Ecofan?
- Thread starter Chief Ryan
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
I have one, and it works fairly well with my TL-300 which has a normal operating temp of 400-600.
It doesn't create a big breeze, but it does move the heat. Its blades are designed to create a wide dispersal so you may not feel the breeze but you would notice a difference when it is not running.
Some of the reasons why I got mine where as follows:
1) Home Depot had a end of season sale $89 for the 3 blade fan
2) I didn't want to use electricity
3) The blower for the stove put out a lower cfm and would cool down the stove
4) The blower was about 3-4x the price of the eco fan.
Now if your stove has a higher operating temp I would suggest the Heat Wave sterling engine fan as an alternative, puts out allot more cfm then the eco's.
It doesn't create a big breeze, but it does move the heat. Its blades are designed to create a wide dispersal so you may not feel the breeze but you would notice a difference when it is not running.
Some of the reasons why I got mine where as follows:
1) Home Depot had a end of season sale $89 for the 3 blade fan
2) I didn't want to use electricity
3) The blower for the stove put out a lower cfm and would cool down the stove
4) The blower was about 3-4x the price of the eco fan.
Now if your stove has a higher operating temp I would suggest the Heat Wave sterling engine fan as an alternative, puts out allot more cfm then the eco's.
Im thinking about getting a thermal engine..they look cool and besides I can tell the Boss ( lady of the ranch ) that I must have it for the stove to operate ... :roll: ...ZZZIm
I had one and do not think they are worth the money. Mine lasted a few years before it slowly failed and I've heard this same scenario from many others. The manufacturer admitted to this relatively short life span and they offer a deal where you send your failed unit to them and they sell you another at a discount. My ceiling fan is much more effective at circulating heat, uses an extremely small amount of power, is silent and cost about the same amount as the ecofan.
FWIW, ours is now going on its 7th season. Still works well. I think some people burn them out by exceeding the max recommended temperature.
I think an ecofan or sterling engine powered fan would be a neat stovetop gizmo to have as a conversation piece. And probably pretty good at blowing a little extra heat around the room. As far as moving massive amounts of heat through the whole house, that might not work so well.
Just curious if anyone has tried a home brew ecofan? You can get surplus peltier's pretty cheap. From there, you'd just need a heatsink, small DC motor and a fan blade. I strung up a couple of pelts last season and got a pretty good breeze out of a computer cooling fan, but never wound up building anything that would be truly durable or look somewhat spiffy.
Just curious if anyone has tried a home brew ecofan? You can get surplus peltier's pretty cheap. From there, you'd just need a heatsink, small DC motor and a fan blade. I strung up a couple of pelts last season and got a pretty good breeze out of a computer cooling fan, but never wound up building anything that would be truly durable or look somewhat spiffy.
Overpriced novelty. Get a ceiling fan (or a $10 boxfan) to really move air. They use very little electric.
Each to their own. I've never regretted owning the Ecofan. During week long power outages, I've been happy to have it. But my expectations and needs are realistic and within the output level of the fan.
Fans are rated by how much air they move, expressed in Cubic Feet/Minute. The large EcoFan moves 150 CFM: by comparison, the 110v AC fans available for Hearthstone, Kent, Avalon and Pacific Energy stoves move 160 CFM. A recent post by an Englander stove owner claimed the rating for their 110v AC fan was just 70 CFM (although I can't find verification info on Englander's website).
I think people who see an Ecofan in operation are sometimes misled by the wide-dispersal design of the blades: within 3 feet of the blades, the airflow circle is over 6 feet in diameter. The upshot is, you don't feel the concentrated stream of air produced by an AC fan blowing through the typical constricted air tubes or plenums built into the stove.
We have sold EcoFans for many years, and always have one going on a showroom burn model. Early models were subject to damage due to overfiring the stove (the limit was 800 degrees), but current models incorporate a bimetallic strip under the base that automatically tilts the fan a hair to reduce direct heat transfer short of overfire temperatures. Our customers love their EcoFans, and the incidence of failure of the bimetallic-equipped models has been zero.
Several years ago, our then office manager Joe Getgen devised a demonstration of the EcoFan's effectiveness: he would turn off the showroom ceiling fan, escort the customer to the farthest corner of our back room, then return to the showroom and light a stick of incense in front of the EcoFan. The customers could smell the incense within seconds.
The bottom line? A 150 CFM fan can be a big help in distributing the heat from a stove throughout the house, and a self-powered 150 CFM fan is a cool tool.
I think people who see an Ecofan in operation are sometimes misled by the wide-dispersal design of the blades: within 3 feet of the blades, the airflow circle is over 6 feet in diameter. The upshot is, you don't feel the concentrated stream of air produced by an AC fan blowing through the typical constricted air tubes or plenums built into the stove.
We have sold EcoFans for many years, and always have one going on a showroom burn model. Early models were subject to damage due to overfiring the stove (the limit was 800 degrees), but current models incorporate a bimetallic strip under the base that automatically tilts the fan a hair to reduce direct heat transfer short of overfire temperatures. Our customers love their EcoFans, and the incidence of failure of the bimetallic-equipped models has been zero.
Several years ago, our then office manager Joe Getgen devised a demonstration of the EcoFan's effectiveness: he would turn off the showroom ceiling fan, escort the customer to the farthest corner of our back room, then return to the showroom and light a stick of incense in front of the EcoFan. The customers could smell the incense within seconds.
The bottom line? A 150 CFM fan can be a big help in distributing the heat from a stove throughout the house, and a self-powered 150 CFM fan is a cool tool.
