to use or not to use stove fan

[ecocavalier02]

Well ive have yet to use the fan on my stove really this year. hasn't been really cold. but we have had a few low 20 nights. but i have a finished basement setup. insulated really well good windows. and some holes in floor to go upstairs. well it seems like im actually getting better heat on my 1st floor than when i run the fans. i feel like when i turn the fan on it pushes the heat off forward and cools it off a little as well. in my setup i dont really need the heat pushed forward off the stove. i just need it to rise up. and i feel its doing that better without the fan. just wondering if anyone else has the same results? time will tell, when it gets even cooler.

 

[remkel]

My stove is in the unfinished basement- I leave the door to the basement open, have one floor vent for a cool air return, and I heat practically my whole house (2300 sq feet plus the full basement). Heat rises- let it do the work.

 

[ecocavalier02]

I think I've been pushing air forward for no reason to get the air off the stove. But I need it to just go up. In a different setup where u need to push air forward it's a differen story. And the fans are really effective.

 

[WES999]

Like many things, it depends on you set-up. I don't use the fan unless the stove temp is over 675°F (It is set to turn on automatically). Generally using the fan will shorten burn time, my stove has a small fire box (1.4cf) so I leave the fan off to maximize burn time.

 

[shawneyboy]

I bought and use the fan designed for the stove. I have noticed a considerable difference in the warm air that rises to the upper living level. I have a radiant stove, the Manny, and by putting the stove fan on it I also have convection. I was unsure what to do, I finally bit the bullet, and I am very pleased that I did.

 

[LLigetfa]

Without a fan, there could be stronger convection because of the greater temperature gradient but also the same gradient could feel cold and drafty in places. I don't have a fan, I have the central heat blower option that moves a lot of air from far away and it evens out the gradient a lot.

 

[Battleaxe]

I keep a table fan blowing on my stove and it has a noticeable effect on the stovetop and flue temps, as well as getting the room and house a lot warmer. As long as my stove temp is high enough then I figure I'm getting extra heat from the stove that would otherwise go up the chimney.

 

[ecocavalier02]

I keep a table fan blowing on my stove and it has a noticeable effect on the stovetop and flue temps, as well as getting the room and house a lot warmer. As long as my stove temp is high enough then I figure I'm getting extra heat from the stove that would otherwise go up the chimney.

blaze king is a different animal. No heat loss up the chimney.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Im getting away from the fans lately, you need a hot stove for a clean burn , if i use a fan at all anymore i dont point it directly at the stove and i dont use a fan on the back of my NC-30 at all.
Its good to calm down an over heated hot stove though.

 

[Battleaxe]

I keep a table fan blowing on my stove and it has a noticeable effect on the stovetop and flue temps, as well as getting the room and house a lot warmer. As long as my stove temp is high enough then I figure I'm getting extra heat from the stove that would otherwise go up the chimney.

blaze king is a different animal. No heat loss up the chimney.

That's amazing! I didn't realize the flue exhaust from a BK was room temperature. And this is with the stove cruising at 500 degrees? I've gotta get one of those!

 

[North of 60]

I keep a table fan blowing on my stove and it has a noticeable effect on the stovetop and flue temps, as well as getting the room and house a lot warmer. As long as my stove temp is high enough then I figure I'm getting extra heat from the stove that would otherwise go up the chimney.

blaze king is a different animal. No heat loss up the chimney.

That's amazing! I didn't realize the flue exhaust from a BK was room temperature. And this is with the stove cruising at 500 degrees? I've gotta get one of those!

Not room temp, but is around 225-255f which is ideal. You need to keep it above 212f min at sea level and can be lower at higher elevations so condensing flue gasses are not present. Its the top part of the chimney that can drop it below that though if temps are that close to 212 exiting the stove.

 

[Battleaxe]

I keep a table fan blowing on my stove and it has a noticeable effect on the stovetop and flue temps, as well as getting the room and house a lot warmer. As long as my stove temp is high enough then I figure I'm getting extra heat from the stove that would otherwise go up the chimney.

blaze king is a different animal. No heat loss up the chimney.

That's amazing! I didn't realize the flue exhaust from a BK was room temperature. And this is with the stove cruising at 500 degrees? I've gotta get one of those!

Not room temp, but is around 225-255f which is ideal. You need to keep it above 212f min at sea level and can be lower at higher elevations so condensing flue gasses are not present. Its the top part of the chimney that can drop it below that though if temps are that close to 212 exiting the stove.

So no matter how high the stovetop temp gets the flue stays ar 225-255?

 

[MetMan]

Not sure the set up, but would it help to have a fan at the top of the stairs to help the cold air fall into the basement?

