Fireplace Operation

[jrb]

I decided to start a posting for "Fireplace Operations".....lol For people yet to move in I think it might be useful....lol

I purchased a corner fireplace for my townhouse through Mattamy. In addition I purchased the "Blower" for $404.00

Over the holidays I have had friends and family over and they were questioning the operation of my fireplace. The issue is that the blower comes on periodically and then shuts off and it repeats this. The blower might only stay on one minute or two before it shuts off....then after a while it will come back on and repeat this cycle.

The question is "Should the blower remain on when the fireplace is in operation"?

I thought the blower coming on for a minute or two and then shutting off for a few minutes then repaeating this was normal operation. Now I am questioning this.

I asked K.C. and Style this same question. In addition I called a Lennox dealer today and asked. The dealer said the blower should remain on. In addition the blower should remain on a few minutes after the fireplace is shut off.

The blower on the fireplace does work because I can adjust the blower speed with the knob behind the grill.

I think now I will have to wait till after the holidays and call Mattamy and have the installation checked.

Does anyone else have any experience with this issue?

Thanks!

[K.C.]

In addition the blower should remain on a few minutes after the fireplace is shut off.

That's exactly how ours works. Also, when you first turn it on it takes a few minutes for the fan to come on. I think it must be waiting for the fireplace to warm up before it starts blowing air.

When we first moved in the fireplace used to make a loud whining noise. Apparently there was something stuck in it. They seem to do a rush job with the fireplaces so I wouldn't be surprised if alot of people have problems with theirs.

We just realized that our blower knob seems to be installed backwards but I can't be bothered to have it fixed.

[jrb]

I have timed the blower....

The blower will run for about 1 1/2 min.....then it shuts off......a few minutes later it will start up for about 1/1/2 minutes then shut off again........then this cycle keeps repeating...lol

There is very little heat coming off the fireplace this way. But it looks nice...lol

So far, everyone has been telling me the blower should stay on continually.

[K.C.]

When the blower is not working properly you won't get much heat from the fireplace. 1 1/2 minutes is not long enough to do anything. I think something went wrong with the fan kit installation.

[Joanne]

I have a fireplace, but did not buy the blower. If I run my ceiling fan when the fireplace is on it circulates the heat really well. I'm wondering if I should get the blower anyway? Thankfully there is an outlet under the fireplace if I do decide to get one.

[K.C.]

I have a fireplace, but did not buy the blower. If I run my ceiling fan when the fireplace is on it circulates the heat really well. I'm wondering if I should get the blower anyway? Thankfully there is an outlet under the fireplace if I do decide to get one.

Joanne, if you want to compare how well the blower works compared to an overhead fan you're welcome to come over to our house on a cold day and test it. I find the blower heats up the room so fast I usually have to turn it off after 10 to 15 minutes because the room starts to get too hot. If you use the fireplace alot you may want to consider having a fan kit installed especially if you can get it done for a reasonable price.

[Joanne]

Thanks K.C. I was actually at my neighbours recently and they have the blower so I checked it out. I find that my ceiling fan does just about the same trick as the blower minus the noise of the blower. I'm not sure that is more energy efficient to run my ceiling fan instead of a blower though.

[Ron&Collette]

Another thing for all to remember is to clean the glass regularly on their gas fireplaces. NO WINDEX or other GLASS CLEANERS!! Simply use vinegar and water and a little elbow grease and you will clean it up wonderfully. Doing this occasionally will keep it looking great and will avoid making it an incredibly difficult job once a year. I also only use a ceiling fan in the family room and find the heat distribution just fine.

[babymaeby]

Another thing for all to remember is to clean the glass regularly on their gas fireplaces. NO WINDEX or other GLASS CLEANERS!! Simply use vinegar and water and a little elbow grease and you will clean it up wonderfully. Doing this occasionally will keep it looking great and will avoid making it an incredibly difficult job once a year. I also only use a ceiling fan in the family room and find the heat distribution just fine.


