Insert fan blowing soot & dirt

[curdy]

I'll get some pictures up later, but first, here's the deal...

I bought a used medium sized Regency Wood Insert last year from a guy that moved into a house and replaced it with a gas one. It was in really nice shape and it heated nicely last winter. The fan was really noisy and I finally now got around to pulling the cover off and seeing what all the noise was from. I cleaned out the fan housing that looked like it came straight from a Stephen King story. The fan is running much better now - quiet and it pumps more air as well.

So last night I finished up and cleaned the stove area and re-inserted the fan housing. I turned it on to test it out and got blasted with what was more like a light sand - but very black. First assumption was soot, but it vacuumed up nicely with no left over mess (it got on the carpet and came up with the shop vac with no residue). Maybe its paint or rust from sitting a long time and the fan not blowing nearly to its potential - and now it is so its blowing it everywhere?

Either way, I need to get the thing cleaned out and compressed air it the only thing I can think of that would really get the job done right since I can't see in there and my vacuum won't fit (and even if I made it fit somehow, I'd be choking it by reducing its hose diameter to get in there). Lesson learned to clean it before installing it!

I guess I could take some old pillow cases and put them over the holes then blow them out.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[kd460]

Compressor is a good idea. <odify a blow nozzle so you can attatch a longer "wand" like a length of copper tubing to the endo of the blow nozzle. Now you can reach in there deep, and bend the tubing if you have to.

I like your pillow case idea, another idea is a garbage bage that has been cut open and a cheapee furnace filter taped to the cut open end.

It sounds like just built up junk in there from time and neglect. KD

 

[VelvetFoot]

Don't know about the fan, but that's a sharp-looking setup you have there.

 

[curdy]

Filter is a great idea! Come to think of it, I have one of those cut-to-size filters I'm never going to use. I'll post the results.

Thanks!

 

[curdy]

Don't know about the fan, but that's a sharp-looking setup you have there.

Thanks! Best $150 I may have ever spent!

 

[mga]

Thanks! Best $150 I may have ever spent!

when you installed that, did you have to run a liner or could you use the existing flue?

 

[curdy]

when you installed that, did you have to run a liner or could you use the existing flue?

Yes I did. Even thought the chimney was in perfect shape, literaly just like new - it was never used before I moved in, I still lined it. I think I built like 2 fires in there before installing the insert. Here's a thread I had going last year when I put it in.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=37951

 

[kd460]

Don't know how it did not make my original post, but you could adapt a blow nozzle to work a little better. I hooked a length of copper tubing to the end of mine for some hard to reach areas. You can bend it if you need to, make it long enough so you coud get way back into the channels or chambers and really blow that stuff out. Just some 1/4 inch tubing would be plenty. Good luck with it. KD

 

[curdy]

Well, here's how things panned out. I stopped fussing with the bag idea and just stuck some of the filter material in the holes. The compressed air worked OK, but I quickly realized that volume was more important than pressure. So instead I took my smaller shop vac and put the hose on the exhaust port. That sure did the trick! Got all the loose debris out for the most part, but its still pretty dirty in there.

Then the solution came to me in a vision. Dryer duct brush...looks like a mini chimney brush with a 10' flexible line attached. I ordered one yesterday. I'll post my results.

 

[curdy]

Well, the round brush didn't fit! But, the lint brush that came with the kit did, so I used that. I brushed the heck out of it with my shop vac hooked up to a thin attachment and stuck into one opening. It pulled a lot of the fine particles out of the air and the heavy stuff fell to the bottom. I cleaned out the bottom then and was pretty good to go.

Hard to believe that it was that dirty and wasn't noticeable last year. But after cleaning the fan off and seeing how much more air it pushed around, I'm not surprised!

Note to self...next time I purchase used equipment, always clean thoroughly outside where its easier BEFORE installing!

 

[mga]

did you clean the squirrel cage on the blower too?

often they get loaded with dust and it affects the amount of air being pushed.

 

[curdy]

did you clean the squirrel cage on the blower too?

often they get loaded with dust and it affects the amount of air being pushed.

Not so sure I know what you mean by "squirrel cage"...but what ever it is, I probably cleaned it. I took the whole housing out, disconnected all the wires, removed the fan from the housing and cleaned everything inside and out. I even organized the wires better with ties when putting it back together. Looks like new.

There's a rattle though that I can't seem to pin point. The fan doesn't rattle when I turn it on detached from the insert...so I'm guessing its one of the clips for the screws that attach the housing to the insert...not the fan itself.

 

[mga]

the fans are either of the blade type or they have whats called a squirrel cage fan....it's circular and it looks like one of those things a hampster runs around in.

lol...only way i know how to describe it. but, regardless, sounds like you cleaned it.

 

[curdy]

the fans are either of the blade type or they have whats called a squirrel cage fan....it's circular and it looks like one of those things a hampster runs around in.

lol...only way i know how to describe it. but, regardless, sounds like you cleaned it.

OK, I was going to guess that. Yeah, that was the main thing I needed to clean (keeping to air flow down)!