Frequently Asked Questions

Adding a fireplace blower is an effective way of improving the efficiency of your gas or wood fireplace. But how do they actually work? In gas and wood inserts, blowers earn their money by improving the natural convection process that occurs in circulating style fireplaces. A blower forces cool air into the lower section of your fireplace and pushes that air upwards around the backside of your fireplace. As the air travels around the fireplace, the air is heated. Ultimately, that hot air is forced out of the top of your fireplace through a louvered or vented opening. This process can be a little different on freestanding, pedestal and wood stoves. In these cases, the blower is often mounted to the underside or rear of the stove. The goal in both cases is the same, which is to take an otherwise radiant heating appliance and move heated air away from the appliance as efficiently as we can. By doing so, we not only improve the overall heating efficency of the fireplace, but we warm the surrounding area much faster.

To learn more about how fireplace's work, check out our How Does a Fireplace Blower Work? page. If you still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact us directly for additional information.

Your fireplace's make and model information can typically be found below your fireplace by removing the lower access panel and locating the fireplace's name tag. The name tag, plate or identification card will contain useful information about the fireplace manufacturer, model, serial number, gas type, fan kit type and other useful information you may need to know. If you're unable to locate this information, please don't hesitate to contact us directly for further assistance.

Yes, it is true in most cases that installing a blower kit or replacing the original blower does not require a professional! In fact, most of our kits are designed for a DIY installation. Our aftermarket kits are all shipped pre-wired and fully assembled, which makes installation far easier. We also have a growing selection of installation videos for many of the fan kits we sell. The kits also come with written instructions, but in cases where installations are more difficult, we're happy to help over the phone and through email.

Yes, absolutely! All international orders are shipped within 1-2 business days. Orders to Canada are typically shipped with FedEx, our preferred Canadian courier. However, depending on package size, weight and location, we may ship with the US Post Office or the courier of our choosing. Delivery times can vary based on the courier, location and custom's clearance. When we're able to ship with FedEx International Ground, we pay all applicable duties and taxes, which prevents any further destination fees from being assessed at the time of delivery.

Yes. However, we can't always provide specific instructions for your exact model fireplace. Many of our kits work with dozens of models and model variations, which makes specific instructions nearly impossible. The written instructions we provide are what we call "contractor" grade instructions. This certainly doesn't mean that professional installation is required. It just means that in many cases, the written instructions are designed to be used across numerous models. To help with installation, we have put together a series of installation videos for most of the blower kits we sell. And of course, we're always available via phone and email to answer any installation questions you may have.

Most blowers installed in gas inserts are installed behind the lower access panel toward the rear wall of the fireplace. Cool room air is drawn into the fireplace and pushed upwards between the inner firebox and outer insert shell. As air circulates around the firebox, it's heated and expelled out of the fireplace, typically through a louvered or vented opening. However, see-thru and peninusula fireplaces often require the blower to be mounted on one or both sides of the fireplace. The circulation process is the same. Installation on wood burning fireplaces will vary based on the type of wood burning fireplace. Each fireplace manufacturer has recommended blower kits and specific blower kit mounting instructions, so it's important to determine which blower you need and where it should be installed. For the most part, fireplace manufacturers do a good job at placing the blower in the optimum position for air flow and motor cooling.

Here's an example of how the circulation process typically works in a gas or wood insert. Again, blower location can vary based on the type of fireplace, but the circulation process is similar for most fireplaces that accept blowers and fan kits.

While it may seem intuitive to install a blower on the top of the fireplace, most gas fireplace installations require the blower to be installed below the fireplace. Ambient and surface temperatures on top of a fireplace are often too hot for the blower to function reliably over a long-period of time. Other limiting factors include space and running power cords and electric wire along the hot surface of the fireplace.

A thermostat sensor is typically used when your fireplace installation doesn't include a designated wall switch for the blower (electrical outlet below the fireplace). Without a designated wall switch, the blower needs some way of turning on and off, which is where the thermostat sensor comes into play. If you have a designated wall switch, you can still use a thermostat if you prefer. You just leave the wall switch in the "ON" position and let the thermostat do the work for you.

Most blower kits use a specific sized blower, so replacement is often just a matter of replacing the blower with a properly sized replacement. Before purchasing, always confirm the dimensions of your original blower and match them directly to the replacement. Dimensions may not be exact, but they should be close. If you have questions on which is the proper replacement to use, please contact us directly!

Your owner's manual typically lists the recommended blower kit for your fireplace, assuming one is available for your unit. In many cases, universally mounted blower kits can also be used, but there are some things to consider before choosing a universal style kit. Space, type of fireplace and a properly functioning electrical outlet are just a few. If you need a hand finding the right blower kit, you can either contact us directly or use our helpful Find My Blower tool located at the top of several of our pages.

Yes & no. Wood burning inserts, freestanding stoves, and pedestal stoves typically offer blower or fan kit options. If you have an all brick fireplace, then hearth mounted blower kit options are often times available. However, if you have a brick fireplace that has been converted to gas logs, installing a blower kit is usually not an option.

While we do not carry specific sone or dB ratings for our blowers, the blowers themselves are actually very quiet. This is mostly due to the quality construction of our blower assemblies. However, adding a high flowing blower to an all metal box will always create the illusion that the blower is louder than it actually is. In many cases, what you're hearing is the sound of rushing air echoing against the metal surface of the firebox. Adding a rheostat variable speed control can help reduce the noise the blower produces by allowing you to control the RPM speed of the blower. Most of our blower kits include noise reduction padding to help prevent any metal on metal contact or added vibration from the blower.

A non-circulating fireplace (radiant) fireplace is one that emits heat through the hot surface of your fireplace only. A circulating fireplace takes advantage of convection by drawing in cool air from below the fireplace. That cool air is heated by the fireplace and travels upwards as the air becomes warmer. The warm air eventually leaves the fireplace through an upper vent or louver. A blower vastly improves this circulating process, which is why blowers are typically only added to circulating fireplaces. Additionally, circulating blowers have lower and upper vents or louvers for the air to freely travel through. So in most cases, blowers can only be added to circulating style fireplaces.