Stove loudness (really, blower loudness)

[steveg_nh]

So one of the things often talked about is how loud a given pellet stove is. I bought an Enviro M55 insert because of its reputation as one of the quietest inserts out there, and for it's rated size (55k BTUs). I was also told that a few years ago, the blower was redesigned/updated and that may have put some noise back, but it still was the quietest out there. Seemed to be the case online from reviews as well.

So that may very well be true in comparison to other stoves, but I don't think I have a baseline for what "quiet" is considered in pellet stoves. I thought my stove would be quieter than it is, especially on setting 5, which I use often for my big house. The stove is in the family room, where most TV watching is, and when on 5, the TV really needs to be cranked up. You can really hear that blower humming.

I may have made the cardinal rule mistake of buying a stove without seeing it in action (hearing it), but the reputation was so consistent online (and the dealer didn't have the display hooked up) that I just went for it.

Short of trying to give you a comparison of loudness at say 10' away on a given blower speed, any suggestions on how to determine if maybe something could be up with mine, and it's louder than it actually should be? I don't have a dB meter or anything like that.

I'm happy with the stove, and if my stove is as it should be, then I'm perfectly happy as is. I just want to be sure something isn't wrong, that could be leading to it being louder than it should. I have no faith in asking the dealer, as I know their answer would just be "it's normal."

Thanks.

 

[Peterfield]

My Accentra is doing the same thing. I plan on visiting the showroom, having them fire up that model and point out the difference. Others have posted that they had their motors replaced under warranty and the problem went away.

 

[bags]

Keep in mind they are working machines and they do make noise. A bunch of moving parts. A 250 CFM blower like mine will be heard. I thought mine was loud at first and after awhile you get accustomed to it. Besides TV volumes turn up too so there's the cheap fix. Not saying you could not be experiencing an issue but they ALL make some decent noise and racket. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

I like listening to my stove better than my half deaf mother in law. One word for both: subtitles.

 

[bags]

I like listening to my stove better than my half deaf mother in law. One word for both: subtitles.

Ha hahahahahaha! No doubt.

 

[Utilitrack]

I just had the original distribution blower replaced after 6 years (bad bearing), this replacement is MUCH louder than the original, so much so that I called the stove shop to see if this blower was OEM. He says that it was, I am waiting to hear back from him. While I understand that these stoves are not silent and have moving parts, fans etc. but it is not acceptable to me to have the replacement of a 6 year old blower be significantly louder.

 

[steveg_nh]

I like listening to my stove better than my half deaf mother in law. One word for both: subtitles.

Now that right there is funny, I don't care who you are (Larry the Cable Guy)... LOL. good stuff. If I had to guess, I would say it's normal, but just want to be sure.

I actually found a bunch of dB apps on iTunes. Picked one up that was the highest rated for $1.99. Tested it against some things with known ratings, and was shocked to see how accurate it was. Will test on the stove tomorrow (phone is off, as I just put on a new screen protector).

 

[Big papa]

So one of the things often talked about is how loud a given pellet stove is. I bought an Enviro M55 insert because of its reputation as one of the quietest inserts out there, and for it's rated size (55k BTUs). I was also told that a few years ago, the blower was redesigned/updated and that may have put some noise back, but it still was the quietest out there. Seemed to be the case online from reviews as well.

So that may very well be true in comparison to other stoves, but I don't think I have a baseline for what "quiet" is considered in pellet stoves. I thought my stove would be quieter than it is, especially on setting 5, which I use often for my big house. The stove is in the family room, where most TV watching is, and when on 5, the TV really needs to be cranked up. You can really hear that blower humming.

I may have made the cardinal rule mistake of buying a stove without seeing it in action (hearing it), but the reputation was so consistent online (and the dealer didn't have the display hooked up) that I just went for it.

Short of trying to give you a comparison of loudness at say 10' away on a given blower speed, any suggestions on how to determine if maybe something could be up with mine, and it's louder than it actually should be? I don't have a dB meter or anything like that.

I'm happy with the stove, and if my stove is as it should be, then I'm perfectly happy as is. I just want to be sure something isn't wrong, that could be leading to it being louder than it should. I have no faith in asking the dealer, as I know their answer would just be "it's normal."

Thanks.

Rushing air makes a lot of noise the fans themselves are very quiet that noise from two 134cfm fans is what heats the far reaches of my home and a welcome noise when it's very cold .the fan on my oil burner when your sitting beside it makes way more noise than the accentra fans

 

[Skier76]

Mine moves some air when set on 5. When I had the stove out to fix the t-sat wiring, I took a look at the blower. It's big; runs almost the entire width of the stove. I think with something that size, it's going to make some noise when it's running at a good clip.

 

[steveg_nh]

Thanks, I was more curious than anything, cause some folks talk about how quiet they are...when my tstat stops calling for heat, it really is quiet at that point, since it's only running in setting 1.

 

[Peterfield]

Keep in mind they are working machines and they do make noise. A bunch of moving parts. A 250 CFM blower like mine will be heard. I thought mine was loud at first and after awhile you get accustomed to it. Besides TV volumes turn up too so there's the cheap fix. Not saying you could not be experiencing an issue but they ALL make some decent noise and racket. Just the nature of the beast.

I expect some noise, but if mine is making a high-pitched harmonic whine and the display stove and friends' stoves aren't making that whine, logic would tell me something is amiss.

 

[Big papa]

I expect some noise, but if mine is making a high-pitched harmonic whine and the display stove and friends' stoves aren't making that whine, logic would tell me something is amiss.

Yeah. Don't hear those noises for what a harman cost I would have the techs check it out and make it right

 

[Peterfield]

I thought I'd give it a few weeks to see if it went away but it's here for the long haul I'm afraid.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

I have a Quad MVAE, which is allegedly the quietest stove on the market. We keep the blower on the "Quiet" setting, and it is still loud, in my opinion, when set to Medium or greater flame height in manual mode, or when the stove is trying to play catch up when on Auto. There's just no way to move the necessary volume of air to disipate the heat, through a space as small as an exchanger, without making some noise.

 

[Big papa]

I have a Quad MVAE, which is allegedly the quietest stove on the market. We keep the blower on the "Quiet" setting, and it is still loud, in my opinion, when set to Medium or greater flame height in manual mode, or when the stove is trying to play catch up when on Auto. There's just no way to move the necessary volume of air to disipate the heat, through a space as small as an exchanger, without making some noise.

These new stoves are designed to move a lot of air not sure it's possible or affordable to make it whisper quiet especially sitting in your living space?