Thoughts on stovetop fans?

[wagdog]

What are y’all’s thoughts on those little stovetop peltier powered fans?

Do you think they move enough air to make a difference?

Besides not putting them next a stove pipe, any usage suggestions?

Any other thoughts or concerns with their use?

 

[jetsam]

They're not air movers. Ignore the little fan blades and think of them as a heat sink.

I recommend them for anyone who has a semiflush insert with enough stovetop to put it on, as those stoves are suffering from low surface area to start with.

I think they're in theory helpful for freestanding stove owners, but again it's more for pulling BTUs off of the stovetop, and these stoves have quite a bit of surface area in the room already.

 

[stoveliker]

What are y’all’s thoughts on those little stovetop peltier powered fans?

Do you think they move enough air to make a difference?

Besides not putting them next a stove pipe, any usage suggestions?

Any other thoughts or concerns with their use?

They of course help - but I don't think it's significant as compared to what the (freestanding) stove itself is doing. It's a nice gadget, though.

 

[old greybeard]

Buy a cheap one, mine was about $35 on Amazon and is holding up after several years. I put the spout of my water kettle behind the blades, when it steams it drives the moisture towards where we sit.

 

[gthomas785]

My dad got me one for Christmas last year. It doesn't move a ton of air but I think it does help to distribute the heat a bit.
I have a top loading stove though, and there's been more than one time I thought I moved the fan far enough off to the side but ended up whacking it with a split by accident then I have to spend 10 mins bending the blades back into alignment. Poor thing.

 

[wagdog]

Buy a cheap one, mine was about $35 on Amazon and is holding up after several years. I put the spout of my water kettle behind the blades, when it steams it drives the moisture towards where we sit.

Sorry, I should have mentioned in the original post: I have one, and it was about $35 on Amazon.

I use it, I like the idea, I'm just not sure it actually does much other than look nice and sound like a small puddle jumper airplane when it really gets going.

I was just interested to find out what others think of them.

 

[stoveliker]

All good. As I posted elsewhere not too long ago; I actually use it to sense the cat temperature. I did that both on the old DutchWest and on the BK: I can hear it speed up when the cat takes off. The old DutchWest worked better (thin steel between cat and fan) than the BK, but I can still hear it. So I don't have to stop being lazy and walk from my chair to the stove the times I start from a cold cat ... laziness exposed...

 

[mar13]

I don't know if mine help heat the room or not. I have an old Ecofan that now rattles after being dropped. The rattle occurs when the stove top gets very hot, so it's like an audible thermometer. I have an inexpensive amazon fan that works fine, but after a few months I noticed it started leaving some type of rust stain on my stove top where it sits due to a cheap paint job.

As the stove starts to heat up or finish cooling down it's fun to have a visual cue I can see from afar

 

[MMH]

I have 2 of them, and between those and the ceiling fans I don’t need to use anything else; do they move huge amounts of air? Of course not they’re tiny fans, but I’d say they work as designed. If you’re expecting to feel rushing heat on the other side of the house you’ll be dissapointed. However, I think through out the day they help to push some heat throughout the house. And if they don’t we’ll there a nice little aesthetic for the stove.

 

[Poindexter]

I had an EcoFan on my old non cat. The stove room thermoclines were more gentle with theEcoFan running. Without the EcoFan near the stove was blaxing hot and the opposite corner of the same room was noticeably colder.

Last time I saw mine was when I put it in the "items for next garage sale" box in the garage. EcoFan + Ashford 30 not a winning combination, I choose to keep the stove.

 

[Woody5506]

They are mostly useless as far as moving air. But they are a cool gadget, and I always just used mine as a quick way of seeing how hot my stove top was, especially coming down stairs after an overnight burn.

 

[Dirtybug]

Has anyone tried one behind the surround of an insert? Thinking it may help push some of those btu’s out through a gap between surround and wall.

 

[paulnlee]

They are mostly useless as far as moving air. But they are a cool gadget, and I always just used mine as a quick way of seeing how hot my stove top was, especially coming down stairs after an overnight burn.

Exactly! Don't need a probe, after the years with it on the stove top I can tell how hot it is. I have mine facing where I mostly sit.

 

[Rearscreen]

They are mostly useless as far as moving air. But they are a cool gadget, and I always just used mine as a quick way of seeing how hot my stove top was, especially coming down stairs after an overnight burn.

BAM! Mine went missing when I moved from Ct to Vt. I missed it. Luck be have it a tag sale was selling one for 10 bucks or so. Now I'm happy again. It spins different rates at different temps.

 

[JamesGuido]

i have two Ecofans. I liked the first one so much, i bought a second one AFTER the first fell and the motor was shot.
Instead of paying 20 some bucks for their replacement motor, i soldered in a cheap 4-for-2-bucks motor... it was never the same.
my bitching about it so much paid off as my wife purchased the original replacement motor without me knowing.
the Eco replacement makes a night & day difference.

so yeah, i got two eco-fans.

 

[jetsam]

My dad got me one for Christmas last year. It doesn't move a ton of air but I think it does help to distribute the heat a bit.
I have a top loading stove though, and there's been more than one time I thought I moved the fan far enough off to the side but ended up whacking it with a split by accident then I have to spend 10 mins bending the blades back into alignment. Poor thing.

Mine has jumped to its death many times because I put it in the middle of the stovetop over the cat on a cold day.

I take the fan assembly off the motor, lay it flat on a porcelain tile, bend it so that all the blades touch the tile the same, flip it, repeat. It's not very scientific but it seems to work pretty well!

 

[Woody5506]

Exactly! Don't need a probe, after the years with it on the stove top I can tell how hot it is. I have mine facing where I mostly sit.

Mine is so wonky now after these 4 or 5 seasons I've had it. I would say it works about 10% of the time. The motor is just shot in it, but I really don't see myself dropping the cash to replace it. I just miss it for gauging the quality of my overnight burn, haha!