Trying to ID woodburning fireplace insert.

[TechWrench]

New member, but been burning wood for many years. I just purchased a new (to me) home in PA, the northern Pocono's. It was built in 1993, and has what appears to be a built-in Heatilator type fireplace, which I have not been able to ID, as of yet. I have not been able to locate any type of ID plate or serial number so far. It seems small, as far as fireplaces go, and it has an intake vent/grate below the firebox, and about 14" above the firebox, there is an exit vent. There is a blower unit in the space below the fire box. There are two adjustment handles built into the lower vent grate. The one on the left side slides left/right and open and closes two square openings located on either side of the inlet space below the firebox. The 2nd handle, located on the right side of the vent grate, moves in and out, and opens and closes two long narrow vent covers that are located on either side of the area below the firebox. I am including, I hope, a pic of the unit.

The unit measures about 27" wide, and is 24" high and the center of the two arched glass doors. The exit vent above the fireplace measures about 27" wide by 8" high. The blower unit seems to work, but I have not had much luck in getting the fireplace to work without getting a lot of smoke inside the house. Because of the design, I can't see up the flue, and there does not appear to be any type of flue damper. If anyone has any idea as who the manufacturer might be, or where to expand my search, I would appreciate it. There was no paperwork on it in the house, and the original owners were not available to ask about it.

Thanks for any assistance.

 

[TechWrench]

New member, but been burning wood for many years. I just purchased a new (to me) home in PA, the northern Pocono's. It was built in 1993, and has what appears to be a built-in Heatilator type fireplace, which I have not been able to ID, as of yet. I have not been able to locate any type of ID plate or serial number so far. It seems small, as far as fireplaces go, and it has an intake vent/grate below the firebox, and about 14" above the firebox, there is an exit vent. There is a blower unit in the space below the fire box. There are two adjustment handles built into the lower vent grate. The one on the left side slides left/right and open and closes two square openings located on either side of the inlet space below the firebox. The 2nd handle, located on the right side of the vent grate, moves in and out, and opens and closes two long narrow vent covers that are located on either side of the area below the firebox. I am including, I hope, a pic of the unit.

The unit measures about 27" wide, and is 24" high and the center of the two arched glass doors. The exit vent above the fireplace measures about 27" wide by 8" high. The blower unit seems to work, but I have not had much luck in getting the fireplace to work without getting a lot of smoke inside the house. Because of the design, I can't see up the flue, and there does not appear to be any type of flue damper. If anyone has any idea as who the manufacturer might be, or where to expand my search, I would appreciate it. There was no paperwork on it in the house, and the original owners were not available to ask about it.

Thanks for any assistance.
View attachment 225681

Ok, I finally had a chance to get back to house in PA, and went over stove with a fine tooth comb. Actually it was a good vacuum, and under about 1/2" of dust/debris in the blower compartment under the burn chamber, I found the ID plate. The fireplace is manufactured by Mendota Hearth, a Division of Johnson Gas Appliances, in Cedar Rapids IA. It is a model MHW-1E, circa 1991. An online search found the company, still in business, but apparently some time ago they got out of the solid fuel line and now only build gas fired units. According to information I found, this line of fireplaces was considered to be a well made, upper end unit. There was no support or documentation I could find on their site, but I was able to locate one of those online manual sites that has the original installation booklet, in digital form, which I can purchase. Once I get new door gaskets, and make some adjustments to the door closure handles, I will fire it up and see what happens. I checked the flue, and it looks in remarkably good shape. The original documentation suggest that the fireplace is rated for over 50k btu, and should be sufficient to heat a 3 bedroom house. We will see.

If anyone has any information on this company or this model fireplace, please chime in.

Thanks for all who read post, and for anyone who has any further info to add.

 

[begreen]

Before firing it up make sure there is no obstruction in the flue like a bird or bee's nest.

 

[TechWrench]

Before firing it up make sure there is no obstruction in the flue like a bird or bee's nest.

I thought I mentioned that I did check the flue, all is good. But, thanks for the reminder.

 

[stovelark]

I have been selling Mendota since the late 90's, their gas fireplaces and inserts are top notch. Very solid hearth company, well respected and are known for quality. I'm not familiar at all with any wood products from them though...

 

[webby3650]

I was aware that Mendota started out making wood burning fireplaces, but I’ve never actually seen one.

I loved my mendota insert! I had to leave it in the last house unfortunately.

