Stirling engine powered fan!

[EatenByLimestone]

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[begreen]

They've been on the market for a long time. Not big on sales though and they are hard to find at times. The Vulcan is the best known.
(broken link removed to https://www.stirlingengine.co.uk/d.asp?product=VULCANSTOVEFAN)
These seem to be most popular with lovers of steampunk design in England. They are expensive but some are pretty cool looking if you are into this style and don't mind the size and chugging noise of the fan on the stove.
https://warpfivefans.com/products/stove-fans

 

[maple1]

Hmm, why haven't we seen more of that kind of thing?

 

[begreen]

Hmm, why haven't we seen more of that kind of thing?

They're hard to get in the US. A posting on them shows up about once or twice a year.

 

[maple1]

Don't remember seeing. Seems they would be better performers than the TEGs? From quick look?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Yeah, I see TEG stuff all the time.

 

[begreen]

Several threads on this topic. They come up almost every time someone asks about heat powered fans
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/what-heat-powered-fan-do-you-use.173124/#post-2329825
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/sterling-engine-heatwave.93087/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...es-and-stirling-eco-fans.141752/#post-1912087
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/heat-powered-fan.134383/

 

[begreen]

If you want more power for a big fan and maybe a generator then there is this wood stove option:

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[webby3650]

They are supposed to move a lot more air than an eco fan. Hearthstone offers one as if they came up with it. $599! Straight from Stirling is about half that price..

 

[EatenByLimestone]

$168 And free shipping.

(broken link removed to https://www.stirlingengine.co.uk/d.asp?product=VULCANSTOVEFAN)

 

[showrguy]

$168 And free shipping.

(broken link removed to https://www.stirlingengine.co.uk/d.asp?product=VULCANSTOVEFAN)

Thanks for posting that link,,, just ordered one..

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Cool! Please review it once you get to use it a while!

 

[showrguy]

Cool! Please review it once you get to use it a while!

Sure,
I don't need it to move air, got that covered with a pair of 72" ceiling fans in the great room..
More of a conversation piece..

 

[Dug8498]

I had to order my Vulcan fan from the uk. Well under $200 with shipping. I quite like it. It definitely does move some air especially at stove temps over 600f. It needs a temp of a little over 400 to even move. I like mine quite a bit


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[Easy Livin’ 3000]

This is cool, but it'd be even better if this was available for insert blowers. No more worry about power outages or messing with the cord, which is annoying.

 

[Dug8498]

This is cool, but it'd be even better if this was available for insert blowers. No more worry about power outages or messing with the cord, which is annoying.

That would be awesome but these don’t move nearly as much air as a blower unfortunately

Maybe the technology will be there one day who knows!


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[begreen]

That would be awesome but these don’t move nearly as much air as a blower unfortunately

Maybe the technology will be there one day who knows!

It could be done, but would take some novel design of both the insert and fan. There are stirling stove top fans that move 3-400 cfm.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

They work off temperature differential. If the engine was stuck in a fireplace, there might not be much temperature differential after a bit.

 

[Corey]

Well, I hope everyone is happy! Reading this thread, plus a timely 15% off coupon from ebay led me to buy one of these...

Reproduction of an East India '1818' fan. For some weird reason, it's billed as a 'steam' fan, but pretty clearly a Stirling design. It's designed to run off an alcohol / kerosene burner, not stove top... but since it's a repro, I wouldn't have much hesitation cutting it down and/or remodeling it to work on a stove top. As mentioned above... more a conversation piece as opposed to real air moving - though most Stirling fans can at least whip up a modest breeze. Downside is, the burner is mostly enclosed, so you don't get light and heat like some of the Lakebreeze models.

Oh well... waiting on the barge from India now!

 

[begreen]

They work off temperature differential. If the engine was stuck in a fireplace, there might not be much temperature differential after a bit.

I'm thinking an insert with side bays that house the blowers like the PE. The hot side would be in contact with the firebox and the cool side could have a little vent window or louver on the outside. An adaptation of this drive would be interesting.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

440 cfm fan would be a great mover of air!

 

[Dug8498]

My Vulcan fan definitely doesn’t move anywhere close to 3-400 cfms. I saw a few sterling engine fans that advertised some impressive cfms but they were (1) pretty damn big and (2) pretty damn expensive

Edit- I just looked up that WarpFive fan that begreen posted and it’s not a whole lot bigger than mine but capable of cranking 440 cfms. That’s impressive. Not sure I could justify $500 on one though


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[jetsam]

I have a $30 electric tegfan on my insert, but it does have a few inches of stovetop in front of the convection deck.

It doesn't push a ton of air, but it runs at low temperatures (~250°F+?), and has greatly reduced the amount that I run the built in blowers this year.

Honestly, I think if you measured the surface area of the fan's heat sink, you'd find that it is a significant fraction of the insert's surface area.

 

[begreen]

I had an ecofan, it lasted 10 years before the motor bearings started running dry. Now I have a cheapy Amazon $39.95 fan. It's already going slower after just a season and a half.

 

[SpaceBus]

I had an ecofan, it lasted 10 years before the motor bearings started running dry. Now I have a cheapy Amazon $39.95 fan. It's already going slower after just a season and a half.

I take it the bearings are not serviceable.