how loud is Avalon Rainier fan?

[rsettgas]

I'm approaching my 3rd season with a freestanding Avalon Rainier stove, which I like very much. one nice change over its predecessor, a Tempwood, is that because of the jacketing on the Rainier, it delivers much more heat convectively which heats my upstairs a lot better.

I'm thinking about putting a fan on the stove to further increase the convective delivery. considering whether to use the stock setup that Avalon sells for it or whether to create something on my own.

price is one consideration - the Avalon unit is pretty pricey, but would probably save time over dinking around on my own.

even more so, I'd like to have the fan be as quiet as possible. anyone care to comment on the noise level from Avalon's fans? if I did my own setup, I'd probably start with a small computer cooling "muffin" fan on a speed control - and I think that would be close to inaudible ...

 

[webbie]

I used both types - they used to have one that fit under the ped. - quite powerful, and they also have the front mounted ones. Not sure if they have the pedastal ones any longer.

They were both quite quiet on low to medium speeds, and a little louder on full. Most of the noise seems to be the actual moving air, which cannot be kept totally silent. I think a fan is a good addition to that model.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

the front blower is best, blows air around entire firebox, rear mount fan doesn't...

it is louder than some stoves, but really works well( compared to many stove blowers that dont!)

 

[rsettgas]

thanks, Dave & Craig. appreciate getting some first hand feedback rather than a sales rep telling me "sure, it's real quiet!"

looking at Avalon's website, I only see the rear mounted fans shown for the freestanding Rainiers. the insert version shows a front mounted fan as an accessory. from what I can make out of the knockout location, it looks like the rear mount would tend to blow air up and around the back/sides and maybe a partly under the bottom and out the front, while the front mount would blow it under the bottom, then up back & sides.

any sense of one being quieter than the other? (that would be my primary desire as I highly value not having mechanical noises as part of the background in my home). I'm thinking that a fan in the rear might be a little less loud just based on location.

and do you know will the front mount fan for the insert work on the freestanding stove?

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

rear mount is a tiny bit quieter, and a tiny bit less effecient.

i like the front. also, speed control is easier to access.

 

[Jfk4th]

I had the rear mount, my father in law has the front mount. he has had his for over 10 years, loud on high as other have said but OK on medium and nice on low. It does really push the heat though so a little noise is worth it.
My rear mount was OK, it collected a hell of a lot of dust, if you get one plan on taking that boy out once a year and grabbing an air compressor to blast out the dust, it works well overall. But ouch around 275-300 dollars, that's what you pay though for Avalon/Lopi quality ;-)

 

[philaphire]

loud on high as other have said but OK on medium and nice on low.)

the nice thing with the fan is the switch is completely variable so you can adjust to your decibel/heat liking. When we're in the room with the stove we have it low-medium but then when we're in other parts of the house I crank it up to get the air moving and since we're not in there, noise isn't a factor!