Do I need a blower

[retiredff]

I have searched here for blower threads and think I found and answer but I will ask to be sure.

I have a Regency F2400 free standing with legs, double wall pipe to wall. I had this stove installed with close clearances so the sides, back and bottom have heat shields. My problem is this stove is really hot inside (750 degree flue temp w/probe), and when I open the door with a load of coals it feels like a blast furnace. So why is the heat not getting in the room? I feel alot of heat in front and at the top, the sides are cool and the back wall I can put my hand on it and it's barely warm, and the cats fight to sleep under it!
Are the heat shields reducing the radiant heat that much? I have a ceiling fan in the room (15x18) and the down stairs footage is 1450'. I was hoping the ceiling fan would help move the air but maybe I need the optional fan.

any suggestions appreciated

 

[fossil]

Sounds like the heat shields are doing exactly what they were designed to do...reduce your required clearances. They create natural convection channels that let cool air in at the bottom and it drifts out the top, but that's about the extent of it. A blower kit would probably make a world of difference. Some folks can't abide the blower noise, but the boost in overall performance in getting the heat out into the room and mixing it up is indisputable. My wife & I don't mind the blower on our Liberty, in fact we wouldn't have one without it. If we don't want to listen to it, we can turn it down or turn it off. Rick

 

[retiredff]

Thanks for the reply Rick. I figured as much, but wanted another opinion. Regency's blower is nice from what I have read. It is 2 speed and can be either "on" or thermostatically controlled. It's not cheap, but I will probably buy one.

Thanks again

 

[fossil]

Ours is "infinitely adjustable" speed-wise, between its min & max, which is a nice feature. It's also thermostatically on-off, depending on stove temp. Doesn't come on until the stove is hot for a while, and stays running until the stove has cooled down, but not all the way to ambient. I imagine you could add an appropriate variable speed control to yours, so that you just set the factory switch to high and use the control to run the fan at whatever speed works for you. Yes, they're pricey, but we sure do like having ours, even on a big freestanding steel stove. It's in a big room in a pretty big house, and we like how it gets that warm air out away from the stove & mixing in the room. Rick

 

[dboone]

Don't mean to hijack your thread, but I think this is relevant. On a free standing stove why is a blower so much more effective than a cheap oscillating fan placed to blow across the top and side? In my simple mind they seem about the same, but I am sure there is a big advantage I am not thinking about.

 

[madrone]

I'd guess it depends on the stove. Some, like mine, have channels designed into the heat shields, so that the blower blows air between them, from down at the floor, up through the back, and part way over the top. A fan on top wouldn't heat as much air.

 

[branchburner]

My stove sits in a brick hearth opening of about 3' x 4'. Until I got the stove I had no idea the afterburner was in the back of the stove and threw a lot of heat that way. So when things are good and hot I put a small fan on the floor, about 3' in front of the stove and a foot off to the side. The resulting blast of hot air that then comes up, out and over the top of the stove is hard to believe!

What would a $300 blower do? If I had a bigger house I might pay to find out, but I think I oversized my stove just about perfectly to my liking. It's 20 outside, 80 in the two rooms opposite the stove, and about 70 everywhere else in the house. Think I got lucky.

 

[kenny chaos]

I also have a liberty and can concur with Rick. The blower is very "commercial" like, in that it blows hugh amounts of air. A blower like this does obviously make a good bit of noise on high but we certainly don't mind it when we need to move the air, which is every time it gets below 25.

 

[Prada]

So if ya got to buy something.......why wouldn't you consider something like this:

I don't have one but they look like a pretty good idea to me. No electric, no batteries, suppose to be quiet.