# Woodstove fan? The non-electric type



## AlanS (Jan 20, 2009)

I have always been intrigued by the non-electic fans that are sold to be placed on top of a woodstove.  The heat (convection, I guess) drives the fan.  
Any good?   Why so expensive?  Any good sources for inexpensive ones?


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## Frostbit (Jan 20, 2009)

The Canadian company that builds these have two models, I bought the little larger one. They are pretty neat, more of a novelty as far as moving air, though. They don't move much with their relatively flat pitched blade. The base model is a two blade, the more expensive one a 3-blade. I bought mine on Amazon.com, the company offering it provided free shipping, and it was $119, which was 20-35 dollars cheaper than I could find them anywhere else. I have had mine for about a month now. Just be forewarned not to expect much air movement from it. Its neat to watch and is virtually silent when running.


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## karri0n (Jan 20, 2009)

If you're actually trying to disperse the air, they aren't all that worth it. If you just like nifty gadgets and are willing to pay, go for it.


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## Corey (Jan 20, 2009)

Freebreeze, ecofan, heatwave and Aspen Systems are some of the major ones.  They are either thermoelectric (ecofan, aspen) or stirling cycle (freebreeze, heatwave).  They've been discussed on here some, if you search for any of the three big names. Most recently:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/28766/

The general consensus is that they do move some heat, but for whole house heating, you'll probably need a bit more - especially if you're trying to extract heat from an insert or fully recessed wood stove.


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## bridgerman (Jan 20, 2009)

If you have a furnace, you could use a ThermGuard.  It attaches to your thermostat and periodically turns on the whole-house furnace fan.  Here is a review by bbells:



			
				bbells said:
			
		

> Ok, I just installed the Thermguard fan controller and here are my observations:
> 1) Reason I got it: Details: Baby countryside corn stove, 2500 square foot house. Minnesota. The reason I bought the Thermguard was because my house had cold rooms causing the furnace to go on even when the corn stove was running and parts of the house were 80 degrees. Previously I disconnected a cold air vent on one end of the house and added a fan that would blow warm air from the basement up to that end of the floor above through that vent. That barely worked and was noisy. Next I thought about turning the furnace fan on low 24 hours a day. But, I thought this would cause too much wear. The goal was to circulate the warm air from the corn stove so the basement (where the stove is located) wasn't 80 degrees while the rest of the house was 55-65.
> 2) Installation: The Thermguard unit was conveniently small and easy to hook up. Just 2 wires connect to the fan wires on the thermostat. I checked the colors of the wires at the thermostat, then installed the unit downstairs by the furnace to those wires. In my situation there was a slight problem: The central air switch was using one of the fan wires on the thermostat. This caused the AC to go on when the Thermguard turned the fan on (the instructions said this could happen with some thermostats). I shut down the circuit breaker for the AC, but there was still a hum in the AC box when the fan went on (I assume a relay was being switched, but couldn't trigger the AC because while the system had power to the relay via the thermostat, the AC didn't have power to turn on). So, I simply disconnected one of the 2 thermostat wires going to the AC (between furnace and AC box - I will add a switch to the wire later). This stopped the humming in the AC box and stopped the AC from going on. Obviously this meant I didn't need to shut off the circuit breaker for the AC. I then followed the steps for setting the unit up. I started with the default timing of 5 minutes on in every 1/2 hour.
> 3) Results: The results were immediate. Almost instantly the temp evened out throughout the entire house. Yes, it was still warmer down in the room with the corn stove, but luckily I had a cold air vent right next to the stove to suck in the warm air. An unexpected result was that we needed to turn down the feed on the corn stove and open some windows because the house got almost too warm to sleep at night. It is obvious the Thermguard will easily pay for itself in the first month or 2 of operation since I doubt my furnace will be going on until January when the temps get 20-30 below zero. And I have no connection with Thermguard, just like products that actually do what they say they will do and do it simply and effectively.


