# Fireplacextrordinair FPX 44 Elite Fireplace Questions



## aseiser (Nov 2, 2010)

I have a new house with a FPX 44 Elite.  I just started burning it this last week and overall I am very happy with the performance.  Mine drafts and burns very well.  I am having no problems with smoke at all.  It is set up with the positive pressure and is pulling air from outside.  I live in Southwest Michigan.  I have even had reasonable luck with long burns so far.  The thing I am questioning is the fan operation.  It seems to take about 45-60 minutes from a cold start for the fan to kick in.  During a burn if the fire dies down or just after reloading the fan will tend to cycle on and off.  It may cycle off for 5-10 seconds and then stay on for several minutes and then repeat.  Has anyone else experienced this?  I also have had a hard time keeping the cat glowing?  I guess both of these are heat related problems, but the amount of heating coming out when the fan is on seems good.  Thanks.


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## johnstra (Nov 2, 2010)

I think what you're describing is normal.  I had an Xtrordinair 33 in my previous house.  It does take time for the fan to kick in.  30-45 minutes sounds about right.  And if the temperature in the firebox fluctuates around the threshold, the fan will start and stop.  It's kind of annoying, but normal.  They are very good fireplaces.  Enjoy.


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## scojen (Nov 2, 2010)

I have an FPX 36 elite just installed last December. In my unit it does take some time for the fan to kick on (15-30 on average). Once the fan does kick on I have no problem with it staying on. Sometimes it will be still running when only a few coals are left until I open the door. I believe (but I could be wrong) there is an adjustment on it and it may need adjusted. If not, could be a faulty sensor, or as you said you are having problems getting and staying up to temperature (which I doubt). I have had very few problems with mine other than the usual growing pains of learning to operate it properly and efficiently (which I am still doing). So far it's been great!


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## aseiser (Nov 3, 2010)

I ended up calling Travis Industries and they recommended putting a little bit of insulation on the back of the disk sensor to keep the cold incoming air from cooling of the sensor.  I put some on last night, but I am not sure if it made any difference yet.  I will post when I know the results.  Thanks for your responses.


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## Got Wood (Nov 3, 2010)

Welcome to the forum! Nice to have another FPX owner here. I have the 44. Starting my 3rd year with it and still learning/tweaking. Will gladly share what I have experienced. 

From a cold start I would say 20-30 min before the fan kicks on is what I normally find. Then as the fire burns out and cools down it does cycle on and off. During this time of year it is more noticable as the "one a day fires" run the full cycle. Once you go for the 24x7 burns you will find the fan stays on pretty much all the time.

BTW - there is another thread active now title something like "Cat Glowing" that deals with the FPX units.


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## FPX Dude (Nov 3, 2010)

The sensor is kinda behind the first vertical brick on the right.  I moved the bricks a little bit so the gap between them more aligns with the sensor, even gave it a little extra space there so the heat doesn't have to warm the bricks and then the sensor, seems to work reduce amount of time for fan to turn on.  Also, a friend of mine starts his fires with just a propane blow-torch and he'll hit the sensor with it after he gets the fire going.  My normal fan time to turn on from a cold start is ~20-30 mins.


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## Chargerman (Nov 3, 2010)

I just discovered a little over a month ago that the vacation home my parents bought a couple years ago has a FPX 36 in it. I was curious to see how it performed and burned a little in it while we were up there. It seemed to be a nice unit. I recall about 20-30 minutes before the fan kicked on as well. It did cycle on and off towards the end of the burn but not for seconds at a time. I would guess 5 minutes off and then kick on for several minutes but I wasn't really watching it that close.


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## SpeakEasy (Nov 4, 2010)

It's always great to see another FPX owner on this site. Welcome!

The switch for the fan is thermostat-controlled, and I believe I remember reading that it kicks on at 350 degrees. And, as others have said, it is located behind your front right firebrick. So, if your fire is not heating that front right corner of your firebox, it will take a while to get that area up to 350 degrees. It seems to me that the heat has to be "in" the steel for the fan to kick on. With that enormous firebox of the FPX 44, you may want to build your fires so that they heat up the front right corner area first.

As far as the cool-down period is concerned, the cycling on and off is normal. Again - the mass of the steel is the issue here. Once the steel is up above 350 degrees, the fan stays on. But as the steel slowly cools while the fire is on its downward course, the temperature of the sensor stays near that critical 350 degrees for quite a while. It seems to me that the range for "on" for the sensor must be sort of wide. Its sort of like it can't figure out whether to be on or off. Then, once it has cooled enough, it is clearly in the "off" category.

