Ceiling fan experiment

Web,

I full agree. I have my fan almost directly over the stove and in the downward position. It is preferential to push the heated air downward and into the other rooms. Running it at the slowest speed is most effective.

There are quite a few previous threads on the forum about this fan and direction subject. Glad that it works for you also.

I've generally found the opposite to be true, but then I've also always believed it's at least to some degree configuration dependent, and to a very large degree personal preference dependent. My advice is always to try different combinations of direction and speed to find what works for you in your home. Rick

Yes, it is personal preference dependant. However, the past opinion for the upward direction was probably intended to not put a cool draft/breeze on the occupants. However, very warm stove heated air in the same room now changes the game. At least for me. I keep it downward winter and summer.

Burn wisely and keep warm.

Nope - not personal preference but how that fan works with the natural air circulation of the house. This is not rocket science folks.

I also don't turn my ceiling fan in the winter. The last couple years I was burning in a fireplace and I tried reversing the fan a couple times and found that it was actually sucking smoke out of the fireplace and into the house...

Some stove owners with rooms, hallways and registers above may want to add additional push to the warm air by the fan in the upward direction. Some may not, a personal preference.

Hey, I'm not too proud to try and see if it works. I did and found no difference in the stoveroom except that when it is too hot in the stove room that it feels cooler to have the fan blowing down in the center which makes a breeze on your exposed front vs along the walls. If the fan is working properly then the air in the room will be circulating in a doughnut fashion. I think Fossil calls colloidial or something. So long as that fan is running it is doing some good by stirring the air in that room. Does it really matter if the toilet water rotates clockwise or CCW so long as the poo goes down the sewer?

Now how the ceiling fan works to circulate heat away from the stove room is different. I think it does matter which way you spin the blades and that every floorplan will be different. I actually took a fireplace lighter on a stick and used the flame to identify the natural air currents in my home when the stove is running. Air leaves my stove room along the ceiling and returns along the floor. I enhance this flow by pushing air against the ceiling which pushes(squirts) it down my hallway and accelerates the flow. Amazing the dead zones you find with a flame.

Highbeam,

Thanks for trying the downward direction. Nice analogy to another home appliance!
Hey, did you use the slowest fan speed? You may not feel a thing except the temp
increase in other rooms.

Nice tractor! Is it MIL spec?

Not sure why it appears black and white. It is an orange Kioti. Tractors are great fun in the non-burning months.

I have been experimenting with fan speeds also. I normally keep it on the lowest speed which uses only 6 watts and does a fine job of preventing thermal stratification (wow a 5 banger) in the room. I live in a long rambler with low and flat ceilings so I'm really trying to move air sideways too, up and down is easy. I've been running mid speed to try and replicate a stove mouinted blower. My theory is that if I get air currents moving around the stove that I can turn more of the radiant heat into hot air which will move to remote parts of my house easier.

Messing with your fan is free. There is no absolute right way to do it and even if there is you are not losing any money to prove it to yourself.

Oh and all of my research is down the drain as of today since I just had my ceiling insulation bumped up from R-5 to R-38 and my floor from R-0, yes zero, to R-19. The remote rooms are already gaining and holding heat much more quickly. The whole house has become more thermally unified.

Up to R-19 and 38! A great improvement.

Our home is also long and low except for the stove room which has 15ft ceiling with a fan almost
directly over the stove.

Hey, keep trying for the optimum in your home. Put some thermometers at the hard to reach rooms, besides
the stove room. I do the same, as I learn how my new fan works on low, low speed in the downward
direction.

Let us know the outcome. Nice tractor!

I for one appreciate the perspectives on the fan rotation. We have been running in reverse this season and have had great results in moving the heat through the depths of the house, however; I am inclined to try putting it back in the forward direction for awhile just to test things out and to help make it feel cooler in the stove room. When your down to the boxers, there is not much more you can do to cool off.

Highbeam said:

...I think Fossil calls colloidial or something...

Click to expand...

Toroidal. Nice job with the insulation! I can imagine that you could feel that dramatic a difference almost immediately, highbeam. Our home should be much tighter and better insulated when the remodel finally winds down. Almost seeing the end of the tunnel...carpet goes in tomorrow. Rick

webby3650 said:

I have never been a believer in turning ceiling fans to reverse in the winter time. I have a home repair business and always know if the homeowner runs their fan in reverse, it is evident by the dirty ceiling. On Sunday I decided to turn our fan in reverse due to all the suggestions to do so. The thermometer's in the bedrooms would not break 68 degrees, the main room was a constant 74 degrees. On Monday I decided to turn the fans back to the forward position, in less than 30 mins. the bedrooms were reading 72 degrees, like they normally do. I have vaulted ceilings and an open floor plan (ceilings only 10' at the peak) My ceiling fan is very near the stove. With my circumstances I found it to be a conclusive experiment. This is my third season burning 24/7 in this house and have never had such temp. differences.

Click to expand...

great idea is that.. thanks for the knowledge you have shared to us,, thanks also for useful idea


Fanimation

I'm with webby...for us the ceiling fan circulates the air better blowing down and on low speed.

Yes, downward and slow speed work for me, unless... you prefer upward.

And a counter rotating fan works great!

In my home, the stove is on the 1st floor. I have one spirial staircase and there are ceiling fans in the 2nd floor bedrooms. Should the fans be pushing air downward from the second floor? Or would that be increasing the pressure upstairs?

I've read about pushing the cold air towards the stove, but wasn't sure I should be pushing the air from the 2nd floor ceiling towards the 1st floor stove? Any ideas or theories?

Custer I guess you just have to experiment to find out what best for you...and then go with that or whatever the wife says.

Custer,

Yup, you will have to just try it out. Since warm air rises naturally, you are in luck. Maybe just longer burn times and possibly even without the fans will add to the heat gain?

Put a thermometer in the rooms you want to target on this and monitor the success over the next few days or weeks.

Thanks guys, I believe some air movement will be beneficial and more thermometers never hurts. It's difficult to judge if the ceiling fan experiment is working because the temperature outside keeps changing.

Which of my wives were you referring too? Probably the one that insists on going shoeless and complains her feet are cold even though the temperature is 80+ inside. I guess the wooden floors take a little while to warm up?

Yeah, it's funny. The stoves I had over the years (my favorite was a big pot belly Kalamazoo) also pushed out heat differently. My Dad (a meteorologist in the Army years ago) always told me that air acts just like water in terms of how it moves over and around geography. Does direction ultimately matter? I don't know... probably lots of variables.... but either way, you're mixing the air up and I'd imagine eventually temps will even out as much as the particular set up allows no matter which way the fan turns. But that's just a guess....

Your dad was correct. Air moves a lot like water, as the warmer rises and the cooler drops. Plus, it can be moved horizontally like water, but not without some added energy. Yes, the air in our homes moves naturally, but we choose to help move it along and with all of the extra associated costs.

Each home layout is quite different and the need to fine tune the heated air flow varies for us wood burners. I guess it is part of the challenge that wood burners enjoy so much.

Enjoy your stove and burn wisely!