 

[TechWrench]

Ok, I finally had a chance to get back to house in PA, and went over stove with a fine tooth comb. Actually it was a good vacuum, and under about 1/2" of dust/debris in the blower compartment under the burn chamber, I found the ID plate. The fireplace is manufactured by Mendota Hearth, a Division of Johnson Gas Appliances, in Cedar Rapids IA. It is a model MHW-1E, circa 1991. An online search found the company, still in business, but apparently some time ago they got out of the solid fuel line and now only build gas fired units. According to information I found, this line of fireplaces was considered to be a well made, upper end unit. There was no support or documentation I could find on their site, but I was able to locate one of those online manual sites that has the original installation booklet, in digital form, which I can purchase. Once I get new door gaskets, and make some adjustments to the door closure handles, I will fire it up and see what happens. I checked the flue, and it looks in remarkably good shape. The original documentation suggest that the fireplace is rated for over 50k btu, and should be sufficient to heat a 3 bedroom house. We will see.

If anyone has any information on this company or this model fireplace, please chime in.

Thanks for all who read post, and for anyone who has any further info to add.

Ok, an update for all.

Last weekend, while in PA, I stopped in the local Woody's Fireplace shop in Honesdale, PA. They were listed as a Mendota Dealer, so I thought I would see if I could find out any more information on the insert. I spoke to one of the store managers, Bill, who was very easy to talk to, and as it ended up, a wealth of information. When I asked about the Mendota solid fuel units, at first he was not sure if he could help. He seemed to remember that they did, a LONG time ago, sell the Mendota wood fired units, but he wasn't sure when they were in production. As we spoke, and I provided more information on the unit, his memory of them came back. He said that, as he recalled, they only sold two of those units, back in the early 90's. He said they were really well built units, but they were very expensive, and they were hard to sell in that local market. As we talked, I described where my house was, and showed him a picture of the installed unit. It was then that he remembered that back then, he was just an apprentice at the shop, and he was involved in the original install of the unit in my house. And he went back several years later, to repair a failed blower fan. He said that they were, in his words, a very solid unit, built like a tank, but just too overpriced for the market. Apparently Mendota only manufactured these units from 1989 till some time in '93/94. And, since they were such a hard sell because of the pricing, Mendota decided to get out of the solid fuel line, and concentrate on gas fired units. Once I get the doors re-gasketed, and cleaned up, the fireplace should, in his opinion, give me good service. I can't wait to see how it performs, once I figure out the controls and how to use them.

 

[webby3650]

Mendota has always been high end, still are.

 

[spudman99]

That is too funny. Gotta love the old time stories and the small world with which we live in. Thanks for sharing Bills remembering your stove.

 

[tmham243]

Hi there, thank you so much for following through and updating this thread, youve solved a multi year mystery for my wife and I as to what in the story was behind our mendota fireplace.

If you dont mind me asking what did you do with the handles? The thread with the locking mechanism snapped in half leaving us unable to fully seal the door and I would love to hear some ideas.

Also, would you happen to have any information on your blower motor? It appears the previous owners removed ours and decided to just leave a phantom switch in the wall.

Thanks again for the information!

 

[TechWrench]

From what I can determine from the copy of the owners manual I downloaded, the fans, there are two, are 120vac motors, and the parts breakdown gives a part # 15-02-00021. No indication of price, or if they are still available. I am not in PA this week, so I can't see if there is any nomenclature plate on the motors. I doubt these motors are still available from Mendota, but it is possible an aftermarket motor that matches the specs of the oem motor might be found. Also, if you are missing the fan blades, that would be another issue to solve.

As for the handle problem, without actually seeing the damage, it would be difficult to comment on what may be needed to repair the latch assy., the manual also lists part #s for the handles. There apparently were two different trim levels, a plain black finish, and a Walnut trim finish. The part #s I found are as follows:

Door Handle Assemblies: Black trim, LH - HA-10-00042, RH - HA-10-00043 (the RH handle assy., includes nuts, heatshield & latch pawl )
Walnut trim, LH - HA-10-00044, RH - HA-10-00045 (this one also includes the extras listed above.)

Again, no mention of cost, and the availability may also be suspect.

At the moment, that is the best information I can provide.

