Thermal Switch Can be used with Fireplace Blowers for automatic blower operation # 19-SF2-115 by ALLTEMP

I bought two of these switches (19-SF2-115) for the wood stove in my garage. I only needed 1 for this project. They came within a few days as promised. At first, I was not sure if these switches would operate properly under high temperature on the hot metal surface of a wood stove.So while I was soldering the switch to my blower circuit, I used the heat of the soldering tip to trigger the switch. Sure enough within a few seconds of exposure to high-temp ( 120 F + ) the switch turned on, and it did not have any problem with the motor as a load. I was definitely concern about it not being able to handle the motor initial on current. After removing the heat source to the switch, it remained on for about 5-10 minutes then switched off automatically.After my successful test with the soldering gun, I went ahead and place the sensor in the lower back of the wood stove, where it is much cooler than the stove top. It took a few minutes for the stove to warm up, but once it did the blower turned on as expected. I left the stove to burn itself out to see if the blower would turn off on by itself. Again as expected, about 45 minutes to 1 hr later, it turned off on its own.The switch has been in operation for a couple of weeks now with almost daily operation of the wood stove, it is still holding up without a glitch. I don't know the life expectancy of these switches, with the constant exposure of heating and cooling in the long run. But over all, I am very satisfy with the performance of these switches so far.

It works GREAT! This single device replaces a home made unit that a genius electronics engineer friend of mine put together about 27 years ago.Originally I used commercial switches sold by the stove dealer which kept burning out because they were held directly onto the woodstove magnetically (and I went through three of them at the tune of $45 a pop). I couldn't find a spot on the stove that would start and stop the fan at the proper temperatures. My engineer-friend used a test board full of holes interconnected underneath with maybe 20 or so ICs, resistors and capacitors and short jumper wires all over with its own power supply to operate the fan built into the woodstove and two add-ons spread around the hallways of the house to move the warm air generated throughout my home. His creation would start up at when the air coming out of the woodstove vents was just right and turn off when it cooled down.I decided to replace his board with this single sensor when troubleshooting became too difficult (over the phone from California to Pennsylvania) to successfully debug after the original solid-state thermocouple finally failed. I had cooked it by placing it in the direct flow of 500+° air. (It had become charred.) But all works fine now. Glad I stumbled on this device, but THANK YOU Arnie for almost THREE DECADES of use!

Finally got all the components it needed to make my gas logs function. I installed this thermal switch beside the chimney pipe and it functions very well.You do have to purchase heat resistant wire and connecters. You can find the wire at a store which supplies electricians with items they need. I purchased 4 connectors and 2 five feet lengths of wire and 2 small earth magnets. Take your switch with you to the store and memorize what the connector on your fans original on off switch looks like so you can make sure you will get the proper supplies.Install connectors on one end of both wires, install onto your thermal switch. Instead of using screws that would damage my firebox, I attached strong tiny earth magnets to the thermal switch. Place within a few inches of fireplace pipe. Run one wire to the fans original on off switch and the other wire to the fan. Cut away excess length (if needed) and attach connecters to your wire. During the summer I will turn the original switch off. Just don't forget to flip the switch on in the winter so the thermal switch will function.

This switch works as designed and has an appropriate temperature range.What is special is not so much the item, but the wisdom and advice of the seller.My gas Fireplace had a number of design faults since new five years ago.One of the issues was the fan control. The original supplied thermoswitch did not cut the fan in until 207 degrees F. The original switch was not fixed (You can not drill in a fire box). So the original unit flopped about above the box. Eventually the plastic insulators over the connectors crumbled due to heat, the switch moved and shorted against the fire box. In a shower of sparks the switch and solid state fan controller were blown and the breaker tripped at the panel.I followed this sellers advice and used his switch that cuts in at 115 degrees F. I used the heat shrink over the connectors as extra protection.The really brilliant piece of his advice was to use powerful small rare Earth magnets to secure the thermoswitch to an ideal location above the fire box in the airstream. Now this gas fireplace works better than ever.So before you purchase this unit look at his installation advice and his pictures.Unit is fine but nothing special about it. His advice free but priceless. Thank you!

What I received was no where close to what was described! Picture shows item to be nearly 2" wide with mounting holes on either side. The actual part that I received was only a 3/8" diameter sensor in a plastic bag with no mounting hole collar. It literally fell apart in my hand as I took it out of the bag. I am not one to return products as I simply don't have time to be bothered with the process. So, it just went straight into the trash can. Don't buy this based on the description because you will NOT receive what you think you're buying!

I installed it under the wood box of my stove and a week later it isn't working, so no not too impressed.