I pulled out the blower and cleaned it just now, and it seems to me that running it without the blower in an extended power outage, might work better than with it installed. Any real experience out there?
Anyone Run a Hampton or Regency Insert With The Blower Removed?
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I think it might help a bit to pull it in the case of an extended outage but i dont know how much
You would think so, but I was searching for someone with real experience. I guess I could try myself. The blower comes out pretty easy.
Mine puts out very little without the blower. Might be better with the surround removed but haven't tried that.
It will run on a small inverter and lawn tractor battery if power is out.
It will run on a small inverter and lawn tractor battery if power is out.
In my last two homes, I have found that the blower on the woodstove(s) really doesn't do a whole lot. Heat will rise like a plume upwards, then travel along the ceilings until it hits the walls, then flow down the walls across the floors. Our woodstove in my current home, is centered downstairs. I witness far better heat transfer, and the upstairs floor does warm up better without using the blower. I have removed it from the stove.
McKeznak
Member
![[Hearth.com] Anyone Run a Hampton or Regency Insert With The Blower Removed?](/talk/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mckeznak.com%2Fpics%2FStove-Setup.jpg&hash=b2f2cc7305a095e3a7e8a0875c32240b "[Hearth.com] Anyone Run a Hampton or Regency Insert With The Blower Removed?")
I have an I2400, and without the blower at least on low, I have trouble moving the warm air around. In a power outage I use that little Thermoelectric fan on top. It doesn't do much in the orientation you see pictured, but I will place it on the edge so that it pulls room air and directs it across the small amount of stove top that peaks out of the fireplace.
I have never pulled the blower off in a power outage, I'll give it a try next time and let ya know. In the picture above I can see how pulling it off may provide a bit more exposure for the "Blower Air" chamber.
What I would love to do is rip apart a couple of these thermoelectric units, mount them on the stove top, then wire them to a small blower that I would fit inside the blower housing. Now whether hydro is working or not I'm at least moving a small amount of air around the entire stove and back out into the room.
Enzo's Dad
Feeling the Heat
since we are on the subject of hampton/regency inserts......what type of thermometer do you use i put one above the front glass and it rarely gets above 500....
On the subject of an extented power outages I have a generator, without power I have no water I am on a well. so not worried about the blower.
On the subject of an extented power outages I have a generator, without power I have no water I am on a well. so not worried about the blower.
During outages, I run a small generator most of the time and a bigger one for the well, once in a while.
I did it..my house flooded and the stove was underwater and the fan got fried..it started overheating so i took the surround off..then i took my haborfreight floor drying fan...put it right in front of the stove..it worked just as good as the blower.
Geez, that must've been a drag.
So, to clarify for me since I'm thick, you took the fan assembly off and it got overheated running like that?
McKeznak
Member
![[Hearth.com] Anyone Run a Hampton or Regency Insert With The Blower Removed?](/talk/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mckeznak.com%2Fpics%2Fstovetemps.png&hash=cfd6a24f9b358680e360d832bfef3cef "[Hearth.com] Anyone Run a Hampton or Regency Insert With The Blower Removed?")
I put one on the left hand side above the handle, if ya parse back through the Regency threads here that seems to be the general consensus on the best place to measure. I also put one on the stove top. (see image above, this isn't operating temps, the coals are cooling since its the shoulder season)
You will definitely notice some differences in these. But they aren't static as some might think.
-I make sure the thermometer on the front is not in the way of the exiting blower air. I use it to give me a good idea of operating temperature.
-If you run the blower, the thermometer on the top starts to lower as 'cooler' air continually passes underneath the metal plate it is situated on. I use it to give me a good idea when I can start turning down the air control to light the secondaries.
Having them in these two positions seems to give me the best information possible so that I can control the fire. As for temperatures it will usually peak out at 600F ish I'll turn down the air control, get some nice blues going, and turn on the blower. If the wood is nice and dry i can usually hold in the 450 - 600 range for a decent period. I will reload around 250, or whenever I wake up which ever comes first
The fan cools off the stove...if i have a good hot fire without the fan on the top of the stove will glow cherry red..turn on the fan and it cools it down a lot..but my chimney is over 30' tall and it is in the center of the house.. so mine burns hot.
McKeznak
Member
Wow, no kiddin eh? If my steel stoves were cherry red I'd be checking to make sure my baffle wasn't moved, broken, or straight up stolen and I wouldn't be putting any more wood through. Unless of course I had a desire for it to become all warped and cracked.
When I burned my I3100L, we had a power outage & I had no generator for back up. The insert cranked for a couple of days & NEVER got cherry red or anything close to that. The room with the insert was taosty & the adjoining rooms were comfortable...Seeing as the blower assembly is not a standard component, but an option on the Regency stoves & inserts, I'd say that it's safe to run without them. The heat doesn't get as far away from the unit before it rises, but it will STILL keep you warm...
Bob,
Did you take the blower assembly off when you operated it during that outage, or did you keep it on?
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