Stove blower question

[hemlock]

I suspect the answer may be painfully obvious, but does adding a blower to your woodstove make a large enough difference in the spreading of the heat to make it worth it? I'm looking for a way to move the heat from the stoves location along a back wall to the satirwell at the other end of the room leading upstairs in a quicker manner. Thanks.

 

[Hankjones]

I've got an insert, but the problem with the blower is i always want it on cause i feel like without it, the stove just ain't working.

 

[ginobass]

Yep, with the insert pretty much all you'd get is radiant from the front of the stove. The room barely warms up withthe blower off, with it on it will drive you out of the room and spreads the heat all thru the house. I imagine a ffreestanding stove would have better radiant performance but a blower's gotta make it better for circulation, I'd think.

 

[DanCorcoran]

My experience has been that the blower doesn't spread the heat around the house (maybe around the room), but merely causes the room to get warmer faster. When the room gets warm, I turn off the blower. Spreading the heat around the house is better accomplished with a ceiling fan (in a high-ceiling room) coupled with box fans sitting in doorways, blowing colder air into the room with the woodstove.

 

[bogydave]

:lol:

 

[SolarAndWood]

I'd put an el cheapo fan at the top of the stairs blowing down them and a big window fan at the bottom blowing towards the stove.

 

[hearthstoneheat]

Just got a blower for mine. Made a BIG difference....love it.

 

[bboulier]

I am with the other insert burners who have reported in. Without a blower, you don't get much value from your fire.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I agree for an insert. I thought OP asked about a woodstove...

 

[madison]

IMHO, the blower increases btu output convection type woodstoves. And as previously mentioned, the effects are more evident in the stove room, and within the whole home? - maybe a little, home design may negate or add. Add me to the glad I added the blower list as it also helps in the shoulder season with burning smaller fires and less drastic temperature swings.

 

[NextEndeavor]

For my fireplace insert, the twin blower is fantastic. My only complaint is the air movement noise when up on high speed. So we run it at about half most of the time unless we really need to pull the BTUs into the room. As for cost of operation, don't worry. My blowers run about 20 hours/day because it shuts down when the fire cools. I electric metered it for a month determining it only takes 28 Kwhr/month or about $2.38/month at our utility rates. That's pretty cheap for the extra push of heat you get!

 

[LLigetfa]

There are fans and then there are some serious blowers. My stove has a large 8" 650 CFM blower that moves a lot of air. The way I have it setup it makes less noise than the blower on my gas furnace.

 

[WidowMaker]

Would not be without them...Run mine most of the time, higher speed as the outside temps drop, when goes below about 10* I put a 12" bow fan on the floor off to the side of the stove, pointed up about a 50* angle accross the top of the stove toward the ceiling to help move the move the hot air around better...works for me...

 

[Boozie]

Has anyone tried an EcoFan? It sets on top of your stove or insert and works with the heat from the stove to turn the blades .... no electricity needed.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...ater-stove-fireplace-accessories+blowers-fans

 

[Jimbob]

I use this, it works well.

 

[Boozie]

I use this, it works well.

What is it?

 

[hemlock]

I think I might make the investment. If it helps push the air towards the stairwell, and then upstairs quicker then it would solve my small problem. On a normal day, natural convection and my Eco-fan work fine, and the whole house stays nice and warm. It is on the cold days/evenigs that the upstairs far end can get cool.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I think I might make the investment. If it helps push the air towards the stairwell, and then upstairs quicker then it would solve my small problem. On a normal day, natural convection and my Eco-fan work fine, and the whole house stays nice and warm. It is on the cold days/evenigs that the upstairs far end can get cool.

Before you buy a blower, try putting a cheap box fan at the top of the stairwell, on the floor, blowing the cold air down. That will make much more difference upstairs than a blower on the back of the stove. Then, if that doesn't work, spend the money for a blower...but I doubt that you'll need to.

