Fans you put on top of woodburner - do they work?
Discussion
Biggus thingus said:
In laws have them and seen them around a few places
Do they help kick the heat out? Worth buying?
Ours does. It's subtle, don't expect a stream of hot air but somehow the warmth does end up at the far flung corners. Most noticeable effect is the burner itself staying cooler. I tend to try to keep it below 600degs to stop the baffle bending. That used to require closing the air off 4 or five times a night. Now it's hardly ever. So the heat is being shifted IMHO.Do they help kick the heat out? Worth buying?
I have one, I pimped the fan so the blades are much bigger/move more air and I also bought a couple of huge aluminium heatsink which it blows through.
The next stage Will be making a shroud for the heatsinks so all the air goes through them and not allow any to go around then.
I'll post pics later if I remember.
The next stage Will be making a shroud for the heatsinks so all the air goes through them and not allow any to go around then.
I'll post pics later if I remember.
I have them on each log burner. They are a useful indicator of how hot the burner is, and they are fun to watch.
I'm not convinced they actually push any air whatsoever... I struggle to feel any draught in front of them, which surely is fairly essential.
These have all been at the cheaper end of the scale (under £50) so maybe the more expensive ones (e.g. Stirling engines at the top end) do more.
I'm not convinced they actually push any air whatsoever... I struggle to feel any draught in front of them, which surely is fairly essential.
These have all been at the cheaper end of the scale (under £50) so maybe the more expensive ones (e.g. Stirling engines at the top end) do more.
I had one on our last houses log burner and was convinced it made a difference. Last week we had a log burner installed in our new house and I've bought one for that, pointing towards an open door leading to the hall and staircase and I think it does work. The thermostat for the CH is in the hall and it's off more with the door open than closed . . .
I've got one, 25 quid off amazon. Does the job I was expecting. Not like an electric fan but there is a noticable movement of air and it is silent.
The cheaper ones are thermoelectric while the more expensive ones are Stirling engine based.
Just make sure the top of your burner is flat so the heat can efficiently transfer to the fan.
The cheaper ones are thermoelectric while the more expensive ones are Stirling engine based.
Just make sure the top of your burner is flat so the heat can efficiently transfer to the fan.
They're not strong enough to generate a proper stream of hot air into the room. But that's not what they're really for. The fins greatly increase the surface area of the stove, and the fan draws air over that additional surface, to improve the rate of heat transfer from the stove to the air. Pushing the heated air into the room is kind-of incidental.
I've got one of these. Sits on top of the stove blowing out at a 45 degree angle
I think how effective it is depends on whether your stove is sittting in an alcove (as was a fireplace) as mine is or whether it sits further out with nothing above it. I would imagine in the latter case it does damn all.
I can't feel a lot of air movement but can feel more heat from the stove maybe 4 feet out into the room in the direction the fan blows vs what you can feel off to the other side.
Generally have the lounge door open when the fire is running but it gets closed later (to keep the cat from wandering!)
What I'd really like to find is some kind of low speed in-wall fan that could be put in the wall above the door to move air out from up near the ceiling into the hallway to help distribute it round the rest of the house a bit better. A simple vent would be a start but I wonder if that will do much without some assistance. Ideally put it on a thermostat I suppose.
I think how effective it is depends on whether your stove is sittting in an alcove (as was a fireplace) as mine is or whether it sits further out with nothing above it. I would imagine in the latter case it does damn all.
I can't feel a lot of air movement but can feel more heat from the stove maybe 4 feet out into the room in the direction the fan blows vs what you can feel off to the other side.
Generally have the lounge door open when the fire is running but it gets closed later (to keep the cat from wandering!)
What I'd really like to find is some kind of low speed in-wall fan that could be put in the wall above the door to move air out from up near the ceiling into the hallway to help distribute it round the rest of the house a bit better. A simple vent would be a start but I wonder if that will do much without some assistance. Ideally put it on a thermostat I suppose.
SpeckledJim said:
They're not there to move a lot of air around the room. The fan is there to move a small amount of air through the heat sink, so that it can be heated.
The heat sink is only there to capture energy to drive the fan. The cast iron stove top is a much bigger heat sink than a few ounces of aluminium.As per post below they just help push some of the heat out of a recess in which the stove is located.
I have one, it is excellent!! It was cheap, it is silent, does what it says on the box.
Do I have evidence that it works? Yes I do! I've been doing a house renovation and not got around to fitting the mantelpiece. I wanted this to sit fairly low as I have a screen to go above it and while it does abide by building regs, it sits pretty much on top of the opening for the fire. It was cold, so lit the fire and was quite concerned how hot the mantlepiece got!! I'd test it before fitting but now thought it wasn't safe as it got really hot! I have two fans so have no placed them on the front edge of the fire. The mantelpiece now no longer gets like that and you can keep your hand pressed on on the underside, something you'd not have wanted to do previously!
Do I have evidence that it works? Yes I do! I've been doing a house renovation and not got around to fitting the mantelpiece. I wanted this to sit fairly low as I have a screen to go above it and while it does abide by building regs, it sits pretty much on top of the opening for the fire. It was cold, so lit the fire and was quite concerned how hot the mantlepiece got!! I'd test it before fitting but now thought it wasn't safe as it got really hot! I have two fans so have no placed them on the front edge of the fire. The mantelpiece now no longer gets like that and you can keep your hand pressed on on the underside, something you'd not have wanted to do previously!
bennno said:
SpeckledJim said:
They're not there to move a lot of air around the room. The fan is there to move a small amount of air through the heat sink, so that it can be heated.
The heat sink is only there to capture energy to drive the fan. The cast iron stove top is a much bigger heat sink than a few ounces of aluminium.As per post below they just help push some of the heat out of a recess in which the stove is located.
The fan is very wimpy in terms of moving large amounts of air. It's fine for drawing air through the heat sink though. And a heat sink in a breeze is a lot more effective than a heat sink in static air.
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