Wood burner fan

[gregmcateer]

Good people of knowledge-ville,

Wondered if any here have experience of heat powered fans that sit atop yer wood burner, supposed to push the heat into the room.
Good / bad? Any particular brand?
TIA
Greg

 

[Blackswanwood]

We have an Ecofan which is six years old and still going strong.

It definitely makes a positive difference.

 

[Jacob]

Can't possibly make a difference. It just vaguely redirects a tiny fraction of the heat from the top of the stove, but looks convincing.
Google - "Do eco fans work?
Unfortunately no, the Ecofan generates its own electricity through temperature differential. The base must make contact with a heat source of at least 85°C and the top of the fan must remain cooler. The Ecofan needs to draw cooler air from behind in order to operate."

 

[gregmcateer]

Hmmm. So that's two sides of the equation. Thank you gents for your input.
Any others wanna wade in?

 

[Blackswanwood]

I don’t care what Google says ... I’m sat watching mine and feeling the benefit now!

 

[porker]

Have to disagree with Jacob - we have a couple of woodburners. One is in a tighter alcove than the other and we ran it without for a few weeks before we got one. After getting it, the heat distribution was much more even in the room. True they don't shift vast volumes of air but it is enough to make it worthwhile on ours. Ours is only a cheapy but still going 4 years on. The only slightly annoying thing it does is make a bit of noise when the bi-metalic strip on the base lifts it off the stove when the heat reaches a certain point but it is very minor. The fan itself is silent.

 

[Jacob]

Have to disagree with Jacob - we have a couple of woodburners. One is in a tighter alcove than the other and we ran it without for a few weeks before we got one. After getting it, the heat distribution was much more even in the room. True they don't shift vast volumes of air but it is enough to make it worthwhile on ours. Ours is only a cheapy but still going 4 years on. The only slightly annoying thing it does is make a bit of noise when the bi-metalic strip on the base lifts it off the stove when the heat reaches a certain point but it is very minor. The fan itself is silent.

Well yes they may redirect a tiny bit of air but you don't get anything for nothing. Have you tried a smoke test - light an incense stick or something and watch how the air comes and goes?

 

[Peterm1000]

I have a Vonhaus 3 blade one. It spins and moves so little air you can hold a piece of loo paper in front of it and it barely moves. Total waste of money. I think it might be a case of you get what you pay for because one I saw in a showroom definitely moved the air.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

We had an Aldi cheapo because my loved one thought they were a good idea. They don't push anything like enough air to actually achieve anything.

 

[Sandyn]

A comparison of some here

 

[stuartpaul]

Ours definitely makes a difference, you can feel it moving a reasonable amount of air and heat distribution in the room has certainly improved.

 

[Richard_C]

I have one and it works fine. Stove is wholly set back in a brick alcove fireplace and it moves the air enough to warm the room more quickly. It doesn't project it far, just enough stirring to move some out from under the lintel. If the stove stood out further and had good natural convection I wouldn't use one.

 

[artie]

I've had a 5 blade one since 2018.

My stove is in an alcove so it helps to circulate the air. It's a smallish living room but the effect can be felt, but very slight.

 

[Robbo3]

Had so little effect in my draughty concrete panel workshop that I gave it to a brother in law who thinks it's brilliant.

 

[glenfield2]

A lot of people (including us) have them on narrowboats and say they work well. We also have one in our kitchen at home and I’m less convinced. The room is too oddly shaped. I think the effect is slight but effective in certain sorts of spaces where there’s a simple pattern of airflow.

 

[gregmcateer]

Thanks for all the input, folks. Looks like it may be worth it if you spend a decent amount, but don't bother with a cheapo
Cheers

 

[Jacob]

A lot of people (including us) have them on narrowboats and say they work well. We also have one in our kitchen at home and I’m less convinced. The room is too oddly shaped. I think the effect is slight but effective in certain sorts of spaces where there’s a simple pattern of airflow.

I suppose it makes some sense in the room shape of a narrow boat. Some of the heat will get wafted through the boat instead of dissipating through the uninsulated roof area near the stove

 

[Woody2Shoes]

As is obvious when you open the door, most of the heat is emitted by convection rather than radiation. If the stove has been installed to allow a free flow of air all around it, then my experience is that a fan is fun but makes little difference - except perhaps in helping to de-stratify the air in the room a little (which may make the room feel a little warmer, quicker).
My observations are based on cast iron stoves with firebricks, which burn more efficiently (and therefore cleaner) but probably get up to a full convection temperature externally more slowly as a result - making the small effect of the fan slightly more noticeable than otherwise.

 

[Jacob]

As is obvious when you open the door, most of the heat is emitted by convection rather than radiation. If the stove has been installed to allow a free flow of air all around it, then my experience is that a fan is fun but makes little difference - except perhaps in helping to de-stratify the air in the room a little (which may make the room feel a little warmer, quicker).
My observations are based on cast iron stoves with firebricks, which burn more efficiently (and therefore cleaner) but probably get up to a full convection temperature externally more slowly as a result - making the small effect of the fan slightly more noticeable than otherwise.

Why do you thing cast iron and firebricks is more efficient?
I've got sheet steel stoves and they produce heat cleanly and much quicker than the various firebrick/steel/cast iron versions I've had in the past. Also are maintenance free and cheaper to run.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^ There's far less soot from my Dowling than there was from my old Clearview (nice stove though it was).

https://www.dowlingstoves.com/