My wife and I are in the process of buying our first wood burning insert. We are most likely going with a Lopi medium flush mount on an existing exterior wall fireplace. The salesperson we are dealing with states that a blower only heats up 5 feet in front of the insert and doesnt actually push alot more heat through the house. He also states that they are not worth the noise they generate. We are not using our insert to exclusively heat our 1200 sq foot home but would like to benifit from the heat it will generate. So my question is, is a blower necessary to optimize heat output or not? Thanks in advance from an insert newbie.
Is a blower necessary?
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Dix
Minister of Fire
Welcome to the Forums
!
I have found that my PE insert performs better with the blower. Insert on an interior chimney in the center of the house. I keep my fan on low / automatic turn on when the stove hits about 300F. Blows to the left (looking at it), and right into a 3' doorway into the rest of the house (3' doorway to the right for moving airflow).
A couple of ceiling fans, help as well. I use box fans in the far end of the house (strategically placed), and I get a pretty good convection loop moving.
I've run the insert without a blower in a power outage, and the difference in hot air moving/ performance was quite was noticeable.
Your mileage may vary, but I'd go with a blower, especially in a flush mount. An extended front exudes more heat, which can then become an advantage in a power outage.
!I have found that my PE insert performs better with the blower. Insert on an interior chimney in the center of the house. I keep my fan on low / automatic turn on when the stove hits about 300F. Blows to the left (looking at it), and right into a 3' doorway into the rest of the house (3' doorway to the right for moving airflow).
A couple of ceiling fans, help as well. I use box fans in the far end of the house (strategically placed), and I get a pretty good convection loop moving.
I've run the insert without a blower in a power outage, and the difference in hot air moving/ performance was quite was noticeable.
Your mileage may vary, but I'd go with a blower, especially in a flush mount. An extended front exudes more heat, which can then become an advantage in a power outage.
Yes, a flush insert needs to have a blower if the insert is for heating. You will be disappointed in the output without it. Even running the blower at low speed will make a notable difference.
thewoodlands
Minister of Fire
We have a Lopi Liberty installed in our basement, the walls are insulated and they're covered with tongue and groove pine. The Liberty has a blower which we love, I'm not sure just the wood stove would do the job once it gets really cold.
danham
Burning Hunk
Not to contradict the good advice already posted -- go with the blower -- but another variable is your home layout. Our flush insert in a central chimney/two-sided fireplace can heat the living room and dining room easily without the blower, as we proved during power failures. Due to the convection patterns in our house, with those two rooms toasty, we get enough heat upstairs and in the back of the house to prevent pipes from freezing, which was our main concern. But does it all work much better with the blower on? Yup.
-dan
-dan
danham
Burning Hunk
Tough to answer with any accuracy. It depends on variables such as the outdoor temperature, and how cold the house has gotten before starting a fire. There is no question the house heats faster with the blower, but again, our goal is to be comfortable in the living and dining rooms and not have pipes freeze elsewhere, which the insert achieves.
We like a cool bedroom for sleeping, so that's another reason I don't have a comparison number for you. We close the bedroom door upstairs to prevent heating that room when we have the stove and blower going, but obviously open it during a power failure.
-dan
That’s understandable, I was thinking bout getting a blower to see if it makes a difference, but I don’t think I really need one. My stove heats my house though.. I was only doing it to get the most efficiency out my stove.
Beer Belly
Minister of Fire
Our blower made a world of difference. It is a bit noisy, and we have gotten used to it, so it doesn't bother us much, once the house warms up, we lower it. Our stove sticks out onto the Hearth, and between radiant heat, the blower, and our stairs to the bedrooms being directly in front of the stove about 18 feet away, heating the house is not an issue.
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