Lopi Insert Blower Upgrade?

[JohnR51]

We have had a Lopi Declaration woodburning fireplace insert for a couple years now and have learned that it is very dependent on the blower running full bore to get any heat out of it. The birdcage fan produces a high pitched whine which is very obnoxious and will probably lead to us all needing hearing aids before our time. So my question is does anyone know of any compatible blower upgrade that would ideally be quieter and produce more cfs of air movement?

 

[Iron Head]

I have the Lopi Revere and based on the design of the Lopi blower, it's a matter of maintenance you need to do. After loading up the stove, you need to vacuum up all the ash and debris around the stove or else all that stuff will get sucked in by the blower. And after each burning season you need to remove the blower unit and clean it well. It helps to oil the fan shaft too. Good luck.

 

[JohnR51]

I have the Lopi Revere and based on the design of the Lopi blower, it's a matter of maintenance you need to do. After loading up the stove, you need to vacuum up all the ash and debris around the stove or else all that stuff will get sucked in by the blower. And after each burning season you need to remove the blower unit and clean it well. It helps to oil the fan shaft too. Good luck.

Iron Head,
Thanks for the reply. We are aware of the tendency for ashes to get sucked into the fan and pull the front off and vacuum it about monthly during burning season. I've never tried to pull the fan assembly out but maybe next spell of warm weather I'll give that a look. It doesn't sound like dry bearings, I think its more just a noisy fan design.

 

[Ironworker]

I had the same problem, and removed it and added a blower, works just as god and only $50 as apposed to $300.

 

[roundhouse]

the blower motor is apparently a Fasco K612

plugging in the number on my Lopi fan,
70022282 into fasco's website
http://www.fasco.com/distribution/motor-cross-reference/
gives K612 as the current replacement model


which is used in alot of bathroom fans and stove vent hoods

about $35 for a new motor, youll need 2
Lopi wants $350 for a new one.
thats highway robbery !

http://www.electricmotorwarehouse.com/fasco/C_Frame.htm
has a lot of info on the models and specs

 

[TKeller]

JohnR51, have you tried taking the blower off (two bolts holding it on in the center area) and blowing out the dust with a compressed air hose. Stopped my squealing, humming etc. Do this as routine maintenance at end of every burning season. This is the OEM blower that come with the lopi freedom insert......

 

[Iron Head]

JohnR51, have you tried taking the blower off (two bolts holding it on in the center area) and blowing out the dust with a compressed air hose. Stopped my squealing, humming etc. Do this as routine maintenance at end of every burning season. This is the OEM blower that come with the lopi freedom insert......

That is my SOP up to 3 times per burning season.
This is my second Lopi Revere blower in 4 years and it is starting to "behave poorly".
I'm thinking the problem is not the motor but the controller because I by-passed the temperature sensor by hardwiring.

 

[mohick]

Clean it, oil it. The reason it ain't putting out air , it's struggling to even run. You will be surprised how much more air it blows when running as it should, prob. just turning a few hundred r p m s.

 

[mga]

I have a theoretical question about the blowers:

as you burn wood, the heat going up the chimney is basically air, which in turn creates a negative air pressure in the home. this air loss has to be replaced and usually it's by air that seeps in thru doors, windows, wall outlets, or any other opening available. after all, if your home was 100% air tight, your fire would either go out, or you'd suffocate, or you would have to open a window. the efficiency of any wood burning apparatus comes from the ability to keep up with the colder air coming in. blowers just recirculate the air in the house that is already heated.

so...if the blower intake was set up to draw air from the outside, pass thru the unit to be heated and blown into the home, wouldn't this stop the cold air seeping into the home? or, would the air be too cold for a unit to heat? and, even if you didn't have the blower on, it would still draw the air via the same way and act like a low speed blower. so, if you has a variable speed blower, drawing air from the outside into your unit, you'd be creating a positive air pressure in the house and no longer a negative one....right?

I know some units have outside air to feed them, but you would have to damper them down, and if you did that, you're again drawing air from the house. that balance would be hard to maintain.

 

[dave_376]

I have an Avalon insert (parent company to Lopi) and I have the same gripe about the poor fan design. Yes it puts out good heat and moves a decent amount of air but it is so LOUD. I think I will brake down and buy a new fan from Avalon once I get the ambition to repaint the stove.

My stove is older and has a solid brass door which has seen better days. I tried to polish it a few years ago but it never looked great because of scratches and dings in it. I was considering painting that all black also. Anyone have a black stove with a glass door painted black? How does it look?

I also had an issue this year with the air control being hard to move in and out, I fixed that with some silicon spray. It smelled in the room for a few hours but was well worth it because it now slides easier than ever.

 

[flashhole]

This is the Lopi Freedom we installed this year. The black front looks nice.

 

[flashhole]

The blower is a lot louder than we expected it to be.

 

[ponyexpress976]

Lopi Freedom user here. Our fan was ridiculous right out of the box. It has always had a bit of a rattle to it despite tightening everything I could get to. Cleaning and oiling seems to quiet it some...for about a week. Just goes to prove you can't polish a piece of crap