Hope this helps
-Speak


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## aseiser (Nov 5, 2010)

After putting the insulation on the back of the sensor, it seems to be running more consistently.  I have another question for you guys.  What speed do you normally run your fan at?  Do you adjust it very much?  Thanks.


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## Got Wood (Nov 5, 2010)

aseiser said:
			
		

> After putting the insulation on the back of the sensor, it seems to be running more consistently.  I have another question for you guys.  What speed do you normally run your fan at?  Do you adjust it very much?  Thanks.



Good question.

I usually have mine set to the highest setting unless its getting to hot in the room then I'll turn it down. I have wondered if the is a correlation to burn times/efficiency and the fan speed but I have not experimented much with this.


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## Chargerman (Nov 5, 2010)

Did you guys ditch the grate? I read somewhere that helps with burn times, or at least coaling for reloads.


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## aseiser (Nov 5, 2010)

I took mine out this week.  It makes more room for wood and makes cleaning ashes much easier.  I don't have enough burning experience to know if it improved efficiency or burn time.


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## Got Wood (Nov 5, 2010)

I have left mine in although for no real reason.  I cant imagine how taking it out could increase burn times though once you have an ash bed built up. I usually keep my ash bed about level with the bottom of the grate.


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## flyingpig (Nov 5, 2010)

I don't have the FPX 44 but I always want to put some kind of metal rods on the floor of my FPX33 laying N/S to permanently create the "tunnel of love" instead of finding two small splits to do that. But interestingly FPX 33 manual indicates that it is prohibited to use any kind of "grate" inside, while the FPX 44 comes with one. 

But I agree that remove the grate from the 44 shouldn't be a problem as long as you can get the fire going with enough air going to the back of the firebox. It should help increase the capacity also.

Cheers......Som


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## Chargerman (Nov 5, 2010)

Got Wood said:
			
		

> I have left mine in although for no real reason.  I cant imagine how taking it out could increase burn times though once you have an ash bed built up. I usually keep my ash bed about level with the bottom of the grate.



Probably just getting more wood in would be the biggest possibility for longer burns.


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## scojen (Nov 9, 2010)

aseiser said:
			
		

> After putting the insulation on the back of the sensor, it seems to be running more consistently.  I have another question for you guys.  What speed do you normally run your fan at?  Do you adjust it very much?  Thanks.



I have an FPX 36 elite and I keep the fan on high at all times but I am also heating a large space.


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## scojen (Nov 9, 2010)

Chargerman said:
			
		

> Did you guys ditch the grate? I read somewhere that helps with burn times, or at least coaling for reloads.



I finally ditched the grate this year and it seems to be working very well. however, i make sure that I rake my coals to the front of the box when loading wood. This ensures that oxygen can still reach the coals. It also makes it much easier to remove the ashes.


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## FPX Dude (Nov 9, 2010)

Yea, ditched the grate and make the "tunnel of love" (Kudo's to who ever thought of this name, ha!) with bottom splits when I reload.  I usually keep the fan on 3/4 speed..."Grandma always said if you run things at full speed they tend to wear out faster"!


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## Trail_Time (Dec 21, 2010)

aseiser said:
			
		

> I have a new house with a FPX 44 Elite.  I just started burning it this last week and overall I am very happy with the performance.  Mine drafts and burns very well.  I am having no problems with smoke at all.  It is set up with the positive pressure and is pulling air from outside.  I live in Southwest Michigan.  I have even had reasonable luck with long burns so far.  The thing I am questioning is the fan operation.  It seems to take about 45-60 minutes from a cold start for the fan to kick in.  During a burn if the fire dies down or just after reloading the fan will tend to cycle on and off.  It may cycle off for 5-10 seconds and then stay on for several minutes and then repeat.  Has anyone else experienced this?  I also have had a hard time keeping the cat glowing?  I guess both of these are heat related problems, but the amount of heating coming out when the fan is on seems good.  Thanks.



Mine does the same.  My blower draws outside air, and if it is cold and I run the blower on high it cycles just like yours.  If I turn it down it runs better.  What did you use to insulate the sensor?


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## aseiser (Dec 21, 2010)

I just used a little bit of fiberglass insulation and secured it with aluminum tape.  I also just disconnected the duct from the outside and now I am pulling air from my basement.  I think this is working better, the fan stays on more and more heat is coming out of the fireplace.


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