Troubleshooting a Defective Blower / Fan Kit

How to properly diagnose, troubleshoot and fix an improperly functioning fireplace blower kit. If you have any questions, call us directly at 262-989-4882 or email us at [e-mail].
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[@Spiritrun-hf2vf]

It's nice to know there is still some 'straight forward' honesty left in this crazy world!

[@pierred3632]

Just putting an audible ohmemeter could go faster but i get the point making the video for people's who dont have one , great video.

[@Spiritrun-hf2vf]

Bravo to you guys for presenting an easy 'step by step' video how to trouble shoot a fan blower problem: Easy to follow and understand without useless 'fills'. I followed your instructions and found the rheostat to be defective. It only cost me $14 and change and saved an exorbitant $350 service fee by local scamming contractors who made it sound like 'rocket science'. Congratulations for you professionalism and expertise. THANKS!

[@fireplaceblowers]

Thank you very much! We always love hearing stories like this, so thanks for sharing!

[@tamarasotillo8388]

Clear and concise method for diagnosing problems with a blower. Thanks so much!!

[@jeremyhall3563]

This helped me troubleshoot my hearthstone champlain 8300 (blower assembly #93-57000). I bought this thing second hand and it's over 20 years old at this point. First I confirmed that the blower worked using your trick to connect the power from the outlet directly to the blower. I was fortunate enough to have gotten an old blower assembly when I purchased this thing which only had a defective power cord. At this point I knew it was either the rheostat switch or the snap switch, so I hooked each up to the old blower assembly (using the power from the new assembly kit). I found that the snap switch was defective and took that off of the old one. Everything works now! Thank you for this great video.

[@fireplaceblowers]

Well done!!

[@tuwannarico]

Thanks guys great video.. got my fireplace working.. had put the new switch in wrong, shorted it the speed control sensor.. they surely are not made to run 8hrs or more/day!! Best to run it 4/5 hours then turn off let it cool down 30 minutes to hour before turning back on!! But thanks for the help!!

[@lizroffey4512]

Thank you so much for the great video! I followed your steps and was able to find my problem. We live remotely so really helps to be able to diy with some help!

[@Nostrafatu]

Concise and to the point now if I can only find the switch or the sensor instead of having to buy the whole fan/switch/sensor. I am sure it's one of these three. If the motor is fine can I hook up the heat sensor directly to the fan and bypass the switch because in my case the wall thermostat used to kick in automatically so there is no need to have a speed control switch. Thanks

[@Sertao2013]

What happens on 99.9 percent of these fans is the metal magneto that is attached to the bar that is hooked up to the fan breaks lose from the bar so the magneto just makes a big squealing sound . If you take the 2 screws at the end of the motor off and you pull the motor off you will see the cylinder magneto slides off the bar . The way the magneto is attached to the bar is a very poor design . The best way to fix it is the make cut marks into the bar and jb weld the magneto into place . This will give you years and year of use without this problem again .

[@havingagoodtime6687]

I got a new stove/blower last year and it takes many hours for the blower to come on and sometimes it doesn't come on at all. And usually never stayed on for long. I'm just going to bypass all that crap and use it manually.

[@fireplaceblowers]

Definitely sounds like an issue related to the temp sensor. Check positioning and make sure it's sitting flush with limited to no air gap. We see this a lot when there's an air gap between the sensor and stove. Regards, Jason

[@dandydonslife9869]

Great video, this may help me to fix mine, thanks.

[@robertzysk451]

My fan fluctuates when the stove comes to temperature it may start out very slow and speed up and vice a versa. Help I’m about to purchase a new Regency speed control fan 910-330.

[@steviemac6121]

Ok when I installed the gas fireplace GDI-30N I wired it hot to a plug it would never work So I needed to replace my thermopile today all good fireplace is working now now the blower is coming on and off in the off position Just so you know I replaced the wiring to the toggle switch as well as the toggle switch confused

[@joshmassett1949]

Great instructions. My fan stays on all of the time. Must be a broken temp sensor?

[@fireplaceblowers]

Yes, I'd lean towards that being the issue!

[@philmcclenaghan7056]

Hi guys, my blower wasn't working so I decided to follow this guide. My fireplace didn't have as many components: just the blower linked in series to a temperature sensor. While I was trying to remove the temperature sensor it hit the side and sparked. I then found that the actual issue was that the previous owner's kids had dropped a plastic toy into the blower fins so there was nothing actually wrong with the blower. It now won't turn on. Which part do I need to replace after short circuiting the temperature sensor?

[@fireplaceblowers]

Hey Phil, great question and sorry to hear about your issue. If you accidentally grounded the temp sensor, the likely culprit is now the speed controller. The rheostat has a small IC board that isn't fused protected, so it's going to take the brunt of that accidental ground. You can confirm this easily enough by bypassing the speed controller to ensure the blower is still working properly. Most of these blowers, including all of ours, have impedance protection built into the motor to protect against things like this. So in your case, I'd look at the speed controller more closely. I think you'll find that's the issue. We carry just about every speed controller imaginable, so feel free to email us at [e-mail] and we can determine exactly what you need. Regards, Jason

[@garryblok8514]

I have a nepolean GD2 for the life I can not find the temperature sensor. Need some help please.

[@lindas.3272]

I bought new blower for my regency woodstove, fits fine and and works but when I put it in the unit casing to mount to the back of the stove and turn it on it makes a terrible vibration noise, how do you get rid of that

[@fireplaceblowers]

Feel free to call us directly and we can always walk you through a few things to try! 262-989-4883. Cheers, Jason

[@joeweatlu5169]

I find it interesting that the motor is controlled using the neutral wire. Is there a reason why the hot wire is not the one that is used to control the fan?

