Finally added blower to the Lopi Revere

[drdoct]

I made an impulse buy yesterday after finding out my new stove store had a blower for my stove. I had been holding off because the blower is pretty expensive. I have been using fans to blow air across the hearth and stove and move it to the other room. The stove itself burns great, but was looking for better distribution around the house. Well last week I had the doorway between the keeping room (where the stove is) and the living room opened from 28" to 75". It made a big difference and we were able to enjoy the stove while watching tv at night. Last night I put the new blower on the stove and got a fire going. Once the box got heated up the blower kicked on and I put it on a pretty low setting. I tried to set it for good air output but quiet. The results were eye opening. Our 2 big living areas stayed nice and warm. The hallway and kids rooms didn't need a small heater anymore. What was the best was that the room with the stove in it didn't feel like you were going from tundra to tropics when you entered the room. That little blower seemed to even out the heat and distribute it nicely. Before bed I loaded it up and turned the blower down all the way. This morning it was still on. The wife commented on how she was hot last night in bed (wife is always 'hot' in bed but get your minds out of the gutter!). The whole house was nice and warm. For everyone asking if the $275 or so this blower costs is worth it, I would say it's definitely worth it. It seems like the stove stays at 300* forever when there are coals in it. The air off the stove is still nice and warm when it's 300* so I'll be getting a lot more heating out of my wood now hopefully. I posted a picture on another topic but I'll include one. Yes my hearth is dirty with drywall dust, I've got to scrub it down because that stuff has been swept at least 5 times and it's still there. Something else.... The wife was getting pretty irritated at the 3 fans I was running to try and move air around, so now she's happy I'm not trying to 'rig' it.

 

[techieguy]

I have fans on my Blaze King... What difference they make! I don't think I would have purchase a fan kit, but for the Moble Home kit it was required. You can place your hand on the sides and back of the stove without any fear of burning yourself, but the air being directed across the top of the stove is nice and warm even with the damper set very low. I believe that I'm addicted to wood heat...

 

[Corey]

Yep - I've been preaching for years...airflow is your friend. Congrats and nice looking set-up.

 

[Sherwood]

I have had a Lopi Freedom for the past year and am still holding out on buying the blower. I know it will increase the efficiency but I have several concerns:

1. I love radiant heat but hate having hot air blown at me. That's why I prefer the stove to my gas central heating.
2. The noise level worries me. Stores never have wood stoves running so I've never heard it.
3. The nearest outlet is a long way away so the cord will be very prominent.
4. The stove is for heating the downstairs (900sq ft) and it is doing a pretty good job already.
5. $275 for a fan seems like daylight robbery.

Have you found the noise to be a problem and do you feel the heat being blown around? I also found the stove loves being at 300 (measuring at the front) this works great but seems low compared to the numbers people quote here.

I need to borrow one of these so I can find out about the noise etc. I wonder if they are returnable.

 

[BJ64]

It is a nice set up and don't feel like you need to worry about the dust. We are wood burners, see the holes in our carpets .

Yes, the Travis / Lopi blowers are expensive but they do the job and seem to be of good heavy quality and they are quiet.

 

[cannonballcobb]

Well drdoct, if your signature is accurate, I'd say having $300 in your stove/blower is still pretty darn cheap. Sounds like you're finding the sweet spot with that set up.

After burning 7 years with an old smoke dragon, this year we installed a new EPA stove and one of those room to room fans at the end of the hall way, above the master bedroom door. Our entire house temps stay much more consistent and we've been able to put the space heater permanently away.

 

[madrone]

You're totally set for $300, wow. My house came with an Endeavor, but no fan. I never thought much about it. When my little electric bathroom heater quit heating but the fan still worked, I tried putting it under the stove, aimed up the blower holes, just to see what happened. I noticed exactly what you describe, better heat distribution. I welded a little box for the guts of the fan, and it's still there today. It's manually operated right now, but I may build or buy a temp switch for it someday...

 

[drdoct]

I had a little blower fan that I removed from a piece of equipment that I wasn't using that I was experimenting with. The only problem with that is the blower was about 1" too tall to open the door with so I had to remove it every time I needed to open the door. Oh, and noise. It was an industrial blower so sound wasn't a concern but it sure was in my home. Last night we came home from watching Polar Express at my kid's school and my wife stepped into the room and said, "Wow that fan REALLY makes a difference." The biggest thing is that it actually distributes and evens out the heat from the room where the stove is. If I was like Sherwood in the above post then I wouldn't buy the fan. It heats a room great without it. It heats a home much better with it though. I've spent a little more than $300 though.

Stove= $25
Paint= $8
Liner= $385
Blockoff=free
Ceramic Insulation=$25
Gloves=$9
Gasket= $25
Blower=$285
1/2 8" pipe to cover the flue to make it black = $8
Stihl MS310=$175
ChainX2=$44
Bar oil, files, 2cycle oil, = $25

Total= $1014
Old Stove sold= $90
Grand Total= $924

It doesn't seem like much to people buying new stoves for sure. But it sure adds up over time.

 

[Greg Ray]

I have been very happy with my blower on My Revere.