mobilehomerepair.com

Anybody have fireplace tips?

Not sure what type of tips you are looking for.

Greg

Assuming you have the prefab-type fireplace with the circulating fan beneath the firebox(which I have in my MH), all I can offer is the basic advice: Use seasoned(at least a year) wood, build the fire correctly, keep the glass doors closed for maximum heat, and clean the chimney at least once a year. I use my fireplace in the cold months to supplement my oil furnace, although the heat output from the fireplace is minimal...I can keep my living room semi-warm, but the rest of the house stays cold, even with a roaring fire. Having a fireplace is a lot of work, but I enjoy mine...it was a major reason why I bought my MH in the first place and I have 5 acres of woods to supply me with free firewood.

So you find it better with the doors closed? I think I get more heat with the door open.


Recently I've been having a smokey smell in my living room. But I think it's because my firewood isn't seasoned enough and just causing a lot of smoke.

cajunla83 wrote:So you find it better with the doors closed? I think I get more heat with the door open.


Recently I've been having a smokey smell in my living room. But I think it's because my firewood isn't seasoned enough and just causing a lot of smoke.

If I am sitting right in front of the fireplace, the radiant heat will make it seem like the fireplace is putting out more heat with the doors open. However, I believe that the prefabs are actually more efficient in heating the whole room with the glass doors closed, creating a hotter fire inside the firebox and producing more convectional heat through the upper vents. Do you have a damper lever? Perhaps yours is not functioning properly or you have an obstruction in your flue pipes to the chimney...may cause a smokier fire. Or, like you say, if the wood is not seasoned and has a high moisture content, this will produce a smokier fire.

So I'm trying the full fire with glass doors closed and blower on

I hear the blower going.

But done feel any air moving.


It's supposed to input through the button and blow out the top right?

So

I can't find my instant read thermometer to test the door open cd door closed


I can say though that with doors closed I can barely get close to it to add logs when I do have to add.
It's super hot.

I just don't know how effectively I'm moving that heat throughout the large living room.

You may end up pulling it out and checking the blower system, it sounds like something is either not connected or blocked.

If you can find a manufacturer name you may be able to find information on line for it.

Greg

cajunla83 wrote:I hear the blower going.

But done feel any air moving.


It's supposed to input through the button and blow out the top right?

Yes, that is correct...the fan pulls air from the bottom vent and circulates it around the firebox, then exits warm air through the top vent. Mine has a variable fan switch on the right side of the fireplace surround. Fire roaring when the doors are shut is a good sign the lower damper is working...mine sucks air from underneath the mobile home. Having the doors open allows too much air for the fire and the draft from the chimney doesn't work as well. My living room is wide open to the rest of the MH rooms so it is difficult for me to measure the heat output of the fireplace. I've thought about putting up some sort of temporary barrier between the living room and kitchen/dining room area, so I can tell just exactly how warm I can get the living room with the fireplace heat. I also have a ceiling fan in the living room which helps(at low speed) to push the warm air down into the living space.

On your top vents do you feel air flowing??

I don't feel any.


But I feel I slight air movement inward on bottom vent.


My one also has te switch in the bottom right side.


While the blower is blowing, I hear it on the left side and occasionally hear another fan kick on on the right side. Or it may be the left fan kicking into a higher speed.


I don't get it and haven't been able to find a manual online.

so i pulled the doors and the lower vent revealing the blower fans.

all they are some cheap looking computer type fans. my right one wasn't spinning, so i fiddled with the connections and got it going again.
does anybody know if this particular setup can be upgraded.

also i'm supposed to have this air inlet damper in the outward position(leftward), right? i just discovered the control knob when i had the doors off, then i fooled with it, and now i don't remember which position i started off with.

My fireplace has a crossflow fan beneath the firebox...it's basically a long, rectangular fan which fits well in the small space there. You can probably find one to fit your application. My air inlet lever is open to the right and closed to the left...not sure if yours is the same. I don't have an owners manual for my prefab either, but I've discovered that the manufacturer of mine (Preway) is now out-of-business. I've found some other diagrams online of similar prefab units(Sears) and have used those as a guide.

Your fan motor is just. Like the Broan replacement motor for bath vents that they sell at Lowes and HD. Except the fan is different; the replacement doesn't come with the bladed fan, it's more of a non-directional rotor, that I don't get.