[@fireplaceblowers]

Either one can actually be used, since the speed controller and temp sensor are just fancy switches. On some setups, you'll see the speed controller on neutral, the temp sensor on hot and visa versa. This was really just a basic example, but a great observation! Regards, Jason

[@YuhBoiJay]

My blower motor keeps binding up on mine and i have no idea what it is. It spins for 5 seconds and slows down till it gives up and does a safety shutdown

[@fireplaceblowers]

It's either the blower itself or the speed controller. I would bypass the speed controller to rule that out since it regulated voltage to the blower. If that doesn't resolve, it's definitely the blower. Bearings could be seizing up on you.

[@gregoriodecker2692]

My blower fan comes on.. the temp sensor was replaced 2 years ago.. and the fan was working slow sometimes.. if i tap it it would speed up.. but now i can hear the fan kick on and just hum so it seems the fan is just bad.. the speed controller switch at the front that can manually turn it on and off etc seemed to work as it should because i can still turn the noise/ fan up and down and off.. sound like the fan is bad to you?

[@fireplaceblowers]

Yes, based on your description of the issue, it would sound to me like the blower is on it's last leg. Possible bearing issue. Temp sensor and speed controller both seem fine. Give us a call if you have any questions! Regards, Jason

[@kenwhite8728]

Great

[@fireplaceblowers]

Thank you!

[@michaelgrant4950]

thank you for the video! could much of the troubleshooting also been done with a multimeter instead of applying power?

[@fireplaceblowers]

Of course! Not everyone is familiar with how to use one, so we tried to make it simple for those less electrically inclined :)

[@aggienodari453]

Can't you incorporate a fuse on the Hot Leg of the rheostat?

[@fireplaceblowers]

Yes, a fuse could certainly be added for additional protection. We typically follow the OEM fireplace specifications when building our own kits, which never include a fuse, but it's technically a great idea and one we'd like to see incorporated by more OEMs. We've added them on expensive builds before.

[@mikejobling8741]

my fireplace has IPI ignition and a GFK4B fan kit blower that is supposed to be controlled by a fan control (it does turn on and off auto) but it only works at MAX setting - any less and the blower motor shuts off. It has always worked this way - might the control module be defective? basically no control over blower speed - max or nothing

[@fireplaceblowers]

Sounds like the speed control / timer module may be defective. You likely need part #SRV4021-708 if you have the original OEM GFK4B kit installed. fireplaceblowersonline.com/heatilator-heat-glo-factory-gas-fan-replacement-control-module-srv4021-708/ Let me know if this helps! Regards, Jason

[@bernadettevaughan6909]

My fan hits the back metal plate as it spins. Seems like there is too much movement with the blades

[@fireplaceblowers]

Which back metal plate are you referring to? The mounting bracket or the back wall of the fireplace itself? Shoot us an email at [e-mail] and we'll be happy to help. Regards, Jason

[@tempstep4058]

My issue is that both the heater and the blower run, then I hear a click like an electric short and then everything stops and screen shows 88cf, the cf being on top for Celsius and Fahrenheit. My heater is Realflame . There's also a burning plastic smell coming out of the heater.

[@fireplaceblowers]

If you have an electric fireplace, that's usually a sign of overheating. The overheating causes a shut down. You'll want to look up that troubleshoot code with Realflame to confirm. A tear down of the heater will likely be likely to confirm exactly what's causing the over heat malfunction. Hope that helps!

[@tempstep4058]

@@fireplaceblowers Yes, I'm tearing it down as we speak. They don't have those three components as you show on this video. They have it all wired up on a circuit board. So when one thing fails, I'll have to change the whole circuit board. After the switch, that little black wire is connected inline to this black box on the circuit board. That really sucks. Don't know how I'll go about fixing that.

[@user-jw1oq5rm2y]

En français merci

[@cypvh74]

How do you do this if the blower is still installed in the fireplace?

[@fireplaceblowers]

The speed controller and temp sensors in most setups are easily accessible and have enough wiring to allow them to be removed without completely pulling out the blower. So you just do one at a time and through the process of elimination, determine which of the switches is causing your issue. In some rare cases, the entire setup needs to be pulled from the fireplace, but that's the exception.

[@cypvh74]

@@fireplaceblowers thanks so much for the reply.

[@fst1416]

My blower works but I get an E3 error after about 90 seconds. I did unplug the sensor from the Main Control Board and then I got a E1 error after about 20 seconds. Any ideas what to troubleshoot next? Thanks

[@fireplaceblowers]

Make and model fireplace?

[@fst1416]

TwinStar/Classic Flame 28II200GRA. I unplugged the remote cable from the board, turned it on, it ran for over 4 minutes. Plugged cable back in board same thing. Seems to be working now for some reason. Also it blows the heat further before I had the problem. I can feel the heat a foot away if not more as before maybe 7 inches away.

[@myviews469]

But you didnt bypass the restat switch?

[@fireplaceblowers]

Technically no, but for the purposes of the video we had a defective one wired in and a known good one ready to roll :)

[@sunsmile57]

I need to replace the bearing on the end of the fan. Do you know where I can buy it. (Red button)

[@fireplaceblowers]

Sorry for the late reply Bianca. There are dozens of sizes and bearings and styles in these blowers. We'd have to know exactly which one you have to help you find the correct one. Sen us an email to [e-mail] and we can certainly help.

[@trishjovi]

Still lost lol

[@fireplaceblowers]

Call us a 262-989-4882 or email us at [e-mail] and we can always help. Cheers, Jason

[@trishjovi]

@@fireplaceblowers thanks just cleaned off the dust and got it working… will save your info