What do you do if power goes out

most inserts will still heat with out the blower you will not over heat the unit it just tends to take longer to heat up and the flow of air to take place into the room

In addition to what stoveguy said you could also possibly remove your surround panels to try to get more radiant heat. Whether or not this would be helpful would depend on your blockoff plate set up.

Not much you can do without a generator (our next big ticket item) but burn hotter and hunker around the stove.

Burd said:

..."BrotherBrat"...

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Now, there's a nickname I'm sure my sister wishes she'd thought of about 50 years ago or so. Rick

We use a little 12v-120v inverter to power the fan. Mine is 400w, but you can probably go half that for an insert fan. Cost under $40.
The idea is to run a regular 110v power chord (with inverter) out to a car or tractor, and only run the fan for short period...say 30 minutes. Reason: if you had to run the car engine constantly to power the inverter; well, you could just go sit in the warm car and forget the stove.
If you loose power often, you might want to invest in a deep cycle battery to run the same inverter. Lots of possibilities, but for $40, this method gives a nice backup.

I'd light the pilot light on my propane stove and enjoy the heat without the blower. Course with a wood stove, unless I run out of wood, it won't happen. I also have a generator which we can use to get water from the well or to plug in the fridge or freezer if needed. I just run an extension cord and plug in but for just a fan I think a battery, deep cell, with an inverter, would work better. Then you could use the generator to charge the battery and not run it all the time which makes more sense. Maybe you can use all that nice Free???? $$$ from the Gov. handout to get ready for power outages..
Ed

granpajohn,great minds think alike but you type faster than pepere.

If you get in a pinch, Go and rent a generator from somewhere use that to power the fan and your tv... to figure out who else doesnt have power... or buy one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-PORTABLE-CA...ryZ16039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem and only tank it up when the power goes out. I am going to grab one of these to recharge the batteries on my camper when we are dry camping.

What I always resort to...

When in trouble
When in doubt
Run in circles!
Scream and shout!

I have the backup generator to run the blower for the olympic and a few lights if I want. Really though, I dont think I would need the fan. yeah, the fan does heat up the palce much nicer but overall once the house is up to temp, the stove will keep it sustained.

Maybe you can use one of them sterling engine fans that is powered by the heat from the stove. That way you'd never need electricity.

Couple examples:

Heat Wave

EcoFan


WATYF

We had this scenairo a few times when the kids were little. Out came the sleeping bags and we all slept in the rec-room on the floor in that room where the insert is located. Not all that comfy, but better than freezing. Keeping warm was the easy part. Living in the country with a well means no power,no water. and that sucks.!!

BrotherBart said:

If sonnyinbc loses power now he cries like a baby. Not because it is cold but because the big screen won't work.

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Ya, well, you sure as hell ain`t getting that BG when I expire. Rather it will be dedicated to the Evil Empire--namely my off-spring, so they can all fight over it. :coolgrin:

bye-the-way, still digging trenches there to keep the Yanks at bay??

I actually had tested this exact subject this winter. I was able to run the insert on an inverter from a 12v battery. It worked just fine for the2 hours that I tested it. I am sure that I could get atleast a goo 12 hr run out of it. After 12 hrs I would charge the battery from the car.

Erik

My inverter, 400W, I got from PepBoys for less than $30, and yes I do believe that I can get 10ish hours out of it since my blowers do not consume more than 50w total. The battery that I use is a marine deep cycle.

I've got a Stirling Engine fan on my stove; no power other than wood heat required. It works so well, I'm going to buy another - and point it in another direction.

Happily, we've never lost power in our 1926 cottage in Asheville NC. If we should though, we'll have heat. I grab wood whenever I can. Now I need to fix my chainsaw and start making it VC Resolute and Intrepid size. I can do it by sight now.

Easy answer. Wait 15-30 seconds for the 15kw home standby generator to fire up and run 90% of my 2,500 sq ft. home. No fuss, no muss.

As a firefighter I've spend far too many nights away from home leaving the wife to tend 2 fireplaces and maintain the sump crock while I'm out running calls. Three years ago I bit the bullet and had an automatic, natural gas run generator installed. Talk about peace of mind...

whats the best 400w invertor???
like you all recomended????
Is Harbor Freight any good ? One is close by
One to keep one around here. Cause I believe Farmers Almanac about bad winter to come.....
gOING TO GET couple of Marine batteries too
course Id rather have solar wish I could get Hubby to do so. Im getting to dang old and skinny for all this work Plus I prob have a hernia from all this firewood splitting, lifting , stacking and scavaging after the strong straightline winds. Free firewood everywhere. within walking distance even LOL
Take care all Dont forget to stock canned goods, water etc
Jean ......