Wood insert blower noise vs pellet stove

[PelletPractitioner]

How would the blower noise on a wood insert compare to a pellet stove? I assumed it would be quieter, but giving it some thought, I don't think that's right. I grew up with an insert that was silent (think it was an insert), so I'm probably remembering that.

Wood insert blower noise should be on the same level as a pellet stove, no?

 

[Fod01]

There are 2 blowers in a pellet stove, one for convection and one for combustion. It probably has more to do with design than wood vs pellet. I have a VC Montpelier wood insert. Heats well, and we keep the fan on low to medium, but I need a break from the white noise once in a while.
Gabe

 

[PelletPractitioner]

> we keep the fan on low to medium, but I need a break from the white noise once in a while

That's how I feel about my pellet stove. We want to put an insert in the basement and I'm trying to find something quieter.

 

[Fod01]

A small free standing is a good option if you can spare the real estate. No blower, works in power outages. We have a smallish fireplace which limited our options, and one of us didn’t want a stove that protruded into the room.

 

[jetsam]

A good semiflush insert can do a lot without a fan. Mine heats my whole house without a fan down to ~20°F outside. I do run one of those tegfans on top of the unit, but it is almost silent.

Around 20°F, I turn on the blowers.

 

[PelletPractitioner]

@jetsam That sounds great. What insert do you have?

What is a semiflush? What is a teg fan?

 

[Woody Stover]

Depends on the brand, too. The blower on the Lopi Liberty at the stove shop was barely audible. The Buck 91 got pretty loud the more I turned it up. That was in a small room though, which probably added to it. Try to find a shop with the stove set up that you're interested in, so you can hear it.

 

[Highbeam]

Same variability with pellet stoves. Some are very loud and some known for very low noise. The pellet stoves also have the feed auger and most have the annoying and inconsistent clink clank of pellets falling into the pot. At least the blowers are more constant.

My freestanding wood stove has relatively quiet fans and I can’t hardly stand leaving them on all night. I really appreciate silence.

If this stove will be in a basement or far away then maybe you’ll never hear it.

 

[jetsam]

@jetsam That sounds great. What insert do you have?

What is a semiflush? What is a teg fan?

I've got the BK Princess insert.

Semiflush means some of the stove sticks out into the room (about 13" for the PI).



TEGfan is a word that maybe only I use It's a little stovetop fan powered by a ThermoElectric Generator module (a TEG). They are real common stove accessories.

 

[begreen]

We had a Quad 1200CB insert. It ran great, but we only ran it on medium due to the noise. Besides the two fans there is also the dull roar of the combustion. Although we liked the insert's performance, the combined noise was intrusive. Not surprising, it is a small wood furnace. In comparison a good quality insert's blower is much quieter. I've heard some like on a Lopi Freedom and on a PE Summit that are not much over a quiet hum when run at medium speed.

 

[PelletPractitioner]

I see. I suppose a semiflush gives more surface area for radiant heat to dissipate.

@jetsam How much air movement do you feel from the TEG fan? How many feet away before you can't feel the air flow? I think they looked pretty neat but I read one guy who was unhappy with his, so I'm not sure what to believe. I'm sure it's not the same as a big blower, but how far can you feel the air movement?

 

[Dataman]

Teg fan don't push much air. Not enough to make a difference really. Can't feel it 6 inches away. But it's neat.

 

[jetsam]

Depends on the stove temp, but 6" is about fair.

It does actually make a difference in getting heat off of my insert. I'd probably be using my blowers at around 25 degrees outside without the tegfan.

If you buy a name brand one for $300 and expect it to perform like a wired blower, yeah, you're going to be pretty unhappy with it.

If you buy a cheap one for $30 and don't really expect anything, you may be as pleased as I was.