Fan Off at Bedtime?

[WarmGuy]

We don't burn a fire overnight in our Regency Warmheath insert. We let the fire burn out, and start a new one in the morning.

We usually put the last wood in in the late afternoon or early evening. So, at 10 PM, the surface temperature is about 300 degrees, and the fan is still on.

I know I'm nitpicking here, but would it make more sense, when we go to bed, to leave the fan on, getting more heat into the living room, or turn it off and let the thermal mass of the insert stay warmer longer. That is, which strategy will make it a little warmer in the morning?

I figure it's better to leave the heat in the stove, where it will dissipate more slowly.

 

[Greg123]

At 300 degrees my Napoleon does not have enough heat in it to really make a difference with the fan on or off especially with the current cold temperatures.

Just out of curiosity why don’t you burn at night?.

 

[Highbeam]

I have a similar problem. My Lopi's fan is pretty loud and not thermostatic. I do not stoke before going to bed since I am still leary of the runaway stove. At 300 degrees and at bedtime the blown air is really quite warm and a substantial source of BTUs. In the morning, if I leave the blower on all night, the stove is stone cold. If I shut the blower off before bed the stove still has 150 or so degrees of warmth in the morning. I decided toshut down the fan if the stove is down to 300 since the 150 degree stove is easier to restart and I enjoy the quietness while I sleep.

I believe that more heat will be delivered to the room if you constantly run the blower.

 

[Corey]

I posted some on this a few weeks or so ago. Even at 500F, convection and conduction substantially (fan on) outweigh radiation (fan off). This would be even more so at 300F. One cheap and easy solution may be a simple electric light timer plugged in to switch the fan off in an hour or two after you hit the hay. That would allow you to get some extra heat out of the stove, but not have the fan running all night, or have to worry with wiring up a thermostatic switch, etc.

Corey

 

[ozarkjeep]

it would not be terribly difficult to wire in your own thermastic switch, my unit has one and I like it!

the fan and timer is a good idea as well.

I have the same problems, worried about a runaway at night, and trying to keep enough there in the morning for a re-light

 

[ozarkjeep]

here is a switch for $3

scroll down

(broken link removed to http://www.hamtv.com/specials.html)

 

[MrGriz]

I agree that a thermostatic switch or a timer would be beneficial. When the stove is hot, running the fan is far more beneficial to circulating and maximizing the heat output of your stove than just letting it radiate. Once your fire dies down and the heat is dissapated, you are using the electricity to run the fan with little or no benefit.

I generally burn 24/7. Occasionallly, I will let the fire burn down overnight; usually to clean the insert in the morning. When the temperature of the stove drops low enough, the fan shuts off and the electricity is not wasted.

Why not burn 24/7?

 

[BrotherBart]

I have used the Stove Stat for 22 years. It has a magnet to attach to the stove (don't plunk it right on the side of the firebox, too hot). Put is somewhere like on an insert shroud. The old one lasted for 18 years and then those 1,000 degree burns on the old stove did it in finally. I told the fellow at the stove store where I bought it that it looked like a warranty issue to me. He told me there was no warranty for things I bought from relatives of his that are dead now.

(broken link removed)

I have mine placed where the fan comes on at a stove temp of 350 degrees and goes off somewhere around a hundred. Would burn without one.

 

[WarmGuy]

Sorry, I didn't mention it: it does have a thermostatic switch. The fan will stay on for a few hours after we go to bed. But I'm not concerned about the half a cent's worth of electricity, I'm just curious as to whether keeping the heat in the insert makes more sense than pushing it into the room where it may dissapate faster.

Just out of curiosity why don’t you burn at night?.

I figure that I use less wood that way. The climate is mild here, and in the morning the LR is about 60 degrees. I put the logs in, light the fire, and after breakfast I can be comfortably using my laptop in front of the fire. The room will be 70 degrees in an hour or two.

So, I figure I save four logs a day.

 

[Roospike]

Sorry, I didn't mention it: it does have a thermostatic switch. The fan will stay on for a few hours after we go to bed. But I'm not concerned about the half a cent's worth of electricity, I'm just curious as to whether keeping the heat in the insert makes more sense than pushing it into the room where it may dissapate faster.

Just out of curiosity why don’t you burn at night?.

I figure that I use less wood that way. The climate is mild here, and in the morning the LR is about 60 degrees. I put the logs in, light the fire, and after breakfast I can be comfortably using my laptop in front of the fire. The room will be 70 degrees in an hour or two.

So, I figure I save four logs a day.

To answer both your statements , you do realize that one burns wood to heat there home so what heat you get from the wood stove into your home IS the idea.

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