The incense test in our house was what convinced me it was doing it's job. I also like a visual indication of the stove top temp that it provides. It lets me know when the stove is starting to put out some heat and when the fire needs a refill. After awhile you get familiar with how temperature affects its speed. I can peek around the corner from my office and tell at a glance how the stove is heating.
I do have the Englander fan and I did ask the specs of the device before I bought it from Englander. It is a 2 speed fan and moves 40+ C.F.M at low and 80+ C.F.M on high speed. It is a very loud fan, even on low. Too loud for sleeping. It does move considerable air as it connects to the back heat shield through a pre-drilled hole and if side heat shields are attached, all the air is directed upward and then outward due to the shape of the curved top on the back heat shield. No air is wasted and it uses very little power. But it is too loud, but it is made of incredible HD parts. I think I paid $110 including shipping... Perhaps this is a perfect choice for a hard of hearing wood burner.
I know this is off topic a bit but I wanted Tom Oyen to know the details of this fan.
I never knew an Ecco could move that much air as stated previously a few posts back... I think it is an enduring thing of beauty. We pay extra for fancy stoves in multitudes of colors, but we do not get more BTU's from a pretty blue stove than we get from a black one. I think if we use this mindset when we consider the Ecco Fan we would have to agree it is a nice high priced functional luxury...Imagine what we spend on nice lighting, with some of us it is a lot....Whats a real nice night on the town cost for 2 people. Keep it in perspective.
I know I said the owner at Woodmans in N.H. told me it was too much money even though he sold the things, but after thoughtful consideration I am inclined to change my mind...Especially now that I know how much air those beauties can move.
I know this is off topic a bit but I wanted Tom Oyen to know the details of this fan.
I never knew an Ecco could move that much air as stated previously a few posts back... I think it is an enduring thing of beauty. We pay extra for fancy stoves in multitudes of colors, but we do not get more BTU's from a pretty blue stove than we get from a black one. I think if we use this mindset when we consider the Ecco Fan we would have to agree it is a nice high priced functional luxury...Imagine what we spend on nice lighting, with some of us it is a lot....Whats a real nice night on the town cost for 2 people. Keep it in perspective.
I know I said the owner at Woodmans in N.H. told me it was too much money even though he sold the things, but after thoughtful consideration I am inclined to change my mind...Especially now that I know how much air those beauties can move.
As BeGreen posted, don’t make it more then what it is, be realistic. I think both, the Eco and Engine fans are great items. We have a hunting cabin with no electricity and this thing would be great up there for on top of the stove. i'll have to check Home Depot or lowe's for one.
BeGreen said:
Hello everybody
This is really a great forum.I've been using the three blade 150 cfm model ecofan for the past two years. I have nothing but good things to say about it. It will blow out a bic lighter when it gets to about to 1 1/2 feet of it. Instead of insense, a friend of mine used his lit cigarette and the results were impressive. Best of all, it is truly quiet. All the other positive things earlier posters said about it are all true.
Thanks for the clarification, Joey. Hope you don't mind my mentioning this, but if your reported 80 CFM rate for the Englander blower is accurate, it sort of takes the wind out of your description of the EcoFan as a luxury item: you paid $1.38 per CFM for your AC blower, and will have the ongoing electrical expense to run it, when the EcoFan can be had for $1.00 per CFM. And the EcoFan is silent.
This dealer has my nomination for the Retailer Hall of Fame.
Rapid River said:BeGreen said:
Hello everybody
I've been using the three blade 150 cfm model ecofan for the past two years. I have nothing but good things to say about it. It will blow out a bic lighter when it gets to about to 1 1/2 feet of it. Instead of insense, a friend of mine used his lit cigarette and the results were impressive. Best of all, it is truly quiet. All the other positive things earlier posters said about it are all true.
Don't mention cigarettes to Be Green. He'd have you shot if you smoked in his house, but he'd at least offer the condemned a final cigarette, albeit, not in his house though....
I have had an Ecofan for 2 seasons. I really like it. We heat a small cabin on weekends only and it helps spread the heat to the bedrooms. My wife has no tolerance for fan noise so this has been a perfect solution for us.
Im in BeGreens camp..And will be buying a therman engine fan..they look like a cool conversation item..and maybe the Boss will not stomp me for spending more on wood stuff when she sees its another way to stick to the power company...yes she knows a good thing when she sees one...$$$ save$$$ ;-)
JoeyJ said:Rapid River said:BeGreen said:
Hello everybody
I've been using the three blade 150 cfm model ecofan for the past two years. I have nothing but good things to say about it. It will blow out a bic lighter when it gets to about to 1 1/2 feet of it. Instead of insense, a friend of mine used his lit cigarette and the results were impressive. Best of all, it is truly quiet. All the other positive things earlier posters said about it are all true.
Don't mention cigarettes to Be Green. He'd have you shot if you smoked in his house, but he'd at least offer the condemned a final cigarette, albeit, not in his house though....
:lol: Yeah, as an ex-smoker, I've become pretty intolerant to the smell of cigarette smoke, but really, it's my wife you that you don't want to mess with. :coolgrin: That said, we have a big covered porch where smoking is permitted if one has to puff.
I've had two of them for many years, and have been happy with them except that the fan motors get sloppy and make noise after a few years.
I googled the part number on the motor, and found it's available as a cassette tape recorder motor from Radio Shack for a few bucks.
As noted, I also find them useful as a thermometer at a glance.
I googled the part number on the motor, and found it's available as a cassette tape recorder motor from Radio Shack for a few bucks.
As noted, I also find them useful as a thermometer at a glance.
- Status
Similar threads
