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Old 10-23-2006, 08:18 AM   #1
Hemlockusa
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FIREPLACE ALERT

I felt this should be posted in GEneral Discussions also as it is a very important piece of SAFETY INFORMATION. Saturday, I read the post BOBCAT had made about the fireplace mantel. I called Dimplex for additional information on this subject of the heat on the mantel. Cheryl of Customer Service just called me. She advised that the mantel should be OK, in regards to heat. However she did say that the Fireplace SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A PRIMARY SOURCE for heat. She advised to not have it on longer than three hours at a time and NEVER UNATTENDED OR ON DURING THE TIME YOUR ASLEEP!!!!! It's a wake up call for me as Christa and I used it overnight all night long on four occassions in Arkansas this last week when the temp dipped.
Cheryl advised that she was very concerned that folk's were doing the same thing I did. She said it was UNSAFE. and also said not to leave on for pets while your away from the RV. She advised the fireplace is designed as a temp warm up ONLY. The unit plugs in and extended heating will result in the unit burning out and or plug wire getting hot enough to catch fire. She said that there is a safety feature built into the fireplace. BUT... We both went over the Dimplex manuel while on the phone, as she was concerned that the limits of the unit were not mentioned.. This was going to be brought to the attention of high up's she said. I felt this important enough to post on both the General and Maintenance thread. I hope I didn't over step my boundry here, but If this information keeps just one person from getting hurt. I think it was worth it.
Sorry I was so long winded... Safe Travels John
 
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Old 10-23-2006, 08:39 AM   #2
HamRad
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Hello John,
I'll check to see what brand of heater I have but if it is the same as what you're talking about we run ours all the time! When I say "run" I mean it is on but the heating element part of it is only on for short durations. It will come on and then turn off when it reaches the cutoff temp. So are you talking about the heating element being on or just the fact that the heater is on?

I would think that the fan and light parts of the heater would not be a problem. But perhaps you can provide more details.

Thanks for the info.

HamRad
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Old 10-23-2006, 08:40 AM   #3
Steve and Brenda
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John, sounds like the OEM was not certain that the safety device - most likely a thermal interrupt was not going to protect the unit if they worried about the burning of the power cord. That would make their power cord not rated for the expected current load - and thats BAD!!!

Brenda and I spent the weekend at the lake and used our fireplace instead of the furnace because the night time temperature dropped to the high 30s and the electric fireplace was PERFECT for keeping the RV at just the right sleeping temperature.

If there's a problem with long duration use of the fireplace heater then there should be a recall or warning or timer or something before people are seriously hurt. Has anyone addressed this to Keystone and received their take on this issue?
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Old 10-23-2006, 09:25 AM   #4
Hemlockusa
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Steve - the lady was talking about the use of he heating element being on constantly... I guess I didn't explain myself, on the front behind the grill is say's "Optiflame" Actually it was a selling point when I bought our 5th wheel, as the saleman did say how nice it was to use the CG electrical to heat instead of the Furnace. If you go by the manuel as printed, there is no mention of the danger and that is what I brought to the Customer Service Lady's attention at which time - she went over the manuel with me on the phone... and agreed it was not mentioned. She then said 3 hours tops and let the unit cool down and under no conditions leave it on while your away from the MONTANA or sleeping. I really don't know if Keystone realize's this or not - evidently there has been no fire's or mishaps yet or they have not been reported to our group. She said things would overheat andd become dangerous - I took that to mean the element and wiring.. Maybe Keystone should take a look and inform everyone their finding. I don't know who to call at Keystone, but I am sure there are several of MOC members that do. John
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Old 10-23-2006, 10:39 AM   #5
bsmeaton
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Good Info John,

I'm steps away from installing one in our 2955RL, as I see there are several new Optiflame models used in the new units.

The only thing holding me back is trying to decide if I should install a fireplace in our old unit - or just buy a new unit with a fireplace! Unfortunately for my checkbook the DW and I went to the Dealer to look at the fireplaces (it was snowing outside and they had all of the fireplaces turned on). Made us loose interest in our old unit in a hurry - man those new ones are nice!

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Old 10-23-2006, 03:30 PM   #6
Charlie
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John-
I understand if the heating element was on constantly that there very well could be a problem. We do as Dennis, ours stays on for long periods of time but have the thermostat on the heating element set so that it cycles with room temperature. Up until now I have not had any problems with the fireplace itself but will be aware of the situation and monitor it a little closer.

The one problem that we have had I posted on another thread the past couple of days. Our unit is a 3295RK and there is a common switch for the microwave and the fireplace mounted on the left side of the microwave cabinet. Because of current demand and the fact that these two applicances share the same circuit, only one can be used at a time. My problem was the switch somehow failed and would only allow 90 volts to the fireplace which was not enough to make it run. The microwave side of the switch was still working properly. This is a common two pole 100v 20a switch found at most hardware stores.
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Old 10-23-2006, 04:55 PM   #7
snfexpress
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From another post in Repairs. This happened to my unit:


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Old 10-23-2006, 05:19 PM   #8
Driftwoodgal
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Michael,

Thanks for the picture, but can you tell me what we are looking at? We have the fireplace and are planning on using it to heat the chill out of the RV in the mornings and using it for low heat at night.

I thought the fireplace was just like a normal electrical heater that comes on and then shuts off.
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Old 10-23-2006, 05:24 PM   #9
Navigator
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We just returned from a two week trip to Oregon and used the fireplace as our main source of heat!!!

Day and night temperatures were moderate enough that we never had to use the furnace since the fireplace was doing such a great job of keeping us warm. At times the heating element was on for more that 24 hours at a time.

Our friends, in their new 3400, told us how great the fireplace heated their unit and that's when we tried ours as a heat source. But we both agreed that the mantles got very warm to the touch.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I will try to contact our friends who are still on the road and probably still heating their 3400 with the fireplace!!

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Old 10-23-2006, 11:59 PM   #10
HamRad
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Driftwoodgal,
It is a regular electric heater. You can set the thermostat to more or less heat. It then comes on and off as the temperature demands. Please understand that our main source of heat is the propane furnace and we use the electric heater just to take the chill off. On moderate weather days it will often keep the furnace from ever coming on.

The mantle on our electric unit does get warm but certainly within reason. We run it at night as well as day as necessary. We certainly appreciate the info about some units getting too hot but do not plan to make any changes in the way we operate our heating units.

Michael the fire in your unit would appear to me as if there was a loose connection. I'm certainly no expert but sure looks like it. That experience had to be scary for you folks.

Dennis and Mary Kay
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Old 10-24-2006, 04:33 PM   #11
boat391
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Hemlock
thanks for the heads up we were told by the keysotne rep that the fireplace was not a heating source just use it to take the chill off and thats the way we have used ours I do feel that safety is our number one concern here and will take your advice about not useing it for extended periods thanks again for your input
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