Questions about doorway fans and spray can I got with my Harmon

[brider]

First: I got a small can of some kind of spray laquer with my Harmon stove. Directions merely say that it will give off hellacious fumes the first few times you fire the stove until it "cures". What is this stuff, and do I need to use it?

Second: Does anybody have a suggestion on a good doorway fan? I've just discovered that they exist, little fans to install in the upper corners of doorways to move air. Are there any to avoid?

 

[gpcollen1]

If you go with a doorway fan, just avoid the cheap ones. Not that you shouldn't look for a good price but I have seen some cheapos out there.

 

[N/A N/A]

I got a can of black stove paint with my new Harman TL 300. Maybe thats what you got as well??? I use plain old box fans to move the air. Dont know much about the door fans.

 

[woodsie8]

I got a small little plastic white one. It doesn't appear to move much air. I am not sure if others would, but this one does not. Not sure of brand.

 

[Jags]

I personally use the small "clamp" fans. Easy to reposition and point and can be clamped right on to the door itself if you wish. I keep them at floor level to move cold air, instead of the doorway fans up high, that will be moving warm air.

 

[N/A N/A]

I keep them at floor level to move cold air, instead of the doorway fans up high, that will be moving warm air.

I think thats a smart idea...

 

[fossil]

...I got a small can of some kind of spray laquer with my Harmon stove. Directions merely say that it will give off hellacious fumes the first few times you fire the stove until it "cures". What is this stuff, and do I need to use it?

brider, that's a free sample of a "Flame Observation Enjoyment Enhancement" (FOEE) spray product. After you've got a really nice rolling fire going in your Harmon, you are to put on some appropriate music, spray a bit of that FOEE into a paper bag, place the bag over your nose and mouth and inhale deeply. Very soon, you'll be seeing a whole new dimension to your beautiful fire. :coolsmile: Rick

(JUST KIDDING, of course...please do not try this at home! I think what you got is high heat touch-up paint for your stove/stovepipe.)

 

[begreen]

I had the doorway corner fans for awhile, but took them down - too noisy. A better solution was to get a 4" muffin fan. But the best solution. is to use a quiet table fan placed on the floor blowing from the cold area towards the stove or in some cases a ceiling fan blowing upward.

 

[johnnywarm]

A better solution was to get a 4" muffin fan. But the best solution. is to use a quiet table fan placed on the floor blowing from the cold area towards the stove or in some cases a ceiling fan blowing upward.

Bingo :coolsmile:

 

[brider]

What's a muffin fan?

The room the stove is in has a 5/12 pitch vaulted ceiling with a ceiling fan. With the fan blowing UP, I can't help but think the hot air will just be compressed up into the ceiling peak, with very little washing DOWN the outer ceiling slope to the walls. Am I wrong in my gut feeling here?

I've heard the theory of blowing the floor-level cold air toward the stove rather than blowing the higher warm air in the direction you want it. Why is this more efficient? Or is it just because it's easier to get a large CFM airflow out of a box fan on the floor, rather than a smaller fan at head level? Does this really serve to draw the warm air over the fan?

 

[DiscoInferno]

The room the stove is in has a 5/12 pitch vaulted ceiling with a ceiling fan. With the fan blowing UP, I can't help but think the hot air will just be compressed up into the ceiling peak, with very little washing DOWN the outer ceiling slope to the walls. Am I wrong in my gut feeling here?

Yes. :cheese:

The air will no more (significantly) compress in the peak than running the fan down will create a (significant) vacuum up there. The fan will send cold air up to mix with the hot, and the hot/warm will be forced down in the process. I have ceiling fans on a 9/12 pitch great room and they work great to distribute the hot air running in either direction.

 

[N/A N/A]

I've heard the theory of blowing the floor-level cold air toward the stove rather than blowing the higher warm air in the direction you want it. Why is this more efficient? Or is it just because it's easier to get a large CFM airflow out of a box fan on the floor, rather than a smaller fan at head level? Does this really serve to draw the warm air over the fan?

