in the picture, do you know where they are?

 

[bjones]

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I'll check the damper first since that seems the most plausible. So, I should be able to see the damper if I remove the filter? As I recall, when I last checked the filter, all there was behind it is the blower motor although I didn't look too closely at the time.

webby3650; yes, I have two cooling vents on the left side of the chase under the eve.

 

[Travis Tech]

Hi Bjones,

Can you give some more information on the install? Specifically how that blower duct is routed?

 

[bjones]

Hi Bjones,

Can you give some more information on the install? Specifically how that blower duct is routed?

Travis, I dealer did the install so I'm not absolutely positive however, it appeared completely unobstructed and I doubt was more than 4'-5' long if that. I've got a lot of confidence in the installer but was just looking for a second opinion before I went back to them.

 

[Travis Tech]

The longer the run with that duct the more resistance we will run into, obviously, but as others mentioned it could be based on how that blower is oriented. It could be that something is obstructing the damper and its ability to fully open or it could be that the damper is laying in a way that it is fighting gravity to open and this is causing it to not fully open.

Outside of these, I would recommend contacting the dealership and having them come out and take a look at it.

 

[webby3650]

Wow! A Travis Tech. I mentioned Hearth.com to our factory Rep and he laughed. Dismissed it as a bunch of complainers. Glad to see you are getting involved.

 

[Travis Tech]

Wow! A Travis Tech. I mentioned Hearth.com to our factory Rep and he laughed. Dismissed it as a bunch of complainers. Glad to see you are getting involved.

Yeah, I recently started coming here and seeing a lot of questions regarding our products. A lot of the answers have been pretty good from what I have seen, but the more specific answer a person is a able to get the better so it seemed like a good place to jump in. I also figured that this would benefit our consumers by getting them a chance to get immediate help during a time of the year when most dealerships are booked for a month or more.

 

[webby3650]

Yeah, I recently started coming here and seeing a lot of questions regarding our products. A lot of the answers have been pretty good from what I have seen, but the more specific answer a person is a able to get the better so it seemed like a good place to jump in. I also figured that this would benefit our consumers by getting them a chance to get immediate help during a time of the year when most dealerships are booked for a month or more.

It will be very helpful.

 

[bjones]

Hmmm, weird how you describe very little volume of air coming out even though it puts out a lot of heat. Ok, so here's my scientific test I just conducted, I took some toilet paper about 8" in length (uh, 2 squares if you know what I mean) held it up above the vents so it was hanging straight down, at about 3"4 inches away from face. Then, slowly lowered it down over the vents to see how much it would waiver, it went about 80+ degrees straight out and fluttering. The speed was set to about 3/4, and I didn't touch that, but on the dial I'd say it's kept to about 7:30 on the dial for airflow. I know it's not "myth busters" kinda research but hope that helps for airflow for you. For you, sounds like something is blocking, or not correctly connected and getting proper volume. When mine is on cruise control, you literally cannot sit on hearth directly in front of door with blower air hitting you in the back for maybe a minute. It's awesome!

I used your TP method when I was up at the cabin last weekend and didn't get anywhere close to 80 degrees even at 100% on the dial. The dealer is backed up two weeks on service calls so I might just have to take a look at it myself. Thanks.

 

[bjones]

Thanks to everyone who suggested the damper. That was indeed the problem and the dealer had it fixed in about ten minutes. It made a huge difference!

 

[webby3650]