PE blower question

[drewmo]

How hot does the stove need to be before the blower fan automatically kicks on? It seems like very hot and I usually don't have the patience before manually turning on the fan. You can feel the radiant heat coming off the stove, so I'd rather have the fan blowing warm air sooner than later. Just need to remember to turn the fan off.

 

[BurningBrutus]

Mine kicks on around 250 to 300 degrees.

 

[begreen]

PE intentionally places the sensor low so that the whole stove body has a chance to warm up before the fan comes on. That keep the firebox hotter. Normally this is most noticeable during shoulder season burning. When burning 24/7 the whole stove body stays warm and takes very little time to restart the fan after a reload if the fire has died down.

 

[drewmo]

Any harm in starting the fan early?

 

[begreen]

Harm to the stove, no. It might slow secondary burning down a bit and a consequent delay in cleaner burning.

 

[drewmo]

Thanks. When the stove gets up to temp, I don't think I've seen a cleaner burning stove. Good wood might have something to do with it, but this baby sings. The chimney sweep couldn't believe I put 4+ cords through it my first season.

 

[Hogwildz]

Turning it on manually will not hurt a thing. I have used mine for 7 seasons manually. Matter of fact, during the season burning 24/7. it never gets shut off, I merely turn it to low when reloading, then back on high after loaded. The auto setting gets annoying when it is at the end of a burn and the blower is kicking on an off constantly. I'm thinking that is worse for the motor than anything else.

 

[begreen]

The more important thing is to clean the entire blower, blades and all at least once a year and oil the bearings. Maybe do this twice a year if running constantly and there are pets in the house.

 

[Dave A.]

My Century had no snap disk and was completely manual. Found it annoying to wake up to a cool stove blowing cold air. So was glad to have the automatic feature of the Summit (B series), which works well for me thus far. It will sometimes cut off when you start adding wood to a cooling down stove that hasn't already shut off the blower, but that makes sense, it comes back on when the stove is heated back up to about 300F, haven't had any of that off and on and off and on...

300F or so is about the off and on point for it. Generally keep it set about medium (which is pretty quiet) and just realized from reading the discussions, that there is no off other than pulling the plug, and haven't yet had to turn it off.

The latest Summit insert manual (download from the PE site) suggests cleaning the blowers every six months (which I guess is effectively once a year considering it's not used in the other six months). Curious, though, where the bearings are that need oiling, not seeing anything in the manual about that.

 

[theonlyzarathu]

I'm on the third season with my Summit. I wait until the temperature on the pipe right out of the stove gets to 400F, and then turn on the fan. Later before I go to bed or I leave and its been on awhile I put it on auto. then it turns off before morning usually. The sensor is in the back, so if you start burning in the front it will be awhile before the back gets warm.

 

[Grisu]

300F or so is about the off and on point for it. Generally keep it set about medium (which is pretty quiet) and just realized from reading the discussions, that there is no off other than pulling the plug, and haven't yet had to turn it off.

Maybe the Summit is different but when I turn the blower dial above high the blower turns off. I actually think the insert is convecting really well so I turn off the blower usually 2.5 to 3 hours after a reload when the flames start to die down. I can still feel the warm air coming out above the insert and the house stays warm without the noise (and electricity).

 

[Dave A.]

when I turn the blower dial above high the blower turns off.

How about that, you're right! Thanks.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I knew that off control was there when I first installed and used it last season. But forgot about it because I never turned it off. Then when I read some messages saying theirs had no off, I assumed mine must be like that too.

I actually think the insert is convecting really well so I turn off the blower usually 2.5 to 3 hours after a reload when the flames start to die down. I can still feel the warm air coming out above the insert and the house stays warm without the noise (and electricity).

That would likely work, in my situation, too. It's just easier leaving it alone, and the noise isn't an issue since I'm not using that room, atm.

 

[theonlyzarathu]

Yeahhh.... the off switch is past high. I knew that.

 

[Easy Living]

Mine kicks on around 250 to 300 degrees.

I just dug this post up from a search. I have yet to hear my automatic blower kick on. Thermometer attached to the face of the stove is reading 500 too!

 

[Hogwildz]

Make sure you have the rocker switch set to auto and not set on manual off.

 

[Easy Living]

Make sure you have the rocker switch set to auto and not set on manual off.

I am assuming you mean manual "on"? I turned the dial pas high to the "off" position, then back around to the "low" setting, and with the stove top thermometer reading 650, the blower still did not automatically turn on. Its not the end of the world, I just use the manual on toggle and let the fan stay on basically all the time. Im wondering if something got loose, I looked through the manual but it gives no detail on the wiring or setup of the automatic thermometer for the blower.

 

[begreen]

Make sure the snap disk thermostat is making good contact with the stove body.

 

[Easy Living]

Make sure the snap disk thermostat is making good contact with the stove body.

Just curious, is this accessable while the stove is in service? Also, the stove has been running continuous for about 2 days now so I think I can assume the stove body is warm enough. If I can access this snap disc by removing the surround I will take a look tomorrow when I can let the stove cool down. Thanks.

 

[begreen]

Yes, if the insert has been running at normal temperature with good fires, it should be plenty warm. According to the manual the surround needs to be removed. Look on page 11. It shows the snap switch in a couple photos. (fig 13 and 23). If the snap switch is in its correct place, make sure the wires are fully on the terminals. Check the switch too. If all looks ok, there's a possibility that the snap switch is bad and needs to be replaced.

 

[Hogwildz]

You can access the fans & sensor by removing the grille, I forget which side the sensor is on, I believe its on the right side (facing the stove).

 

[Easy Living]

Yes, if the insert has been running at normal temperature with good fires, it should be plenty warm. According to the manual the surround needs to be removed. Look on page 11. It shows the snap switch in a couple photos. (fig 13 and 23). If the snap switch is in its correct place, make sure the wires are fully on the terminals. Check the switch too. If all looks ok, there's a possibility that the snap switch is bad and needs to be replaced.

After removing the side panel I noticed one of the connections was disengaged. Seems to work just fine Now. Automatically kicked on around 250 deg.

 

[begreen]

Good deal.