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## neverrude (Jan 20, 2009)

AlanS said:
			
		

> I have always been intrigued by the non-electic fans that are sold to be placed on top of a woodstove.  The heat (convection, I guess) drives the fan.
> Any good?   Why so expensive?  Any good sources for inexpensive ones?




This is the best one on the market at the present in my opinion.
The priced has come down to about $194 with shipping.

http://www.aspensystems.com/self-powered-fans.html


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## begreen (Jan 20, 2009)

AlanS said:
			
		

> I have always been intrigued by the non-electic fans that are sold to be placed on top of a woodstove.  The heat (convection, I guess) drives the fan.
> Any good?   Why so expensive?  Any good sources for inexpensive ones?



Search on Ecofan. This topic comes up about once a month during heating season.


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## BrowningBAR (Jan 20, 2009)

I bought one of these:
http://www.wttool.com/category-exec/category_id/20437


Not worth it. It didn't do much at all. It spun like hell, but it seemed to move very little air.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 20, 2009)

We bought the large ecofan. We sent it back within a week. It turned out to be a nice conversation piece but worthless for moving air.


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## Chief Ryan (Jan 20, 2009)

It's an expensive novelty item. I have a ranch style house so i bought one thinking it would help blow the heat to the other end. Not a chance. I have my stove in front of my fireplace. I put wood inside the fireplace to dry it off sometimes. That's where the eco fan comes in handy. I turn the fan around and blow it into the firebox. I'm sure it helps a bit. Overall don't waste you money.


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## lexybird (Jan 21, 2009)

if it claims to work a miracle... it would be a miracle if it works


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## MishMouse (Jan 21, 2009)

I have an Eco-Fan and here are my observations.
The Eco-Fan is meant to move heat, not air.
The Eco-Fan has a wide disbursement so if you stand near it you will not feel a strong breeze.
If you take a paper towel and hold it a few feet a way from the fan you will see the it does move with the air the Eco-Fan produces.
Putting a regular fan that is meant to move air and not heat produces more cold air then warm.
The Eco-Fan is a good indication to how you are burning and the temp of your stove. 
The Eco-Fan will help with heat distribution and you will notice a difference between using one and not.
The Eco-Fan will not work as well as a blower specifically designed for the stove, but at typically half the price of a blower and the fact that it doesn't use electricity does make it an option.
I have the Eco-Fan on my TL-300 in my basement, with it I can keep the basement at 81 and the upstairs at 72.
Without it the basement is at 77 and the upstairs is at 70.


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## BrowningBAR (Jan 21, 2009)

MishMouse said:
			
		

> I have an Eco-Fan and here are my observations.
> The Eco-Fan is meant to move heat, not air.
> The Eco-Fan has a wide disbursement so if you stand near it you will not feel a strong breeze.
> If you take a paper towel and hold it a few feet a way from the fan you will see the it does move with the air the Eco-Fan produces.
> ...



Not in my experience.

There was no difference in room temperature.
Thee was no difference in Heat distribution.
There was no difference between using it and not using it.
The EcoFan was on the stove for 16 hours with the stove temp at 450-550. The EcoFan produced no difference.
I used the EcoFan for a week straight, properly positioned and it produced no results.


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## fullbore (Jan 21, 2009)

I have the two blade model ecofan.  I'm not sure why I bought it or what it does...LOL


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## Henz (Jan 21, 2009)

total waste of money if you ask me, those eco fans are expensive


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## begreen (Jan 21, 2009)

BrowningBAR said:
			
		

> MishMouse said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



It's probably floorplan dependent. It works well for our stove and open floorplan house. During week-long power outages is when we really notice this.


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## BrowningBAR (Jan 21, 2009)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> It's probably floorplan dependent. It works well for our stove and open floorplan house. During week-long power outages is when we really notice this.



As long as it worked for somebody. For me, the room the stove is in shows no difference with or without the fan and the thermometer is 12'-13' in front of the stove.


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## Seasoned Oak (Feb 5, 2009)

I got the Optional Electric blower fan from Harman ,About $170 In my opinion i would not want to be without this fan ,it seems like you get twice the heat when turned on.


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