Alderlea T5 Blower - yay or nay?

[Woody5506]

I have the T5 currently with no blower. The dealer didn't recommend it, or at least told me he felt it was pretty unnecessary. I've never used one but others have told me it would make a world of difference.

What is the general consensus for a blower with this stove? Does it ultimately come down to how the house layout and how the heat gets distributed? Or is the dealer right in telling me it's not worth it? I at least commend his honesty in not trying to sell me something he feels is unnecessary.

 

[jetsam]

I don't know your stove, but what I've read on blowers seems to be that inserts need blowers; freestanders are a mixed bag, depending on heating requirements. If house layout and air movement is the issue, many people have better luck with remote fans blowing cold air towards the stove. Lots of threads out there with people gushing about the new blower on their freestander too though, so opinions definitely vary.

 

[Highbeam]

Blowers are never required on freestanders. You will get a bit more heat off of the stove using a blower if you need it. Some blower designs strip more heat and some mostly just make noise. If your stove is properly sized then you don't need the blower.

 

[bcrtops]

Other than the overall heat distribution -- there is another advantage.
A fan will cool the stove down 100-200 degrees. If you have ever gotten your stove scary hot for some reason, turning a fan on high will bring the temp down fairly quickly.

After 8 yrs. of running our T5 without a fan I looked into getting one, but the price is rather exorbitant. I measured our corner stoves clearances & found that I could safely put a small circular fan behind it in the corner. Bent a piece of sheet-metal to force the air up an over the top much like the add-on fan would work. Not as efficient, I am sure, but works fairly well. We use it quite a lot in cold weather & when the stove seems to be running overly hot (when loaded with too dry wood, or too many small splits, etc.)

Yes, the fan is well worth considering..

 

[Highbeam]

A fan will cool the stove down 100-200 degrees. If you have ever gotten your stove scary hot for some reason, turning a fan on high will bring the temp down fairly quickly.

More than likely you just witnessed the fan blowing across the thermometer's bimettalic coil which will quickly lower the reading of the thermometer but not actually cool the stove much. You're only talking a 50-100 cfm blower on most stoves. Compare that to 1000-1500 cfm on a wood furnace.

 

[Woody5506]

Makes sense why my in-laws keep pushing me to get one - because they had an insert in their old house, not a freestanding unit.

 

[begreen]

I've had the blower on the T6 for about 5 years now. Normally we don't use it, but I find it makes a good difference when temps are very cold at distributing the heat into the farther reaches of the house. This could be accomplished by other means too, but the stove blower is out of the way and fairly quiet, so we like it.

Does it ultimately come down to how the house layout and how the heat gets distributed?

Yes, your results will depend on the floor plan. I'd try the stove without it first. It's easy to add on at a later time if you wish.