I have a Quadra-Fire Grand Voyageur that is undersized for my heating space. Do I extract more heat by running the fan on maximum? I normally run it on midrange because of the noise but at night should ! crank it up to high with the evening load of wood?
Thoughts on fan speed.
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Sprinter
Minister of Fire
I believe this is an insert rather than a free standing stove? And if so, is the fireplace and chimney on the exterior of the house?
If it were a stove I'd just say turn it off, but an insert needs the blower. The main purpose being to get as much heated air out into the living space and minimize what may be escaping through the masonry to the outside.
In the usual case of an exterior chimney, I'd guess you want to put the fan on high to maximize the heat transfer into the house. But I think you would want to sure that especially with a low fire, the extra cooling from the high volume fan doesn't cool the stove down to below secondary burning temperature, which you want to keep going as long as possible. That may impact primary air control and how fast the fuel burns down, since the blower is essentially pulling heat away from the stove. But so far, I'd vote for high speed and maybe burn a little hotter than you would on medium fan over night if necessary and let the fan move the heat where you want it - in the house.
You'll get lots of advice here, but I think you should just experiment and see what works best for your house and situation.
Just my thoughts. Disclaimer: I don't have a blower or an insert, so this is FWIW.
If it were a stove I'd just say turn it off, but an insert needs the blower. The main purpose being to get as much heated air out into the living space and minimize what may be escaping through the masonry to the outside.
In the usual case of an exterior chimney, I'd guess you want to put the fan on high to maximize the heat transfer into the house. But I think you would want to sure that especially with a low fire, the extra cooling from the high volume fan doesn't cool the stove down to below secondary burning temperature, which you want to keep going as long as possible. That may impact primary air control and how fast the fuel burns down, since the blower is essentially pulling heat away from the stove. But so far, I'd vote for high speed and maybe burn a little hotter than you would on medium fan over night if necessary and let the fan move the heat where you want it - in the house.
You'll get lots of advice here, but I think you should just experiment and see what works best for your house and situation.
Just my thoughts. Disclaimer: I don't have a blower or an insert, so this is FWIW.
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Matt93eg
Burning Hunk
I have an insert as well and have experimented with the blower. I have found high is the only way for me. Once the fan speed comes off of high I can tell the heat distribution into the house is slowed down. The only time I use a blower setting lower than high is during the shoulder season where it might creep up to 50-55 degrees outside during the day but drop back to 25-30 at night. I want to keep a fire going but not cook myself out so in that situation sometimes I will turn the blower down. Making sure you have a block off above the stove will also help make sure you don't loose as much heat into the chimney structure giving you more available heat to your living space.
As others have stated above, experiment. What works best in one home is not necessarily what will work best for you.
If it is an undersized insert I would think running the fans on high to insure as much heat as possible makes its way into the home would work best but there's only one way to know for sure.
If it is an undersized insert I would think running the fans on high to insure as much heat as possible makes its way into the home would work best but there's only one way to know for sure.
Amboo18
New Member
I also have the Voyageur Grand and leave the blower medium-high overnight. Never thought to leave it off as it seems like you wouldn't be extracting the heat into the house. Maybe I'll try it. I have noticed once the house is warm and I turn the blower off the brick masonry heats up and radiates into the room.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
The downside, though, is that if the fireplace is on an outside wall, the masonry will also radiate outside. That's why I voted for the fan to be on high all the time. Get as much heated air into the room as possible. Sometimes you see a fireplace inside the house (my parent's house was like that). In that case, it wouldn't matter.
Amboo18
New Member
Agreed. That makes sense which is why I never thought to turn it off over night. I've turned it off to try and not get as much heat while in the room and it seems to not make much difference except the air movement with the fan on helps push the heat upstairs. BiLevel, raised ranch, split entry....call it what you will.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Hi and welcome.
I also have a Voyageur Grand insert with an exterior chimney. I had a similar issue as you with not getting enough heat into the house. So I did some modifications and experiments.
I installed a block off plate, and stuffed above the plate with Roxul Comfortbat R15 to slow the transfer of heat up the chimney. This helped significantly.
I have a very large fireplace with a lot of air space around the insert, so I also added Roxul to the back and sides of the insert. This also helped a lot especially with the time it takes from first light til the blower comes on.
Then for grins, I carefully tested laying one layer of Roxul on top of the stove. Note I did small burns initially to ensure I'd avoid overfire. I can't say for certain that the Rocul on top of the stove is any better, but I seem to get much longer and cleaner burns.
The end result, a medium high fan speed to get the house comfy and then a medium speed can keep my 2 story 2400 sq ft house at 70 on 30 degree nights. I was able to balance the heat flow by using ceiling fans and cracking or leaving certain doors open.
Hope this helps.
I also have a Voyageur Grand insert with an exterior chimney. I had a similar issue as you with not getting enough heat into the house. So I did some modifications and experiments.
I installed a block off plate, and stuffed above the plate with Roxul Comfortbat R15 to slow the transfer of heat up the chimney. This helped significantly.
I have a very large fireplace with a lot of air space around the insert, so I also added Roxul to the back and sides of the insert. This also helped a lot especially with the time it takes from first light til the blower comes on.
Then for grins, I carefully tested laying one layer of Roxul on top of the stove. Note I did small burns initially to ensure I'd avoid overfire. I can't say for certain that the Rocul on top of the stove is any better, but I seem to get much longer and cleaner burns.
The end result, a medium high fan speed to get the house comfy and then a medium speed can keep my 2 story 2400 sq ft house at 70 on 30 degree nights. I was able to balance the heat flow by using ceiling fans and cracking or leaving certain doors open.
Hope this helps.
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