Good Luck

 

[begreen]

That's the left side blower motor. Looks like it's still available at some places.
https://www.hechlers.com/product/15-02-00121-mendota-left-blower-replaces-15-02-00065/
Right hand blower
(broken link removed to http://www.hechlers.com/product/15-02-00120-mendota-right-motor-replaces-15-02-00064/)

 

[TechWrench]

That's the left side blower motor. Looks like it's still available at some places.
https://www.hechlers.com/product/15-02-00121-mendota-left-blower-replaces-15-02-00065/
Right hand blower
(broken link removed to http://www.hechlers.com/product/15-02-00120-mendota-right-motor-replaces-15-02-00064/)

I can't say for certain, because I am not able to view the fireplace since I am out of state at the moment, but I feel that the blower motors indicated in the links you provided may be for the newer gas fired units. These units are what I like to call, 'squirrel' cage type blower, but I seem to recall that the blowers in my wood fires stove were more like a standard shaft type motor with a fan blade. Again, I am relying on a 'recollection' memory that my not be accurate. I don't recall specifically studying the motors when I was searching for the ID plate. The parts breakdown that I have only lists one part number for the blower motor, so I just assumed that both motors were the same and not different units for the left/right sides. When I am next in PA, I will take a closer look.

 

[TechWrench]

I can't say for certain, because I am not able to view the fireplace since I am out of state at the moment, but I feel that the blower motors indicated in the links you provided may be for the newer gas fired units. These units are what I like to call, 'squirrel' cage type blower, but I seem to recall that the blowers in my wood fires stove were more like a standard shaft type motor with a fan blade. Again, I am relying on a 'recollection' memory that my not be accurate. I don't recall specifically studying the motors when I was searching for the ID plate. The parts breakdown that I have only lists one part number for the blower motor, so I just assumed that both motors were the same and not different units for the left/right sides. When I am next in PA, I will take a closer look.

OK, Back in PA, and had chance to look at blower system in our fireplace. As I thought, the wood burning unit, like mine, uses a different style fan than the one listed in an earlier post, which I believe are for the gas fired units. The fan system in my fireplace looks to be a pair of square box fans (not unlike the case fans in a computer tower). The two fans are encased in a frame, side by side, centered under the firebox. The fan frame is mounted to the base with screws, and it has a pig-tail wire harness that is connected to the power source with standard wire nuts. I haven't checked it with a meter yet, but it looks like the fans are directly wired to the 120vac supply from a wall switch which turns the fans on/off. I am sure that the actual fans would be easy to source from most any electrical supply house. But the enclosure that they are mounted in is another issue. It may be possible to fabricate an enclosure for them.

 

[begreen]

Are the fans mounted to the frame with thru bolts so that they can be dismounted? If so, Grainger has several models of 115vac square axial fans.
https://www.grainger.com/category/axial-fans/cooling-fans-and-air-circulators/hvac-and-refrigeration/ecatalog/N-rl8?searchRedirect=axial fan

 

[TechWrench]

Are the fans mounted to the frame with thru bolts so that they can be dismounted? If so, Grainger has several models of 115vac square axial fans.
https://www.grainger.com/category/axial-fans/cooling-fans-and-air-circulators/hvac-and-refrigeration/ecatalog/N-rl8?searchRedirect=axial fan

Yes, now that I took a closer look. The enclosure I mentioned is actually a face plate mounted to two studs on the floor of the unit, The two fans are fastened to the plate with small machine screws and nuts. I will try to attach some pics. The fans you linked to should work, as long as they will handle the heat. With the right measurements, the face plate should be fairly easy to make.

I checked closer, and they look to standard size square axial fans. The Dayton 4 11/16 square units with 4 1/8 mounting holes look to be the right size. The 4WT46-49 units are the right size, the only difference being the CFM rating. My only concern is the ambient temperature rating of 158 degrees. Not sure how warm it gets below the firebox.

 

[yooper08]

This is going back a several months when I was just playing with my IR gun, but I don't recall seeing temps that high on my insert in that area. I recall seeing most surfaces under 100. You get a lot of cool air being pulled underneath via convection.

 

[TechWrench]

Hi there, thank you so much for following through and updating this thread, youve solved a multi year mystery for my wife and I as to what in the story was behind our mendota fireplace.

If you dont mind me asking what did you do with the handles? The thread with the locking mechanism snapped in half leaving us unable to fully seal the door and I would love to hear some ideas.

Also, would you happen to have any information on your blower motor? It appears the previous owners removed ours and decided to just leave a phantom switch in the wall.

Thanks again for the information!