 

[hemlock]

I think I might make the investment. If it helps push the air towards the stairwell, and then upstairs quicker then it would solve my small problem. On a normal day, natural convection and my Eco-fan work fine, and the whole house stays nice and warm. It is on the cold days/evenigs that the upstairs far end can get cool.

Before you buy a blower, try putting a cheap box fan at the top of the stairwell, on the floor, blowing the cold air down. That will make much more difference upstairs than a blower on the back of the stove. Then, if that doesn't work, spend the money for a blower...but I doubt that you'll need to.

My only problem with that is that I have a curious toddler and a baby gate at the top of the stairs. I may be inviting disaster.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I'd put a big fan on the floor at the bottom of the stairs then. Something to get the cold air from the further reaches of the house moving towards the stove. The blower is going to let you produce more heat from the stove, but its not going to get it to the far reaches of the house especially with a stairway in play.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

For moving air through the house- probably not. For getting good heat out of a stove- sometimes.

On an insert, it's usually a requirement for getting good heat out because it doesn't have all that surface area of a stove to radiate.

 

[tcassavaugh]

ive used a box fan behind the stove, corner fans along the cealing and doors as well as the stove blower. I get much better results (in my opinion) moving the air and keeping a lower more comfortable temperature overall in the basement by using the stove blower almost exclusively. the large family room seems cooler (75-80) and the upstairs stays more constant (70 +-). I've put away all fans except one corner fan i use in the basement stairwell door at the bottom of the stairs to help push the warm air upstairs and let the stove fan run on its own thermostat. Upstairs i have cealing fans in every room which help with air circulation in both winter and summer.

cass

 

[DanCorcoran]

I think I might make the investment. If it helps push the air towards the stairwell, and then upstairs quicker then it would solve my small problem. On a normal day, natural convection and my Eco-fan work fine, and the whole house stays nice and warm. It is on the cold days/evenigs that the upstairs far end can get cool.

Before you buy a blower, try putting a cheap box fan at the top of the stairwell, on the floor, blowing the cold air down. That will make much more difference upstairs than a blower on the back of the stove. Then, if that doesn't work, spend the money for a blower...but I doubt that you'll need to.

My only problem with that is that I have a curious toddler and a baby gate at the top of the stairs. I may be inviting disaster.

Set the box fan on the very top step, pointed downstairs. I assume the toddler is on the second floor and couldn't get past the baby gate to touch the fan. In any event, this is just an experiment for you to see if this doesn't solve your problem. If it does, you can work on a more permanent solution. Blowing the cold air down from the top will accomplish a lot more than putting the fan at the bottom (which would be better than nothing).

 

[Jimbob]

I use this, it works well.

What is it?

An 8" inline fan. More details about my setup can be found in this old thread.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/11059/#132335

 

[hemlock]

I think I might make the investment. If it helps push the air towards the stairwell, and then upstairs quicker then it would solve my small problem. On a normal day, natural convection and my Eco-fan work fine, and the whole house stays nice and warm. It is on the cold days/evenigs that the upstairs far end can get cool.

Before you buy a blower, try putting a cheap box fan at the top of the stairwell, on the floor, blowing the cold air down. That will make much more difference upstairs than a blower on the back of the stove. Then, if that doesn't work, spend the money for a blower...but I doubt that you'll need to.

My only problem with that is that I have a curious toddler and a baby gate at the top of the stairs. I may be inviting disaster.

Set the box fan on the very top step, pointed downstairs. I assume the toddler is on the second floor and couldn't get past the baby gate to touch the fan. In any event, this is just an experiment for you to see if this doesn't solve your problem. If it does, you can work on a more permanent solution. Blowing the cold air down from the top will accomplish a lot more than putting the fan at the bottom (which would be better than nothing).

I may try the fan at the top of the stairs during the next cold snap. The blower costs $299, and I really only need it a handful of times a year. Thanks.