Variable speed contol on convection fan

[dubbz]

I run a Dayton convection fan on my Englander EP25 pellet stove. I read on here that the Dayton, conpacitor starting is hard on the electronics on the board so I unhookd the wires and ran it straight from a wall socket. Running at continuous high speed tends to be a bit noisy. I see variable speed controllers on ebay that are pretty cheap. Does anyone know of any problems running the fan on a variable speed controller? I did see one that said it couldn't be used on a shaded pole motor. Any advice would be welcome.

 

[zrock]

im not sure how a capacitor can be hard on electronics as its job is to lessen the load on electronics. It holds a charge and when required like on start up it releases that charge to start the fan and then it recharges itself for the next time needed..

 

[Ssyko]

capacitor starters on the motors are extremely hard on the control boards because they draw a lot of amperage to charge up, more than the boards are designed to handle. you can use a variable if you plug it directly into the wall outlet but be cautious on how far you turn it down. it may stress the motor and burn it up prematurely

 

[Mt Bob]

im not sure how a capacitor can be hard on electronics as its job is to lessen the load on electronics. It holds a charge and when required like on start up it releases that charge to start the fan and then it recharges itself for the next time needed..

If the board is designed for it, all is well. Many stoves did and still use caps on their exhaust motors.

 

[tlc1976]

capacitor starters on the motors are extremely hard on the control boards because they draw a lot of amperage to charge up, more than the boards are designed to handle. you can use a variable if you plug it directly into the wall outlet but be cautious on how far you turn it down. it may stress the motor and burn it up prematurely

If you’re running it from a wall socket directly for regular burning, I would put in some kind of fuse in case something goes bad in the motor. Like a slow short that isn’t enough to trip a breaker but can overheat things and start a fire. At least it seems possible, I’m not an electrician.

 

[dubbz]

Thanks so much for the informative replies guys.

 

[Cornfusion]

Running the exhaust fan with an infinitely variable rheostat (ceiling fan control) is what I did on my 6039 stove. This was one of the very first 6039's with only 4 different speed setting on the control board for the exhaust fan. If you set it on #2, the stove would just soot up and smoulder and the pot would overflow. If you set it on #3 it would burn like a blow torch and burn up all the fuel in the pot and the fire would go out. I completely disconnected the exhaust motor from the control board and powered it directly with a separate power cord plugged into the wall socket. Infinite control for the fan so you could adjust the burn to EXACTLY what you wanted.

 

[dubbz]

Interesting, with my Englander combustion blower on 4, its a bit lazy flame. I have it on 5 but I wish I could vary it to a 4 and a half.