I believe you have a Mendota unit, from your post, and I have a question about how mine was built, that you may be able to help me with. There is a lever, on the right side, below the firebox, which on my unit controls two plates that will raise or lower, to cover two rectangular ports on either side of the chamber below the fire box. The plates are supposed to have a fiber sheet attached to the top side, which acts like a seal when the plate is raised to close of these ports. These ports control how much air is allowed to flow from the bottom chamber up thru the heat exchanger and out thru the top vent. I went to glue the fiber piece back onto the to side of the plate, but noticed that both the left and right side plates did not line up with the ports they are supposed to control. It looks like, when the unit was built, the mounting plate that supports the rod that raises and lowers these plates was not aligned properly when it was welded on to the bottom of the firebox. Both of the plates are off-set about 1/2" to the right, from the ports, so that they do not completely cover the port opening when raised. In my unit, the horizontal rod that extends left and right from the mounting assy., is tack-welded to the bracket that raises the rods and moves the two plates into place to seal the port openings. Since each plate is more than large enough to completely cover the port opening, it doesn't make sense to me that they would have been purposely off-set from the ports so that the ports would always be at least 1/3 open.

If you could, would you be able to look underneath your unit at how these plates are aligned with these ports? I am interested in whether or not the ports are supposed to be completely covered when the control lever is set to raise the plates to the port openings.

If you could do this, when you get a chance, I would appreciate it. I don't need any pics, just a confirmation on whether or not the ports are completely closed off when the plates are raised.

Thanks for your help.

PS: I contacted Mendota about the construction of the damper doors for the Secondary control system, and the tech said that the door covers , by design, are not supposed to completely cover the port opening. So, I replaced the fiber sheet gasket, and re-assembled the lever and door system as it was. So, apparently what I thought was an assembly mistake, was in fact a design element.

 

[Schildwache]

The house we bought last year has a Mendota MHW-1 that has been a constant source of problems. It obviously needs new door and glass gaskets, but that won't solve the major problems. It has an outside air supply, but the air intake seems to be under the firebox with no way to actually supply the fire with outside air. It is very difficult to get a fire started. Because of the lack of outside air the doors must stay open and smoke rolls into the room. Once the fire has a good bed of coals it will function decently. I don't understand this air supply setup.

 

[TechWrench]

First, I would highly recommend you locate, if you don't already have it, a copy of the owners manual for this unit. It can be easily found online, and will go a long way toward helping to understand how this unit works.

As for the outside air feed. From your pic, the two square air feed inlets, on either side of the chamber are closed. These inlets control the feed of air into the firebox. If they are open, as they should be during normal burn conditions, the outside air will get into the firebox thru them. The left hand lever, Primary control lever, controls the covers that open and close these ports. In most burn situations, this lever should be moved to the right to fully open these doors. The manual recommends only adjusting these doors, if you want to reduce the amount of air to the fire.

I have found that my biggest issue with this unit is getting a positive draft started when the unit is cold. I have an 18' flue, located in an outside chase, and it can be a bear to start a draft when the pipe is cold. I have found that using a heat gun, inside the burn box for 10 minutes of so will usually get a draft started, before I light the fire. If there is a bed of coals, then this isn't necessary.

Usually, when starting a fire, I close the left door all the way, and leave the right door open just a bit, until I am happy with the burn. Then I close and lock the right door, and usually have no further problems. The lever on the right side, the Secondary control lever, controls two air inputs located horizontally on the top of the chamber under the burn box. The manual recommends this lever be left in the closed position, lever pushed in and latched on the small notch on the left side of the lever. Them manual suggest that this lever only be opened if you want to minimize the amount of burn.

Once I figured how to use the controls, I have had really great function from this unit. I did note from your pic, that you do not have the optional blower system. I have it on mine, and it works well to increase the heat output from the unit. Only issue is the fans are a bit loud. I intend to try to find a set of quieter fans in the spring, once the heating season is over.

Hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, just ask. I will try to help as best as I can.

 

[Schildwache]

First, I would highly recommend you locate, if you don't already have it, a copy of the owners manual for this unit. It can be easily found online, and will go a long way toward helping to understand how this unit works.

As for the outside air feed. From your pic, the two square air feed inlets, on either side of the chamber are closed. These inlets control the feed of air into the firebox. If they are open, as they should be during normal burn conditions, the outside air will get into the firebox thru them. The left hand lever, Primary control lever, controls the covers that open and close these ports. In most burn situations, this lever should be moved to the right to fully open these doors. The manual recommends only adjusting these doors, if you want to reduce the amount of air to the fire.

I have found that my biggest issue with this unit is getting a positive draft started when the unit is cold. I have an 18' flue, located in an outside chase, and it can be a bear to start a draft when the pipe is cold. I have found that using a heat gun, inside the burn box for 10 minutes of so will usually get a draft started, before I light the fire. If there is a bed of coals, then this isn't necessary.

Usually, when starting a fire, I close the left door all the way, and leave the right door open just a bit, until I am happy with the burn. Then I close and lock the right door, and usually have no further problems. The lever on the right side, the Secondary control lever, controls two air inputs located horizontally on the top of the chamber under the burn box. The manual recommends this lever be left in the closed position, lever pushed in and latched on the small notch on the left side of the lever. Them manual suggest that this lever only be opened if you want to minimize the amount of burn.

