coleman fireplace

[Eric]

I have a Coleman fireplace with a grill on the bottom(and top?) and a blower/switch
The blower turns on but i cant feel any air moving ANYWHERE. Is this suppose to force warm air out into the room? Or does it do something else.?
Fireplace owners manual is no help on what this is suppose to do.
If it is to blow warm air into the room I would love to figure this out
thanks

[rmurray]

It should be pulling air into the bottom vent grates and forcing it through the fire bricks and then the heated air is supposed to come out of the top vent...

[CB]

I have an Intertherm woodburning fireplace with a blower that does the same thing. The fan runs but I don't feel any air coming out.

[Mitch Vierra]

Could it be a combustion safety blower Murry?

[rmurray]

Maybe. I would think the manual would cover this....but maybe it is a heat fan and they are running it too soon..It takes a while for the firebricks to heat up enough to heat the air...

[Eric]

We had a fire in the fireplace last night and I laid in front of this thing and pondered...
After several hours of fire there was no difference.
I took a piece of paper ash(very light and thin) and held it to the lower and then the upper grates with the blower on.
There was a slight suction effect over the lower grates(it would hold the piece of ash sucked against it) but there was absoulutely no air moving out of the top vents as evidenced by the paper ash not moving/blowing etc.
Has anyone ever taken one these apart/the front grill off?
It almost seems that the motor obviously turns on but the "blower" is not hooked up or a duct is blocked etc.
I've had no luck finding info on the net outside of this wonderful forum
any ideas appreciatted
eric

[James Whitington]

I was also wondering about something else. Behind the fireplace next to the damper lever is another lever that goes down behind the masonry. I wonder if the lever opens a door to the house air ducts and the blower blows the heat from the fireplace into the ducts to heat the whole house? My fireplace sets right above the main air ducts next the furnace.

[mike]

I have a intertherm fireplace which had the same problem......problem is the fan is not duct to force the air around and up the back then out the top vent.
SOLUTION......you will need, scrap sheet metal and tin snips or 2 tall aluminum cans (bud light I recommend) and scissors.
Start by drinking 1st can of beer. Remove glass doors, then bottom grate. You should now see the fan. Good job, now drink 2nd can of beer.
What you want to do is to close off both sides of the fan so air can`t come right back out the same vent. Measure both sides and cut sheet metal 1/2 inch larger (4x8 inches approx.)
Or cut top and bottom off beer cans, cut down side and flatten out metal...(since you already crushed first 2 empty cans on your forehead you will need to down 2 more).
Now place metal from side of fan unit to the side wall of chamber (do not block or cover fan). You will need to bend the edges of metal to make a snug fit. It will not and does not have to be a air tight fit, but do the best you can. Now repeat the same for the other side of fan.
I wouldn`t recommend any glue or apoxy because of the heat, just wedge it in so the air dams stay in place.
Now drink 2 more beers.
Reattach fan switch and test. Make sure air dams stay in place and not too much air is getting by. Feel for air coming out of top vent. If all looks good then replace bottom grate and glass doors. Woo-hoo, you are done.
This will improve the performance but is still a little weak, but works for a rig-job.
Now show it off to the wife. Maybe she will be so impressed she`ll bring you a cold beer.
For questions or comments e-mail me at [email protected] (subject fireplace).

P.S. I would not recommend having a fire burning during this repair.
Also writer of this post is not responsible for damages, injuries,
house fire, catching yourself on fire or alcohol poisoning.
Which some or all might have happened to me during this
improvement.

[rmurray]

Sounds like you are well on the way to a Happy New Year....GO FOR IT!!!!!

[Dianne]

I am a service supervisor for a manufactured home company. I stumbled across this forum while doing some research and feel compelled to provide some info. Mitch has the right idea. The fan on your fireplace is NOT designed to blow out warm air to provide heat in the room. While these types of fireplaces do exist, manufactured housing usually does not install these kind. The fan in your unit is designed to circulate air within the cavity of the fireplace unit to keep it cool. The fan should always be on when a fire is burning. Mike has altered the function of his fan in the instructions he provides in his e-mail. That is not suggested and Mike might want to contact Intertherm/Nordyne to confirm how this might affect the function and safety of his unit. James - your extra lever may be to open and close a fresh air intake that helps with combustion, I am not sure. We currently use Coleman, formerly used Intertherm here and none of them had any additional levers to them. Our fresh air intakes are permanent and do not have separate levers. TO EVERYONE - ALWAYS CONTACT THE HOME OR FIREPLACE MANUFACTURER WITH QUESTIONS AS IMPORTANT AS THESE! PS. My husband stays impressed. Good luck to all!