Local chimney experts for Fleming Island repairs and sweeps

Electric fireplaces need a different kind of visit from anything with a flue, and it helps to know what is inside one. There is a heater, which is a fan blowing across a heating element, with a thermal cutoff that shuts it down if it overheats. There is a flame effect, built from lights and sometimes a slowly turning reflector driven by a small motor.

There is a control board with a receiver for the remote, and there is the power connection, either a plug or a hardwired circuit. Each part fails in its own way. A unit whose flames work but blows no heat may have a tripped cutoff, a heat setting turned off, or a failed element or fan.

Flames that stop moving can point to the reflector motor. A unit that does nothing at all starts with the breaker, the outlet and the remote batteries. Owners can check those, clear dust from the intake and outlet grilles, and follow the reset steps in the manual. Beyond that, the unit comes apart for testing with a meter, and parts come from the maker.

Installation raises a separate question. The manual may ask for a dedicated outlet and warn against extension cords, and if a new circuit is needed, an electrician runs it, as the estimate will note. We fit and repair the unit itself, following its manual, and we check that the wall or insert opening gives it the clearance and airflow the maker specifies.

A buzzing, clicking or burning smell from an electric unit is a reason to switch it off at the wall and leave it off until it is checked. The manual also lists the clearance to curtains and furniture in front of the heater outlet. A wall-mounted unit keeps the manual's clearances on every side, including above, where heat from the outlet rises.

Our fireplace pros service electric units in Fleming Island homes alongside the other fuels. Call (904) 920-5495 to book a free inspection anywhere in Fleming Island.