I have been noticing my burn times are a bit longer and my stove is about 50-100 degrees hotter with my insert fan off or on very low. Seems to be producing more heat. What's the sense of the fan?
Fan or no fan on insert
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A temp drop with the fan on is normal with a stove or insert. Cooler room air blowing across the top will drop surface temps. The purpose of a fan on an insert is to increase convection of the surface heat into the room.
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
The higher the fan, the drier the wood, the better the wood species, like red oak, the better results you will achieve.....a stove that is a 100 degrees more without a fan running on high, will not heat a room better. It's about heating the room, by convecting the heat out to warm the air.... This is what I am finding out.....
Your stove may get hotter when the fan is off- because the fan is not pumping the heat out of it into the room.
The goal is heating the room, not the stove
The goal is heating the room, not the stove
There are only two speeds on my insert. Last year I had the fan on high a lot. This year otn low a lot. The quiet is nice. If I want a lot of heat fast, I'll turn on the fan to high. I feed it about three times a day.
Edit: Also, I turn it on high for a while when I feel the fire is a little too vigorous in the early part of the burn with the air closed off, which I did just now.
Edit: Also, I turn it on high for a while when I feel the fire is a little too vigorous in the early part of the burn with the air closed off, which I did just now.
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WoodpileOCD
Minister of Fire
Try this. Put a thermometer in your stove room but not too close to the stove. Run the stove for an hour once you have a steady burn going without the fan. Then turn the fan on and run it for another hour. See what the difference is in the temperature of your room.
Its not about heating your stove up. Its about transferring that heat to your living space. It's about heating your house, not getting another 100* higher on your stove.
Its not about heating your stove up. Its about transferring that heat to your living space. It's about heating your house, not getting another 100* higher on your stove.
From my experience with my previous smoke dragon, I initially ran the fan on slowest speed on my new insert, I even fabricated a battery-powered backup/replacement fan for use during power outages. Over time I have realized that the fan doesn't help much, if at all, and now unless I really want to heat things up fast, or cool the stove down fast, the fan stays off. That way the surrounding brickwork absorbs more heat, and I get a more even heat over the burn cycle and beyond.
TE
TE
F4jock
Minister of Fire
Fan puts heat into room. No fan lets more heat escape up vent.
The room a little while ago got to 78, the flames became less vigorous and I put it back on low and opened the air a little. It's now 73. The high speed fan warms things up in a hurry.
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
I would not doubt that, but that's why you get 3+ years ahead and you don't have to worry about things like that.....
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
Is the air supply being reduced as the wood starts to burn well? If so how much? Also, are you burning down the coal bed fairly well before reloading?
my firebox is 18" wide by 18" deep. i can usually get 8-10 splits in there (4-6" splits). i pack it as tight as i can get it. i usually load n/s which gives out more heat but occasionally do a e/w load. i keep the air wide open until the stove temp reaches 250 then i close down all the way. depending on how cold it is outside, i can go 4-8 or more hours before reloading. my stove really can't keep up when its 15 degrees or colder out though. when its 30 degrees out, i can go 10+ hours overnight and still have a good coal bed to restart the morning fire.
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ironworker
Burning Hunk
My box is 13" Deep and 22" wide. I have done some n/s. Maybe revisit it just have to cut down my splits. I thought e/w give the longer burn times?
Edit: Cannot really get that much more in unless they are cut flat. Think I am going to stuff it to the gills tonight n/s and see what happens.
Edit: Cannot really get that much more in unless they are cut flat. Think I am going to stuff it to the gills tonight n/s and see what happens.
ironworker
Burning Hunk
ironworker
Burning Hunk
One thing I didn't say was I have a ceiling fan not 8feet away. So the ceiling fan just pullls it up and moves it. So if I let the stove get hotter it still radiates the heat and goes with the ceiling fan.
I suspect that's the case with mine. My totally unsubstantiated theory is that the hotter firebox allows me to run with less air, resulting in longer burns. At the moment most of my loads are running with the air fully closed. That's only possible with well seasoned wood.
TE
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