replacement hearthstone clydesdale blower??

[gfb1]

Hi all;

This is our second full season with a Hearthstone Clydesdale -- and it has given great performance overall. However, when I fired it up for the first time this season, the left blower did not work. After disassembly and full cleaning, it appears that the brushes are 'gummed up' and jamming the unit. It is a sealed unit and must be replaced
I called our local dealer, and a new blower+motor is $150 with 2 week delivery from Hearthstone.

This morning, the right blower stopped working -- which I'll take apart later this evening.

There are no identifying markings or labels on the blower or motor, and was wondering if anyone had a source for replacement blowers/motors. Even knowing the technical specs of the motor would be helpful.
To be honest, I wouldn't mind replacing the stock motors with a more powerful fan. Less noise would also be good!

While I'm thinking about it; the rheostat/speed control is pretty crappy too. Does anyone have a recommendation for a better unit??

Thanks in advance,
guy

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've known many folks who find those blowers just do not last long at all and just go to moving the air with small fans sit in doorways or hallways.....blowing the cool air into the stove room. Good luck.

 

[gfb1]

Thanks, I appreciate the thought... However, since this is a fireplace insert (and not a stove), without a decent blower -- it can't heat the house.

After I took apart the blower assembly, I found that the company painted over a portion of the motor housing -- so, some scraping and a bit of paint thinner and I found a partial part number. To make a long story short...

These blowers (called "Crossflow Blowers") are made by a company EBM-PAPST <http://www.ebmpapst.us>, and can be purchsed from Newark Electronics <http://www.newark.com>, Galco Industrial Electronics <http://www.galco.com> -- although their lead times in purchasing out of stock parts can be excessive.

It appears that some of the blowers can be found on eBay -- although the 'left sided' blowers don't seem to show up. I did, however, find a website <http://onlinecomponents.com> that seems to have both left and right blowers in stock. I can get both motors for $120, as opposed to $150 for a single blower. I know its not my local dealer that is overcharging -- so, I suggested that they go to the sources I listed, pass a discount on to their customers AND make a few xtra buckaroos at the same time!

Oh yeah... I forgot to mention that the parts I will be purchasing will up my airflow from the standard 150cfm to 214cfm -- hopefully giving me a bit more heat flow to the house. I always felt that the stock fans were underpowered...

The pdf file for the QLK-series fans if anyone is interested... http://www.ebmpapst.us/allpdfs/QLK45AC.PDF

Cheers,
guy

 

[rlivingood]

Guy,

Great info. Which QLK motors did you order. I like the idea of getting a couple of them before mine break and also the better air flow. How did they work out this winter?

Much thanks,

Rod

 

[gfb1]

Hi Rod;
Sorry for the delay... took me a while to find the old order form. I replaced the LEFT blower motor with Model Number QLK45/0024A14-2524L-34KX (made by EBM-PAPST, Inc.). The Part Number was: 55442.60082 .

Now... Installation required a bit of modification, but nothing scary. Basically, the stock fans have extended sidepieces, which allow the fan to be attached (via screws) into the upper portion of the blower housing -- lowering the fan, so the airflow enters the stove air circulation system.
The replacement blower does not have these extensions.

So I purchased 2 L-brackets from Lowe's (less than $3). the short arm of the "L" was attached to the upper part of the blower housing with the short-arm facing inward. The replacement blower motor is slightly longer than the original as well -- I used the existing mounting holes in the blower housing to mount the outer (or left-most) side of the fan, and drilled 2 new holes in the stove's mounting bracket to accomodate the inner portion of the blower (right-most side of the motor -- which is closer to the center of the stove).
Then the blower was attached to the long-arm of the "L" with a short screw/bolt into existing mounting holes in the fan housing .
The net effect was to lower the fan into the proper position.

There was a bit of interference from the small pan that holds the controlling arm of the stove air intake lever -- so, I just bent it downward.

It has been working nonstop all winter, and the increased airflow significantly increased the heating ability of the stove. We noticed the change right away.

I should also point out that an increased capacity motor replacement on the right side will not fit; the new blower is 13" in length and 2 of these will not fit. So, I would recommend just replacing the right motor with the 10.4" standard replacement. This still increases your air flow by nearly 20%.

As I was installing the blower; I kept thinking, "you should really be taking some digital pix and write it down".
duh. my hindsight is always 20:20 ...

Good Luck!!

 

[rlivingood]

Great info again and exactly what I needed. You'd have been too thorough if you had posted pictures.

Really appreciate the response. I'll get my order in next week.

Rod