I have a hearthstone starlet stove which is steel body, surrounded by a metal shroud, surrounded with a cast frame and soapstone tiles. The design of the shroud encourages a natural flow of air up the back, across the top of the stove and out the front.
I ran it for about 3 months like this but thought I'd try a fan to see if I could get a bit more heat. Nothing extreme, just a gentle flow as I didn't want noise. What a difference, amazing how much warmer the place gets on the same amount of wood.
The fan is a 4 3/4 inch computer fan rated at 60 cfm and 18 db on 12 volt. I hooked it to 9 so maybe pushing 40 cfm. I was thinking of running 2 or even 3 at a lower voltage and speed if noise was an issue or if I wanted more flow. They can be run from 6 to 12 volts. The air flows in the bottom back and out the front grill.![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116078-a7ace0b2c843424b6fe36b6f5eeae507.jpg?hash=r-4ioeHpyP)
![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116079-4553fec331e7b73cb24eec6086e055e0.jpg?hash=9tkyZVsmRh)
![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116080-844065e0dcb7969e347c95e39becff02.jpg?hash=lu49w8andc)
![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116077-24399995760c4db28b6008a68cbdacf0.jpg?hash=eyIy7rEdx_)
I ran it for about 3 months like this but thought I'd try a fan to see if I could get a bit more heat. Nothing extreme, just a gentle flow as I didn't want noise. What a difference, amazing how much warmer the place gets on the same amount of wood.
The fan is a 4 3/4 inch computer fan rated at 60 cfm and 18 db on 12 volt. I hooked it to 9 so maybe pushing 40 cfm. I was thinking of running 2 or even 3 at a lower voltage and speed if noise was an issue or if I wanted more flow. They can be run from 6 to 12 volts. The air flows in the bottom back and out the front grill.
![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116078-a7ace0b2c843424b6fe36b6f5eeae507.jpg?hash=r-4ioeHpyP)
![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116079-4553fec331e7b73cb24eec6086e055e0.jpg?hash=9tkyZVsmRh)
![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116080-844065e0dcb7969e347c95e39becff02.jpg?hash=lu49w8andc)
![[Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype [Hearth.com] My quiet stove fan prototype](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/116/116077-24399995760c4db28b6008a68cbdacf0.jpg?hash=eyIy7rEdx_)