# Insert Blowers - to use or not?



## danp68 (Jan 3, 2011)

To go along with the woodstove blower question...

I heat with a medium sized Regency fireplace insert.  It has served us well for several years.

Does _not_ using the blower markedly decrease the efficiency of the unit's ability to heat?  It seems to me that
not using the blower would allow the heat to release more slowly, and thus heat a room over a longer period of time. If 
true, it would seem to me that turning off the blower would be the optimal solution after building the last fire of the night...let
it heat slowly overnight.

Am I correct in thinking this, or does the lack of use of a blower significantly decrease the BTU's released from the insert into the home?


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## partybob99 (Jan 3, 2011)

danp68 said:
			
		

> To go along with the woodstove blower question...
> 
> I heat with a medium sized Regency fireplace insert.  It has served us well for several years.
> 
> ...



I find the blowers on my Napoleon 1402 heat the room much better when they are on versus off.  If the room gets too hot, I usually turn the blowers off.  This will usually result in a higher stove temp, but overall a cooler room.

I agree on its face with your premise that turning the blower's off should allow less heat into the room over a longer period of time but I pose this question.  Does the fire burn longer with the blowers off?  I dont think so.  This means if the blowers are off, some of the heat not pushed into the room (by the blowers) must be lost up the chimney or perhaps in the metal of the flue.  Some of the heat can be stored temporarily in the metal of the stove, but there are always forces at work trying to pull that heat away.  If the blowers dont move that heat from the stove into the room while its readily available, other outside forces will suck that heat away - and that heat is lost forever..  It's more of a use it now or lose it situation.

Bottom line, I think not using the stove's blowers DECREASES the amount of BTUs released in the room.


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## begreen (Jan 3, 2011)

From my experience a blower on an insert is pretty important for getting the most heat out of the stove. There are a few units which convect pretty well in a power outage, but most work best with the blower running.


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## maverick06 (Jan 3, 2011)

I have an insert (FPX 33, same as lopi declatation). Without the blower, i get about zero heat out of it, with the blower, the house is great!  Durring power outages I found that out... now I own a generator! Turn the blower on your insert off and try it out... you will quickly find out how well your insert works.


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## raybonz (Jan 3, 2011)

My stove is a convection stove and the blower makes a big difference heating the house by moving the hot air out into the room.. With it off the livingroom where it is located feels too warm to me due to the radiant heat being more intense.. Even if you only use the blower to heat the house faster then shut off the blower you'll gain a lot.. 

Ray


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## Hurricane (Jan 3, 2011)

Without the blower on my stove temps rise above 700 degrees, and the rest of the house cools down. With the blower on the stove hums between 550 and 600 and the house is comfortable.  I agree that any heat not captured when it is available will be lost up the flue. So I vote for fan on even though the sound can be annoying sometimes.


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## krex1010 (Jan 3, 2011)

I think that blowers are essential
For inserts.  With my blower running, my whole house is warm, without it, the room the stove is in is kinda warm. I would imagine that some ofthe inserts that sit out on the hearth and have a larger exposed surface area radiate heat more effectively.  Really the only time unturned my blower off is when I want the house to cool down.


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## mainemac (Jan 3, 2011)

Dan 

Regency Medium Insert here does not heat well in power outages with no blower.

I am considering a battery powered inverter to run this for the next storm.

With blower on heats a good part of the house
With blower off we huddle in the living room

Tom


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## egclassic (Jan 3, 2011)

We use ours all the time, mostly just on low to circulate. I tried not running it, but heat output was not as good unless you stood next to the stove.


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## Cate68 (Jan 3, 2011)

Definitely need the blower on mine. Otherwise, it just warms up around the insert instead of the entire house.


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## KB007 (Jan 3, 2011)

+1 for blower on. It gets way more of the useable heat out of the cavity and into the room imho.


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## boatboy63 (Jan 3, 2011)

I have an old Buck Stove insert model 27000. In it's day, it was the shiznet. One of the faults I find with it is the location of the blower. The fan and motor are mounted on the back side of the unit. The unit is somewhat made with triple wall construction. The innermost part is the firebox wall, then a hollow encapsulated compartment going around the unit that is probably 6" from the firebox. Inside of this 6" compartment is a dividing wall that surrounds the unit. On the outermost "tunnel" of the compartment, fresh air is being drawn from the front of the unit to the back and around the fan. The innermost "tunnel" of the compartment is where the fan takes the cool air and blows it across the outside of the firebox and then blows the heated air to the front outside of the stove. Considering the way this is constructed, I am afraid that if the fan is not running when a hot fire is built, it will cause the fan to get too hot and melt the windings of the motor. We have had a few hot fires in this and you can smell an electrical smell from the motor even with it running. In the event of a power outage, I have a generator that I have to hook up to power the fan. Since the stove is used as an insert, 90% + of the unit is in the fireplace area and heat is not effectively radiated to the living area. 

I think the unit would be more efficient if the fan was mounted in the lower front instead of rear. At least by having it this way, the fan would stay out of the heat and would be staying much cooler. I am thinking about pulling the stove out when heating season is over, welding a cover over the rear fan cutouts, and installing a different type of blower to the front. I am also thinking about doing the "block off plate" in the fireplace area as other members have mentioned. By doing this, I should be able to get a better seal of air going thru the chimney and pull the unit out 12" or so to give better radiant heat when the power does go out. It may all sound crude, but a poor man has to do what he has to do to get by.


