BK fan question(s)

[steve19]

I'm still debating whether or not I'm going to bite the bullet and purchase a fan for my BK princess, but I just want to know two things.

1) If the fan is turn on low or high (running continuously to help move the air throughout the house), how much is your burn time decreased?
2) How noisy is your fan while on? Is it quiet in high or low settings? is there a buzzing sound (my father-in-law's fan buzzes and it's annoying).

Thanks guys!

 

[HotCoals]

Some say the burn time gets shorter..I have not noticed it the few times i have used it on my bkk 1107.
It would have to cool the stove to the point of the t-stat opening more..and I don't think it does that..i could be wrong though...or it may on a insert more.
I can stand mine on low and I would think yours would be quieter yet in the fireplace.
It prolly would make a bigger diff in a insert installation as far as blowing heat into the room.

 

[nate379]

Burn time seems to be the same on my stove... it's measured darn near in days anyhow haha!

It's fairly quiet. My TV is about 4ft from the stove and I don't have any more trouble hearing it than I normally would.

 

[fdegree]

With the fans on low, the noise is not bad at all. The faster it runs, the noisier it gets. When it is on high, the noise does not bother me, but I do have to turn the TV volume up to hear it clearly over the fans.

As for burn times...I don't know. I never run the fans continuously...just occasionally to bring the house up to temperature quickly.

 

[nate379]

The only time I have NOT used the fans was when the power was out for a few days last year. I found that while yes it still did heat the house I had to run the stove hotter for it to get heat to the bedrooms.

I'm sure it really comes down to setup and of course we all have our own "habits" on what will work the best.

 

[bogydave]

The fan on mine is noisier as I turn the speed up.
Not noisy on the low speed but noticeable when I'm in the basement where the stove is located.
I run the fan almost all the time when the out side temps are below 30.
Shoulder season fires, just the stove on low heat the house well, fan on in the am for a few hours.
Burn times are kinda relative. IMO Fan wicks heat away faster, so the t-stat opens just a bit more to keep the stove at the setting temp., so you burn a bit more wood.
I use the fans to warm the house up in the AM, I don't raise the T-stat, just turn the fan speed up.

I believe the fans circulate the air around much more efficient than normal convection, more even heat thru the room/house, all depending on the stoves location.
For my use, having the fans is a must. Better/ more even heat & some added control of heat output. ( the noise is worse for my wife, she can still hear )

 

[Lanningjw]

I am a big fan of using the fan with the insert princess.
"The Stove" as BK refers to the insert, works with the fan quiet well and is not to loud for me and my gal. We run the fan all winter once the weather starts to get cold. Shots and a tank top are required during the winter months in my house!

 

[Chopslide]

I love the fans for quickly bringing the house up to temp and also for keeping stove top temps from getting to high after I have reloaded and am running on high for the first part of the burn
the fan will definitely affect my stove top temp and I believe that as bogy says causes t stat to open more therefore burning more wood( and putting more heat in the house).
Noise wise I think low stetting is tolerable.... high can be a little noisy my stove is in the middle of the downstairs open floor plan and I do have to turn the tv up a notch when the fans are on anything above low
I rarely use any thing but the low setting on the fans so....
bottom line I love having the fans and would not want to have this stove without them

 

[nate379]

Yes same here, I leave the fans on low and it's fine there. On high would be too loud with my stove being near the TV.