eyefish2 said:
I recently decided to purchase an Oslo for our 20X20 addition (still need to make the purchase). Thanks for all thoughts and opinions on the "grates post". I would have taken a harder look at the Rangley T50 had it been on the market longer. The wood stove will be in the corner of the addition and will also have a ceiling fan in the room. For the folks who have blowers on their stoves.......is it worth the money?? and do they move the air good?? I am not opposed to running a small fan or two to keep air moving if needed. If there are alot of benefits to the blower, I would be more inclined to get one. I did not plan on getting heat shields for the stove. Not sure if these blowers push air between the shields and the stove body? An added benefit of the blower may be to help keep the stove a little cooler? Although, I do not believe this would be a big issue with a cast stove. I have seen where the fire boxes on steel stoves will warp over time and the cooling air can help minimize this to some extent. I don't think cast will warp (although it could crack).
Looking forward to your thoughts. Lance
No blower on my Oslo . . . but I'll give you the same advice I got from my Oslo dealer when I asked him about buying the blower. He said that most folks he sells Oslos to do not buy the blower . . . and in fact he recommended that I not buy the blower and try the stove for a few weeks or months . . . and if I later thought I should get the blower he could sell it to me and it could easily be installed at a later date.
That advice won my loyalty to the dealer since he could have easily sold me the pricey blower and made a little more money . . . and truthfully I've found that with my 1,800 square home I do not need the blower to move the heat. I do however have a desk top fan (the type that everyone and their sister has somewhere in their home) that I sit near the doorway of my living room and I aim it towards the stove . . . three years in and the house is warm and I am happy . . . and I have not found any need to go back and buy that blower.
I will say I did buy the heat shields . . . for safety and to reduce the clearance . . . and it seems as though the small price you pay for the rear heat shield has the effect of moving some of the heat through convention on the back side. As for cooling the stove . . . I wouldn't worry about that . . .