With my experience with that, if your stove has a blower on it, it is usually close to the ground where its drawing the cold air and circulating it around the fire box. When using the wood stove, the strongest natural draft you have at this point is the thermocolumn coming off you hot stove in the form of hot air moving toward your sealing. I would think that by pushing the cold air toward your stove is more efficient in working with that natural strong thermocolumn coming off your stove. IMO. But truth be told it most likely does not make much difference.

 

[johnnywarm]

What's a muffin fan?

The room the stove is in has a 5/12 pitch vaulted ceiling with a ceiling fan. With the fan blowing UP, I can't help but think the hot air will just be compressed up into the ceiling peak, with very little washing DOWN the outer ceiling slope to the walls. Am I wrong in my gut feeling here?

I've heard the theory of blowing the floor-level cold air toward the stove rather than blowing the higher warm air in the direction you want it. Why is this more efficient? Or is it just because it's easier to get a large CFM airflow out of a box fan on the floor, rather than a smaller fan at head level? Does this really serve to draw the warm air over the fan?

The only thing i know is its better to blow the cold air to the stove,then the warm air into the cold.i tried this out last year in my cellar with my pellet stove.

 

[Jags]

What's a muffin fan?

The room the stove is in has a 5/12 pitch vaulted ceiling with a ceiling fan. With the fan blowing UP, I can't help but think the hot air will just be compressed up into the ceiling peak, with very little washing DOWN the outer ceiling slope to the walls. Am I wrong in my gut feeling here?

I've heard the theory of blowing the floor-level cold air toward the stove rather than blowing the higher warm air in the direction you want it. Why is this more efficient? Or is it just because it's easier to get a large CFM airflow out of a box fan on the floor, rather than a smaller fan at head level? Does this really serve to draw the warm air over the fan?

I think you are underestimating convection, displacement and the laws of physics (and a few other things I don't know how to spell). I doubt seriously that you will create any noticeable "compression" from an open air ceiling fan in a room. But...exactly what you think "won't" happen with the ceiling fan - will. Running the fan in reverse (blowing up) will cause the air to be moved across the ceiling and then back down the walls. It will essentially create a thermal loop. Some room configs. are better than others for this. Experiment.

There are all sorts of ideas (some proven) why moving cold air at floor levels works best. My theory: creating a thermal loop is the best way to move volumes of air. Warm (lighter) air will replace the cold (heavier) air as that cold air is moved out of an area. In other words blowing the cold air from a room (hopefully back towards the source of heat) will cause the warmer air at ceiling level to replace it.

Trying to move warm air at ceiling height does nothing to bring it to human level. Stratification still exists. Completely "mixing" the air is also difficult unless you can move large volumes of air constantly.

There is my feeble attempt at an explanation.

 

[fossil]

brider...concerning the ceiling fan, DiscoInferno and Jags speaketh the truth. Think of a giant donut laying in your room where the stove is (m-m-m-m!). That shape is called a torus, and it roughly illustrates the pattern of air circulation that will be established by your ceiling fan. WIth the fan running in "reverse", to move air upward, it will pull air from below, up through the hole in the donut (imparting some rotation to it at the same time), and the air will rise as high as the ceiling , then move out along the ceiling until it encounters the walls, then come down the walls to the floor, then find its way back up into the fan to start another lap. In my workshop (10' flat ceiling), in the winter with the stove burning and the ceiling fan running in upward flow, I can feel the warm air (that would otherwise just stratify high in the room) flowing down around the perimeter walls and mixing all the air in the room to a comfy level. The wall cabinets and everything in them get warm. That toroidal destratification is what your ceiling fan will do for you...so you're not just burning a bunch of wood to produce a big bubble of hot air up at the ceiling where nobody can benefit from it. Now, moving air horizontally through the house...that's a whole other ballgame, and not in the purview of the ceiling fan. Rick

 

[RedRanger]

Doorway fans work. Yes, they are a little noisy, but then I just crank up the 5:1 surround sound for the big screen and it doesn`t bother me at all. In our case we are pushing the heat out of the rec room and up the stairs.

And by the way, I don`t like the idea of the floor fan blowing cold air on my feet and legs that is aimed at the insert. That is frigid stuff, and in our case no need for that kind of discomfort :coolhmm:

 

[Todd]

It may work just fine as is. I would just try the ceiling fan first and see how it goes before spending money on doorway fans.