Bad Blower on Woodstove Insert?

[Amycat]

I recently purchased a house that has a Travis Industries flush wood insert (the Perfect Fit model) in the fireplace. The first time I used it, the blower worked fine. The second time, nothing -- blower motors never kicked after several hours. Nothing since then.

The house's previous owner lived here for 9 years, so the unit is no older than that.

I removed the face of the insert and all the wires look connected. I have a circuit tester light; there is current running from the outlet and through the cord and a hot wire that runs between the two blower motors. There seems to be no current running to the rheostat/switch.

The owner's manual to the insert says that the blower only kicks on when the stove is hot. I can see two wires running underneath the firebox to what I'm guessing is a solid state thermocouple. I assume that if that device is fried then no current goes to the rheostat/switch and thus no current to the blower motors either.

Does this sound logical? Am I missing something obvious? I'm a bit suspicious that the thing died after I used it only once.

Any suggestions? I haven't found any fireplace retailers who service these inserts, and I've emailed Travis Industries directly, but no response yet.

Please don't suggest that I replace the thermocouple myself. It looks totally inaccessible.

[hearthman]

I don't know about a thermocouple but it most probably is a snap disc.

What kind of fireplace is this insert installed into? Masonry or factory built fireplace?

[Amycat]

Masonry.

Way underneath I can see some solid state circuitry, which is why I'm assuming a thermocouple. Never seen a "snap disc" so I'm unsure what that is.

[gasguy]

A 'snap-disc' is a (usually) round switch that has a bi-metal disc in it that warps when heat is applied and pushes a set of contacts closed to complete a circuit. When the disc cools off it warps back to its original position and opens the contacts. These parts do fail, and if the unit is 9 yrs old that is quite likely especially if the wood stove was run too hot (common) or not regularly cleaned/serviced (again common).