GFK-160 GFK-160A Replacement Stove Fireplace Blower Fan KIT with Ball Bearings Motor for Heat N Glow, Regency Wood Stove

Our Heat N Glo natural gas fireplace was outfitted with a junction box (electrical outlet) and a cutout for the fan speed control knob, but not the blower. This blower came fully assembled and wired. Included in the wiring harness is the blower, a fan speed control knob, a magnetic temperature sensor, and a 3-prong plug. Installation took about 20 minutes. Tools needed were a screwdriver and pliers (to mechanically attach the speed control knob to the fireplace control panel - my choice, but not necessary. Knob can also be installed anywhere behind the access panel below the fireplace). Make sure to test first which of the 3 outlets on the junction box (Fan, Aux, Trans) has power to it. I used Aux because that outlet was controlled by a separate switch. This way I can turn the fireplace on with or without the blower. Make sure to place the magnetic temperature sensor towards the back on the underside of the firebox, since that location heats up the fastest and therefore turns the blower on sooner.Overall the blower works great and is pretty quiet. Big increase in heating efficiency of the fireplace.

This product arrived on time, and of good quality. It works with my Heat-N-Glo gas fireplace, no problem, and puts out a lot of warm air with very little noise. I'm very satisfied with the product.I only gave it 4-stars simply because it doesn't arrive with detailed instructions. If you can install a light fixture, you can install this, but since I've never done one before I wasn't familiar with how everything was wired underneath my unit.A google search or two is all it took, but I could see how some might want to pay for the convenience of ordering a higher priced version that comes with more instructions and help/support. I didn't need that, so I saved myself ~$75.

After seeing the numerous poor reviews and complaints about noise, I hesitated a bit before buying. But the unit I got works very nicely. I actually used it for a Quadra-Fire Explorer II woodstove instead of buying their $350 fan option. I did need to make a simple bracket with a piece of sheet metal, but I expected that since this fan wasn't made for my woodstove.Yes, the wiring directions seemed impossible to me to figure out, but I relied on another review here and got it together. " Yellow / green from the blower goes to yellow on the power cord. One of the black wires from the blower goes to either black or white on the power cord (doesn't matter which). The third blower motor wire (also black) goes to the fan switch, from the fan switch another wire goes to the temperature sensor, and finally the sensor connects to the last power cord wire. That third loop (from blower to switch to sensor to power cord) allows power to reach the blower only when the switch is on and sensor decides it's hot enough." Thanks BK! It can also be wired without using the temperature rheostat.One reviewer somewhere said that the variable speed switch can easily be replaced with a 3-way switch from a hardware store if it gives out. That was a plus in my opinion.I found the fan to move a lot of air for my application. Of course, at higher speeds you hear more air/wind sound, but not overly loud or annoying. I often run it at half speed since our woodstove is in our living area. At low speeds there's a faint rapid ticking sound which I think is from the way the variable speed switch works - likely cycling the current on/off to reduce fan speed. the reviewer mentioned above said that a 3-way switch eliminated that ticking sound. Really, I don't even notice it when I'm 3 feet away. Maybe I got a different switch with my blower.So for the price, It's been great for me. Definitely moved warm air out from the stove and gave us more heat for the amount of wood that we burned. Used it all through the past winter season with no trouble.I'm still disappointed with my Quadra-Fire Explorer II wood stove - very poor design function there- but this fan at least improved the heat that I get from it.

Here is my experience with installing this GFK-160 unit in the Heatilator ND4236x..When I opened the package, I tested the fan blades by spinning by hand. I could hear a rubbing sound on one side where the blades must have been touching the casing at some point in it's revolution. I pulled a little on the overall unit in an effort to 'bend' the outer casing back to 'straight'. It worked! To be clear, there was no visible bend in the casing, but something had to be slightly out of true to make the fan blades rub against something.I was happy to see that the wires were already plugged together correctly. All I would need to do was connect the power cord.I plugged the unit into the wall before I attempted to install beneath the fireplace. As it has a thermostat sensor, I got my firelighter and put a flame on it to heat it up. Be sure not to touch the sensor with the flame like I did accidently, as I now have a scorch mark on the metal piece of the sensor housing.After a few moments, the thermostat clicked and the unit powered on. Awesome! I tested the speed control and felt the air blow, all good! At this point I plugged it into the 'fan' outlet on the power module in my fireplace, and I discovered it wasn't working/wired, so I moved it to the 'Aux' outlet and it worked as normal. I guess my fireplace installers didn't bother to set the 'Fan' section of the power supply to working status.I had a fair bit of trouble getting the blower into position, because my fireplace has a 'lip' on the bottom which means I lose about 3/4 of an inch clearance initially. I began investigating how to remove this lip, but it seems that I would have to take the whole fireplace apart. I persevered, and like a puzzle I managed to twist the blower this way, then that way, then back again, and with a bit of force (and some scratch marks that will be hidden) i finally got it over the lip and into position at the rear.I did not bother to use the velcro, i just used the rubber feet. It does have a motor noise, I fail to see how sticking it to the fireplace housing could possible reduce the noise, if anything it would transmit and amplify it even louder? I don't know.And now the best part; sitting 5 feet away I can feel the hot air blowing into the room, instead of out of the house through the flue. It really is making a SUBSTANTIAL difference. It's like having a separate hot air electric heater blower sitting there. Time will tell over this winter to see how fast or slow I have the speed setting. I've actually left the speed dial OUTSIDE the lower grill (above that problematic lip), so anyone can change the speed easily. I'm sure on a cold morning, family members will be inclined to put the speed on full to quickly warm up the area before dialing it down a bit..So in summary if you have a fireplace without a blower, I recommend getting one, and this model seems to be pretty decent.