Sigh, I have to do this, we use our fireplace often and I can already see a bit of a film building up. It is not a job I'm looking forward to.

[smartsexystylish]

Another thing for all to remember is to clean the glass regularly on their gas fireplaces. NO WINDEX or other GLASS CLEANERS!! Simply use vinegar and water and a little elbow grease and you will clean it up wonderfully. Doing this occasionally will keep it looking great and will avoid making it an incredibly difficult job once a year. I also only use a ceiling fan in the family room and find the heat distribution just fine.


Sigh, I have to do this, we use our fireplace often and I can already see a bit of a film building up. It is not a job I'm looking forward to.

I've looked at mine after reading this and I don't notice a film... Maybe I haven't used it as much?

[jrb]

Hi,

My fireplace glass had a "film" on it within the first 30 days. Cyril from Mattamy actually cleaned it for me when he came in to do my 30 day list work. I thought he was really good. Since then there has been no film on it. Maybe there is some stuff on the glass when it is new that gets burnt off and leaves a film during the initial useage.

I think Mattamy are good about fixing things. I mentioned to Mike about my fireplace and the day after I got a call from the installers to book an appointment to fix the blower. They figure there is a crossed wire somewhere. They are coming this week.

[K.C.]

Do you happen to remember exactly what he used to clean the inside of the glass? I don't feel comfortable using vinegar on the inside. At our last house my husband got something from Home Depot that was designed specifically for this purpose but we don't remember what it was called.

[jrb]

Hi K.C.

I gave Cyril just a wet rag with water on and he cleaned it.........the dirt on the glass came right off...

[jrb]

Hi,

My fireplace was fixed today...YEA!!!!!

I think Mike at Mattamy does a good job trying to resolve concerns of homeowners. The moment I mentioned I had an issue with the fireplace he contacted someone to get an appointment booked to fix it.

So for new homeowners, make sure you check the operation of your fireplace. The blower should remain on when the fireplace is in operation and still remain on a few minutes after the fireplace is shut off.

In response to the individual who posted the comment about a blower versus a ceiling fan, I think a blower is needed with a fireplace. It is surprising how hot the wood on the underside part of the fireplace mantle just above the firebox gets when the fan is not on.

[Ben311]

Can you noticeably hear the blower when it is on? We had a fan kit installed by Mattamy but I can't seem to hear it working when we have the fireplace on. Rick told us that the fan will turn on automatically when it is getting too hot; we have left it for over half an hour and can't tell if the fan is actually working or not. Should we be able to hear it kick in?

[smartsexystylish]

Can you noticeably hear the blower when it is on? We had a fan kit installed by Mattamy but I can't seem to hear it working when we have the fireplace on. Rick told us that the fan will turn on automatically when it is getting too hot; we have left it for over half an hour and can't tell if the fan is actually working or not. Should we be able to hear it kick in?

You'll definitely know when the fan is on. Ours doesn't necessarily kick in after half an hours use but longer. I haven't had ours on this fall yet so I can't give you an approx. timeline as to when it does kick in but I know it takes longer than 30 mins.
The fan will also run after the fireplace is shut off too when we've been running it for a couple hours, I guess to continue to "air" it out and distribute the excess heat.

Hope this helps. If it gets cold this weekend then I'll switch it on to monitor it.

[K.C.]

I just tested our fireplace to see how long it takes for the fan to come on. The fireplace was turned on at 10:17AM and the fan came on quietly at 10:23AM so about a 6 minute delay. After the fireplace was turned off the fan remained on and will stay that way until the fireplace is cool. The fan does not make a loud noise so you need to be close to the fireplace to see when it comes on. You can tell it's working when you can feel warm air softly coming out of the grills, so put your hand up close to it but don't touch.

If your fan is taking longer than 30 minutes to come on, it's not really serving it's purpose and there's probably something wrong with it.