Blower CFM how important?

[daman]

When looking at stoves how important is cfm performance? do you want a high rating/number?

looking at stoves I'm seeing ratings differ

 

[TimfromMA]

CFM refers to how much air the blower can put out. The higher the number the more airflow and the quicker the stove will warm the room.

 

[daman]

Thanks,Right so do you want a higher number when shopping for a stove?

 

[TonyVideo]

On the flip side higher CFM will cool the stove faster and may also use more pellets as the stove tries to maintain a constant temp and maintain an efficient burn. There is a happy medium depending on the stove so it is not really a comparable item as each manufacturer has done the testing to determine their ideal CFM for maximum heat.

 

[daman]

On the flip side higher CFM will cool the stove faster and may also use more pellets as the stove tries to maintain a constant temp and maintain an efficient burn. There is a happy medium depending on the stove so it is not really a comparable item as each manufacturer has done the testing to determine their ideal CFM for maximum heat.

True

 

[TimfromMA]

Higher CFM will have stove run hotter but consume pellets faster. If you have a large area to heat then a higher CFM fan will help you out.

 

[TonyVideo]

I think in a manual mode it wouldn't matter vs an auto or room temp mode where the manufacturer has calibrated for efficieny. In manual mode you could drive the fan to the max and force the amount of pellets that are being fed in the hopper. It may not be as efficient in manual mode in the burn but you would drive as much heat out of the stove with a known level of pellets determined by you. This is helpful when you want control the amount of pellets you use vs auto. It is a trade off either way and you can spend some time playing with either because each installation is different. I have spent my fair share of time trying to maximize pellet use. For me manual when temps drop and auto when in the shoulder season seems to work best.

 

[Bioburner]

On the flip side higher CFM will cool the stove faster and may also use more pellets as the stove tries to maintain a constant temp and maintain an efficient burn. There is a happy medium depending on the stove so it is not really a comparable item as each manufacturer has done the testing to determine their ideal CFM for maximum heat.

That's if you have a stove that's feeding to keep its ESP happy as in the Harman line. Now have a stove that that has fixed fan speed for room air and fixed auger timings, pellet consumption won't matter. I got a stove to heat the garage with fixed auger feed rates and large fan. Can keep the garage from freezing and at a pellet rate that wont kill the stash unlike the Harman that was trying to get the ESP to temp.

 

[DBCOOPER]

More cfm usually means more noise...

 

[Bioburner]

The Pabst fans are large fans that run slow. You crank anything up and run it hard noise can be an issue. Look and how slow ceiling fans run but move a lot of air.

 

[TonyVideo]

That is exactly what I explained to my wife. When we bought a ceiling fan I put one in with larger fan blades that still was ok for the room but it runs slower than if we bought the one she wanted. I didn't want the noise and a busy looking fan spinning faster to accomplish the same thing.

 

[chken]

When looking at stoves how important is cfm performance? do you want a high rating/number?

looking at stoves I'm seeing ratings differ

Generally not that important. The stove mfr is sizing the stove's cfm to its BTU rating. They've already done the work for you. They want to get as much of the BTU output to you as quickly as possible, without cooling the exhaust so much that the stove pipe gets too cool causing condensation.

For the shopper, the other factors are more important, like BTU rating to get the right size stove. Then the other factors like hopper size, ash pan size, cleaning routines, noise level, etc figure into the decision.

 

[daman]

Great thanks guys

 

[Tonyray]

For the shopper, the other factors are more important, like BTU rating to get the right size stove. Then the other factors like hopper size, ash pan size, cleaning routines, noise level, etc figure into the decision.

BINGO!
CFM was not even concidered when we bought our Harman.. the other factors were....