When the sun goes down on cold winter days, the first thing most people do is turn on that electric fireplace. However, one of the most irritating things you can encounter is the constant beeping of the fireplace when you expect quiet and serenity.
Your electric fireplace keeps beeping because the remote control batteries are getting weak and need replacement, the remote control signal receiver on the fireplace can be faulty, or something is wrong with your fireplace and needs your attention.
These are the most common problems you may encounter with an electric fireplace, but they are not the only ones. We will take a look at the reasons why your fireplace keeps on beeping and what to do about it.
Things To Consider When That Beeping Starts
Some motorized components inside an electric fireplace can stop working or get dirty after some use. All these things may cause the fireplace to send you a warning signal in the form of a beep to draw your attention.
You should also take into consideration that there are dust particles in the air that may cause blockages after some time. I think it is good to look closer at all the possible causes to isolate the problem.
Replace the Remote Control Batteries
The easiest way to find the cause is to eliminate all the possibilities in a step-by-step manner. You should start with the remote control batteries; usually, your electric fireplace will show a red light and the beep when the battery gets weak.
Open the remote control at the back (or wherever the batteries may be located) and replace the old ones with new batteries. Make sure you put the new batteries in the same way the old batteries were inserted into the battery holders.
Check the Remote Control Receiver on the Fireplace
Still, the receiver that is supposed to get the signal from your remote may be faulty on the remote control. This will take more than just a do-it-yourself job to get the problem fixed. I suggest you look at the manual for warranty conditions as well.
After you changed the batteries on the remote control and it still makes that beeping sound, this may be the problem. Before I jump to conclusions here, I would like to make sure that the following paragraph’s components are still working.
Other Components That May Be Faulty
I do not want you to assume that the components are faulty – it may be that they are just dirty and need to be cleaned properly. Following is a list of the components and what can be wrong with them to cause the beeping alarm.
Element
Most electric fireplaces come with a separate switch on the side where you can turn the element on and off. When you hear the beeping sound and your electric fireplace is not putting out any heat, do this step to see if there is any heat.
It is a good idea to switch it on and off a few times to make sure the switch is not just stuck. If the beeping stops, you found the problem. If not, and there is no heat, and the element may be broken and needs replacement.
If there is heat and you can turn the heat on and of or select different heat settings without trouble, there is no problem with the element. This step may highlight another problem if there is no heat. If you turn the heat selection knob and there is no audible click sound, it can be the thermostat.
The switch can also be faulty and fail to switch on the element, causing the fireplace to think it is broken. Ensure everything is properly connected at the switch, but be careful; this should probably be done by an electrical technician.
Fan
This is another critical component of an electric fireplace, and if it is stuck or not working, you will receive an alarming beep. If the fireplace is already operating for a few months or a year, the fan can stop working.
This can be because there is dust accumulated on the shaft of the fan, which causes it to simply just stop. However, if you did not take care of this problem at an early stage, the fan motor could already be burned out.
Thermostat
The thermostat is another electrical component that may just one day stop working and cause a lot of head-scratching for the layman. With the thermostat, there can also be more problems than just the thermostat itself.
Another thing that can go wrong is the selection knob that could be faulty and lose contact with the thermostat. This will cause the electric fireplace to think that the thermostat is not working properly, and it may give you the audible beeping sound.
What Else Can Go Wrong With Your Fireplace?
These are only a few things that can go wrong with your electric fireplace, but not all problems will cause it to beep. Other sounds may come from an electric fireplace and are not part of the normal operating sounds you may hear.
See the following website at Fireplace Universe for a troubleshooting guide on all that can go wrong with an electric fireplace.
Valuable Advice Regarding Electric Fireplaces
There are a number of things that are quite important when you want to buy a fireplace for your home:
- Most important of all is to buy an electric fireplace from a reputable brand and a reliable source.
- Make sure everything is working properly before you take your fireplace home.
- If you buy from an online retailer, make sure there are good return policies in place.
- Always be safe when it comes to electrical appliances; rather, get a professional to work on it.
- Make sure the appliance is not still under warranty before you open it to repair it yourself. This may cause the warranty to expire, and you will not enjoy the full value of it.
- Never, and this can not be accentuated enough, work on any electrical appliance without isolating the power from it. The best thing is to remove the fireplace completely from the wall plug before starting any work on it.
Final Thoughts
There are several things that can cause the electric fireplace to give off that beeping alarm. It’s up to you to determine why it’s making that noise if you don’t want to go mad from the constant noise. However, caution should always be taken when working with appliances. It is a good idea to have the operator’s manual next to you when you start the fault-finding diagnostics on electric fireplaces.
Go through all the steps I discussed here systematically and eliminate them as you go until you find the problem that causes the annoying beep. You will be glad you fixed the problem when your electric fireplace is finally quiet, and you can take a nap in front of it.
Steve Rajeckas is an HVAC hobbyist with an avid interest in learning innovative ways to keep rooms, buildings, and everything else at the optimal temperature. When he’s not working on new posts for Temperature Master, he can be found reading books or exploring the outdoors.