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## danp68 (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks much everyone.  My observation has been that the Regency insert does indeed heat the room with the blower off.  We lost power once and started a fire from scratch, and warmed up the living room nicely.  It just took a while longer than it would have with the blower on.

However the arguments made here make a lot of sense...that there is a BTU loss if not using the blower.  So - blower ON it shall be.


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## Boozie (Jan 4, 2011)

mainemac said:
			
		

> Dan
> 
> Regency Medium Insert here does not heat well in power outages with no blower.
> 
> ...



What is a "battery powered inverter" ?  How does it work?


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## maverick06 (Jan 4, 2011)

It  is a device you connect to a 12v battery (car battery or otherwise) and it provides 120v ac to power the blower. 

In my opinion, they do not last nearly long enough. So unless your basement has a battery bank from a u-boat, I suggest you just go and get the cheapest generator you can. It will likely serve you much better. Thats what I did (well i didnt get a cheap generator)

Rick


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## raybonz (Jan 4, 2011)

maverick06 said:
			
		

> It  is a device you connect to a 12v battery (car battery or otherwise) and it provides 120v ac to power the blower.
> 
> In my opinion, they do not last nearly long enough. So unless your basement has a battery bank from a u-boat, I suggest you just go and get the cheapest generator you can. It will likely serve you much better. Thats what I did (well i didnt get a cheap generator)
> 
> Rick



Figure roughly 10X for amps from inverter vs. normal AC.. If you use a fan similar to this one http://www.buyextras.com/su12acfan.html you'll need about 2 amps constant draw from the inverter.. If you have a decent sized battery it should last quite a long time.. You'll need to do the math to determine battery life based on battery capacity or better yet hook up the fan and try it out and see how long it will really last.. I would consider a good sized UPS instead for simplicity and I think the power quality should be better too.. Boxer fans last a long time and tend to be energy misers..

Ray


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 4, 2011)

Yes.  100%.  Use the blower on an insert.

Think about it like this- a woodstove heats by having exposed hot metal.  The insert only really has that front door.  Without a blower- you aren't drawing heat out of it as it was designed.


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## Dakotas Dad (Jan 4, 2011)

raybonz said:
			
		

> maverick06 said:
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> ...



If I was going to use one of those tiny little computer fans, I would go 12v to start with an avoid the inverter loss. Say this one(ish) http://www.buyextras.com/bsun12balbea.html  at .4 amps of 12v a good deep cycle battery will run it for a long time, It's not going to move air like the squirrel cage you have running now though. Remember you will only get about half the batteries rated amperage as useable, so maybe 400amps@12v, out of a large deep cycle. So 100 hours of running this one fan. But I suspect to really move air you will need more than one. Most of the small computer UPS boxes have only 50 amps or so available.

Unfortunatly, most are trying to run the stoves on-board blower, and a couple threads already exist about doing it, the general thoughts and experiences seem to be that you need a ton of batteries to have any real back up time. A small Honda generator or the like, is the answer.


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## raybonz (Jan 4, 2011)

Dakotas Dad said:
			
		

> raybonz said:
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> 
> 
> ...



I am just thinking that I'd rather not want to deal with the cost, noise and maintenance of a generator.. That fan you posted is rated 90CFM which should be adequate to move the heat from the insert, it costs little and a simple deep cycle battery should last a long time with no maintenance issues, noise or smoke to deal with.. There is a lot more that can go wrong with a generator VS a simple battery.. I would also buy a spare fan for such a small cost as a backup.. Even in an extended power outage you could charge a deep cycle battery with your car if needed.. 

Ray


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## amellefson (Jan 4, 2011)

http://store.woodstove.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16670&cat=298&page=1
http://store.woodstove.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16669&cat=298&page=1

Has anyone tried anyting like this?  Seems like a great idea with a simple concept.  I am sure the fire has to be hot, but in an outage why wouldn't it be?


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 4, 2011)

A friend that uses one on her woodstove says it moves a fair bit of air.  It's not as useful on an insert where the air is directed through a slot that is in contact with the hot surfaces.


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## sixman (Jan 4, 2011)

Anyone else tried using the eco fan on a wood stove? I would try one if the "Hearth Crew" gave it a thumbs up.


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## BURNSOFTEN (Jan 4, 2011)

The fan on the insert is an absolute must....I never shut mine off


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## KeepWarmInWinter (Jan 14, 2011)

I never shut the blower off.  When I start a fire, I run it on low to bring the stove to high temperature faster.
I run it on high if I wish to warm the entire house. I run it on medium setting when watching TV. 


Hi BURNSOFTEN,

In references to this statement in your Signature: "3 Acres of Black Birch and Red Oak"

Do you have any firewood to share? 

With warm regards,

Grace


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## burntime (Jan 14, 2011)

Yes yes yes to the blower.  I have the hampton HI300 which is the regency 2400I with a pretty face.  It will heat but does a much better job if you get the heat out...


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