 

[North of 60]

For the majority of the burn if your stat is turned down those 225-250f #s are true. On a fresh load or with the t-stat having the draft more open, it allows more heat to leave the stove due to velocity. Not all the heat can remain in the stove if it is being forced out or the CAT is very,very active on an initial turn down. 1800 degf is hard to be reduced to 250f in a short distance with a good draft moving through it. No time to give all that heat to the stove top.
My thoughts anyhow.
North

 

[ecocavalier02]

For the majority of the burn if your stat is turned down those 225-250f #s are true. On a fresh load or with the t-stat having the draft more open, it allows more heat to leave the stove due to velocity. Not all the heat can remain in the stove if it is being forced out or the CAT is very,very active on an initial turn down. 1800 degf is hard to be reduced to 250f in a short distance with a good draft moving through it. No time to give all that heat to the stove top.
My thoughts anyhow.
North

i agree. when your really cranking her you have some heat loss when your really cranking it.

 

[HotCoals]

I concur on the low stack temps.
Even when I do push my stove to 600 stove top my pipe (single wall..ir gun ) might see 300...usually not.
225-250 is the norm on cruise...that's where the heat(wood) saving is.

 

[begreen]

With our milder temps, most of the time we do not use the blower. I turn it on when I want a quicker warm up, but normally convection works well in our house. Your mileage may vary depending on the circumstances specific to your home and climate.

 

[kenny chaos]

Only on the Hearth Forum can you find this:
Take a 3 foot piece of toilet paper and hold it to the top of a hallway door or stairwell. If the currents are right, the paper will be blowing away from the stove up the hallway or stairs.
Then, hold the paper half way down the doorway and it will be blowing towards the stove.

Kenny

 

[Joey]

I envy you guys with freestanding stoves. Using the fan on the insert, definately cools the unit down quicker. On the milder days, I leave the fan off and let the stove get nice and hot. The temp stays high for a long time. Using the fan/blower, really cools the stove down. I do like my insert, but next year i'm gonna replace it with a free standing NC 30 and hope for the best. I have plenty of room for it.

 

[BigBadJohn86]

Second year burning with my stove. Last year I used the blower but this year I have only used it for a short time. I find it makes the house feel cooler because it moves the air around unless the stove is pretty hot. It doesnt blow much heat anway just blowing on the back of the stove. Would get a lot better heat if there were fins on the back

 

[ecocavalier02]

i think also if when i run the fan that i will probably use it on a much lower setting specially to avoid forgetting to turn it down lower for later in the burn when the stove is cooler..

 

[SolarAndWood]

The fans effectively increase the burn rate in the BK for any given tstat setting. As I get the house tighter, I use the fans less often. If it is cold and or blowing, the blowers are on but usually just on low as the noise is annoying in the middle of the living space.

The current design of my new hearth has 5 cold air returns from the far reaches of the house blowing cold air across the top of the stove. Each has its own fan to control the temps in their respective spaces.

 

[LLigetfa]

My stove's blower is quieter than the gas furnace blower but because the furnace runs in cycles and the other continuously, the constant drone is enough that I turn it off when the temps are high enough. Temperature adjustment of the wood stove is is coarse so comfort is regulated between opening/closing a window or door and varying the speed on the blower.

 

[jeff_t]

The current design of my new hearth has 5 cold air returns from the far reaches of the house blowing cold air across the top of the stove. Each has its own fan to control the temps in their respective spaces.

Is this something you have going on, or planning? I was contemplating something ljke that from two of the bedrooms. Not blowing across the stove, but up through the floor behind it. Maybe thermostatically controlled. Though my kids have finally learned to go around the fan, instead of tripping on it.

 

[SolarAndWood]

The current design of my new hearth has 5 cold air returns from the far reaches of the house blowing cold air across the top of the stove. Each has its own fan to control the temps in their respective spaces.

Is this something you have going on, or planning? I was contemplating something ljke that from two of the bedrooms. Not blowing across the stove, but up through the floor behind it. Maybe thermostatically controlled. Though my kids have finally learned to go around the fan, instead of tripping on it.

Planning stages. I don't think where you dump the air near the stove matters that much. Pulling the cold air from the far reaches of the house is the key. I'd like to figure out how to retire the fan on the floor of the hallway before I close up the interior of the house. The fan works pretty good for $10 though and you can't argue with the simplicity. I am thinking an inline duct fan for each room in the cold air return system with a simple on/off thermostat. The HVAC guys I have talked to are worried that I will be pushing cold air into the rooms without a fan running instead of the stove chamber though. The big run where they tie together is going to end up being about 70'. Might have to put a fan in the main line as well to make sure the cold air makes it to the stove when any one of the other fans is running. Still have a lot of time to think about it as I have another set of trusses to get up next year.