Blower for NC30, upgrade options

[Highbeam]

So I built the convection deck for my stove and the blower output is now forced over the top of the stove. Big difference in the amount of heat you feel coming off of the stove. Performance is much better. Still, the stove and deck aren't cooling as much as I would like. I am leaving heat on the stove that can be moved off into the room.
The factory AC16 blower is a silly 65 cfm and noisy. Cost is 125$ to replace this blower. The optional AC30 blower is only 100 cfm but has the benefits of a rheostat and maintains the deflector setup to blow the air up the back of the stove. Cost is 165$ from AMFM.
This air flow is ridiculously small. The 28-3500 furnace from Englander with a 4.7 CF firebox vs 3.5 for the NC30 uses a 850 cfm blower. Even my tiny 2.85 CF blaze king has 210 cfm from the blowers.
So what do you think? is the AC30 worth the upgrade money (like 20% the cost of the stove). Sure, it's almost double the cfm of the AC16 but doubling a tiny number is still a tiny number.
What about getting fancy and rigging up a hardware store solution? A regular old 6" duct fan is rated for 250 cfm. Actually 160 cfm "free air" whatever that means.
I do value using a UL listed optional blower made for my stove.
I suppose my big question is will the step to an AC30 be impressive?

 

[hoverwheel]

I'm new to mine, so really just now learning how to use it. Grain of salt...

I haven't yet installed the stock blower. I don't like noise, which was a factor in replacing the pellet stove with a wood stove.

During the very cold days last week I aimed a floor fan at the 30nc and ran it on low. It seemed to me to do a good job of warming the place up.

In this relatively mild weather it's having no trouble keeping us comfortable without any blower.

I might experiment next fall and winter with a quiet blower if I can find a setup that delivers quietly.

 

[mol1jb]

+1 on using a floor fan blowing towards the stove. Same result but floor fans are much more affordable

 

[Highbeam]

I need this blower/fan to force air through the convection deck gap where the real heat is. Already have a box fan and it does pretty good.

 

[bsruther]

There's got to be a good blower out there that you can retrofit for the 30. Even though I don't use my blower much, It seems to me to be the stove's weakest link. If remember right, the bottom of the heat exchanger box on the back of the stove had openings on it, could be wrong, but don't think so. Anyway, it seems to me you could close any openings on the bottom and force more air up to your deck.

 

[Highbeam]

So I bought this one.

http://www.amazon.com/GFK-160-Firep...UTF8&qid=1421885678&sr=8-1&keywords=fasco+160

160 cfm vs. the 65 cfm from the AC16 and 100 cfm from the optional AC30. I have no idea why Englander didn't use this very common 160 blower in their AC30. Must be a profit thing.

No rheostat but I can add one if I want to. I'll post another thread when I build a bracket and mount it up.

 

[bsruther]

That thing looks pretty hefty, ought to get the job done.

 

[Highbeam]

Okay folks. Had a day to futz around in the barn and decided to not only mount the 160cfm blower but also an adjustable snapdisk controller to turn the fan on and off. It is starting to become a bit of a minifurnace.

So pics. The bracket is just 1.5" x1/8" thick angle iron. Two 8" sticks for the sides and a 15" across the bottom. Bolted onto the rear heat shield using the OEM bolts. The fan bolts to a little 5.25x3" wide square platform. I used the fans rubber mount pads. I held the fan as low as possible in the OEM fan opening and also as far away from the stove as possible to help with keeping the fan motor cool.

The location for the snapdisk was chosen due to quick reaction vs. a thicker metal location and also a temperature that worked within the range of the snapdisk. It's a little ugly and yes, those spade connectors are hot so don't touch them. Works great though and I get 5 min on/off cycles near the end.

With the fans I can run her up to 700 and then consume an entire firebox of cedar in 3 hours.

Honestly, I think I'll be considering a wood furnace someday. The automation would be nice in this outbuilding. The snapdisk helps.

 

[Silenced38]

I dont know about the blower but that last pic looks good! The convection deck looks real good too.

 

[brushcll]

Okay folks. Had a day to futz around in the barn and decided to not only mount the 160cfm blower but also an adjustable snapdisk controller to turn the fan on and off. It is starting to become a bit of a minifurnace.

So pics. The bracket is just 1.5" x1/8" thick angle iron. Two 8" sticks for the sides and a 15" across the bottom. Bolted onto the rear heat shield using the OEM bolts. The fan bolts to a little 5.25x3" wide square platform. I used the fans rubber mount pads. I held the fan as low as possible in the OEM fan opening and also as far away from the stove as possible to help with keeping the fan motor cool.

The location for the snapdisk was chosen due to quick reaction vs. a thicker metal location and also a temperature that worked within the range of the snapdisk. It's a little ugly and yes, those spade connectors are hot so don't touch them. Works great though and I get 5 min on/off cycles near the end.

With the fans I can run her up to 700 and then consume an entire firebox of cedar in 3 hours.