Once I figured how to use the controls, I have had really great function from this unit. I did note from your pic, that you do not have the optional blower system. I have it on mine, and it works well to increase the heat output from the unit. Only issue is the fans are a bit loud. I intend to try to find a set of quieter fans in the spring, once the heating season is over.

Hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, just ask. I will try to help as best as I can.

My unit has only one lever to open the flaps behind the louvers below the firebox. It apparently serves a dual purpose; to supply air to both the firebox and the heat exchanger. There is a pipe that runs across the upper front of the firebox that is about 2.5" in diameter. When I reached behind it I discovered 7 holes about 1/4" in diameter. They hardly seem large enough to supply an adequate air supply, although once it really heats up and a good draft gets going, it might have kind of a jet effect (once the new door seals are in place). Maybe that's why they quit making it. Maybe I could drill some bigger holes in the pipe to allow it to breathe better.

 

[TechWrench]

My unit has only one lever to open the flaps behind the louvers below the firebox. It apparently serves a dual purpose; to supply air to both the firebox and the heat exchanger. There is a pipe that runs across the upper front of the firebox that is about 2.5" in diameter. When I reached behind it I discovered 7 holes about 1/4" in diameter. They hardly seem large enough to supply an adequate air supply, although once it really heats up and a good draft gets going, it might have kind of a jet effect (once the new door seals are in place). Maybe that's why they quit making it. Maybe I could drill some bigger holes in the pipe to allow it to breathe better.

Even though you have the almost same model number, as mine (my model number is MHW-1E, not sure what the E designates) it appears that your unit does not have all the controls that mine has. Looking closer at the pic you posted, I can now see that you do not have the Secondary control system like mine has. My unit also has the horizontal pipe going across the upper front of the firebox, with the holes in the rear. If you can read the ID plate, I believe it should indicate a manufacture date. Mine was built in 1991, and I curious to see if yours is an earlier version. That might explain the differences. The only other issue I have with mine concerns the outside air feed. According to my manual, there was an optional damper control, which could be used to close off the outside air pipe, when not un use. I have noticed that I do get a cool draft from the lower chamber when the unit is not in use. It would be nice to have the ability to close that outside air pipe when not burning. Also, the glass doors on mine require regular cleaning to be able to see through them.

As for the door gaskets, you should be able to get replacement gasket material and adhesive at any good stove shop. I originally got gaskets for both the door frames and the glass inserts, but after having difficulty in removing the fasteners for the glass, I decided to just replace the door gaskets and not risk breaking a fastener that might be hard to replace. I found it much easier to remove the doors so I could work on them on a bench. I originally had some surface rust on the door frames, so by removing them I could remove the rust and paint them while replacing the gaskets. They now seal much better.

I would suggest that before you try altering the holes in that tube, you try contacting Mendota Hearth and ask to speak to one of their techs. The one I spoke to was very friendly, and willing to answer all my questions. They may be able to help you with some of your burn issues.

 

[DanF]

I have bought a house with one of these same Mendota woodburners and was wondering if any of you have experience or recommendations installing quieter fans for the fireplace. The existing pair of box fans work but are a bit noisy and bother my wife so much that we don't turn them on. I know we would get much more efficiency out of the fireplace if we could push air through the system. Any thoughts?

 

[jetsam]

Taking a loud fan apart and giving it a clean and lube usually quiets it down. Even if the bearings are worn, the improved balance of the blades makes less vibration. While you are in there you may see other opportunities to quiet it down, like hard or missing bushings.

 

[TechWrench]

I have bought a house with one of these same Mendota woodburners and was wondering if any of you have experience or recommendations installing quieter fans for the fireplace. The existing pair of box fans work but are a bit noisy and bother my wife so much that we don't turn them on. I know we would get much more efficiency out of the fireplace if we could push air through the system. Any thoughts?

I have the same issue with mine. The wife isn't happy with the noise they make, especially when trying to watch TV in the room. When I removed the fan assembly, to address another issue, I did note that there didn't appear to be any bushings between the fan frames and the mounting plate. As mentioned earlier in this thread, there should be several possible replacement fans available aftermarket. In the spring, once the burning season is over, I intend to look into replacing the fans, with some that are a bit quieter, I hope. If one were to try to install bushings in an attempt to quiet the fans, the material the bushings would be made of would have to take in to consideration the operating temperatures in the chamber under the firebox.