Honestly, I think I'll be considering a wood furnace someday. The automation would be nice in this outbuilding. The snapdisk helps.

Highbeam, I'm thinking about putting one of these fans on my 30nc and I have a question for you. Does the motor mount set against the back of the stove? Does that make the motor too hot? Did you put anything between the back of the stove and the motor to insulate it?

So I bought this one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HJ82RVG/?tag=hearthamazon-20

160 cfm vs. the 65 cfm from the AC16 and 100 cfm from the optional AC30. I have no idea why Englander didn't use this very common 160 blower in their AC30. Must be a profit thing.

No rheostat but I can add one if I want to. I'll post another thread when I build a bracket and mount it up.

Sent from my XT1080

 

[Highbeam]

Highbeam, I'm thinking about putting one of these fans on my 30nc and I have a question for you. Does the motor mount set against the back of the stove? Does that make the motor too hot? Did you put anything between the back of the stove and the motor to insulate it?



Sent from my XT1080

I made that bracket that supports the blower and no part of the blower touches the stove. The motor itself is much smaller than the big metal fan shrouds so there will always be a gap and this part of the stove is pretty cool.

 

[brushcll]

I made that bracket that supports the blower and no part of the blower touches the stove. The motor itself is much smaller than the big metal fan shrouds so there will always be a gap and this part of the stove is pretty cool.

Thanks for the information. That's the only thing that worried me. Why did you use angle iron on the ends rather then flat iron doesn't that block some air entering the fans? I am ordering the fan today. Good job of adapting using the factory opening.

Sent from my XT1080

 

[Highbeam]

Thanks for the information. That's the only thing that worried me. Why did you use angle iron on the ends rather then flat iron doesn't that block some air entering the fans? I am ordering the fan today. Good job of adapting using the factory opening.

Sent from my XT1080

Yes, you're right, the angle iron on the sides does block the intakes a little but the angle iron is inches away from the intakes so I did not worry about cutting out an opening. You could use flat bar if you wanted. I had a whole bunch of the angle iron on hand. It also doesn't need to be 1/8" thick!

Mount the blower assembly so the blower outlets shoot up into the gap but the shrouds are not against the stove body.

You'll love the strong blower. Easily replaceable with another standard blower if the first one bonks out now that you have the bracket. silly how expensive and underperforming the Englander ac30 is.

 

[brushcll]

Yes, you're right, the angle iron on the sides does block the intakes a little but the angle iron is inches away from the intakes so I did not worry about cutting out an opening. You could use flat bar if you wanted. I had a whole bunch of the angle iron on hand. It also doesn't need to be 1/8" thick!

Mount the blower assembly so the blower outlets shoot up into the gap but the shrouds are not against the stove body.

You'll love the strong blower. Easily replaceable with another standard blower if the first one bonks out now that you have the bracket. silly how expensive and underperforming the Englander ac30 is.

You are right about that. I got the flat metal and 1-1/2" sq. Channel iron yesterday to make a convection deck like yours. Great idea. Thanks, will post a picture when finished.

Sent from my XT1080

 

[venator260]

Okay folks. Had a day to futz around in the barn and decided to not only mount the 160cfm blower but also an adjustable snapdisk controller to turn the fan on and off. It is starting to become a bit of a minifurnace.

So pics. The bracket is just 1.5" x1/8" thick angle iron. Two 8" sticks for the sides and a 15" across the bottom. Bolted onto the rear heat shield using the OEM bolts. The fan bolts to a little 5.25x3" wide square platform. I used the fans rubber mount pads. I held the fan as low as possible in the OEM fan opening and also as far away from the stove as possible to help with keeping the fan motor cool.

The location for the snapdisk was chosen due to quick reaction vs. a thicker metal location and also a temperature that worked within the range of the snapdisk. It's a little ugly and yes, those spade connectors are hot so don't touch them. Works great though and I get 5 min on/off cycles near the end.

With the fans I can run her up to 700 and then consume an entire firebox of cedar in 3 hours.

Honestly, I think I'll be considering a wood furnace someday. The automation would be nice in this outbuilding. The snapdisk helps.

That is for posting, and I'll have to use this idea before next season.

I've been using the blower in a similar fashion. I must have good draft, because there's times when I can't stay under a 750 stove top even with the air closed off completely. The problem is that later in the burn, there's not enough air to keep it going, so I'm left with charcoal. With the blower on, I can open the air a bit and it burns down better.

When I'm here to futz with the stove, I use the blower to run the stove harder without over firing. I just increase the sir every so often to keep the stt close to 750 as long as I can.

But, a better blower would allow me to run it harder, I would imagine, so I've also been thinking of a retrofit, but didn't know where to start. And, like you, I've also thought that perhaps I should have bought a furnace, but moreso for the heat distribution than the automation.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Mine seems it could be fixed with a few rubber washers. Its the enclosure that rattles. If i put a little side tension on it ,it stops.