Working on circulating air / keeping fan at 9? 25pdvc

[Skunk]

So the Englander is now on the first floor, heating that level OK, upstairs is [usually] comfortable, but outside temps only 20-30*. Colder temps in a few days will be the real challenge. I've been keeping the fan maxed at 9, with the temp setting somewhere 2-5 depending on room temp. The room is ~133sq ft., with 8'x7' opening into hallway / kitchen at the opposite end of the room from stove. Small fan there blowing into the rest of house.

The fan's setting shouldn't have any impact on the actual fire(?) So leaving the fan at 9 should only result more air being moved (and a lot more noise), am I right? Stove's temp hovers around maybe 350. We can get the room the stove is in to 80s, but need to work on circulating the air better. Noticeable difference in temp from stove room to kitchen.

Thoughts on getting better airflow? House is pretty open with the staircase centrally located and beginning right at the opening to the room the stove's in. Seems like we should be able to get a good airflow going. Ceiling fan above stairs?

Working with 3 different brands of pellets ATM, with two unopened pallets up in the garage, so that's another variable to deal with.

 

[PunKid8888]

I have been running a small desk fan on the floor in the next room over from the pellet stove to get some more warm air into the section of the house. it worked ok but never enough to really feel satisfied. I recently added a corner fan in the door way to blow some air in, and the combination works great. I can actually get that room warmer then the room with the pellet stove.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I have been running a small desk fan on the floor in the next room over from the pellet stove to get some more warm air into the section of the house. .

if on the floor point the fan TOWARD the stove , this will help the cooler air near the floor back to the stove and pull the warmer air into the cool room right over the top of the exiting cool air

 

[kast]

I use a ceiling fan set to reverse in the room with the stove, then I use a box fan in the doorway into the kitchen blowing in towards the stove and a corner fan in the same door blowing into the kitchen works great.

The living room gets warm because of the French doors open wide to let the airflow, have a small colonial so I just shut the door going from the living room into the hallway with the stairs to the second floor on the real cold days and leave the door between the hall and the kitchen open.

 

[PunKid8888]

Yea sorry if that was not clear, the fan on the floor forces the cold air towards the stove, and the fan in the upper corner blows air into the room away from the stove to get circular effect

 

[pegdot]

I've never done a scientific test on this but from experience it's seems to me that running the fan any more than one speed higher than the feed rate is actually counter productive. I just worry about moving the warm air from the stove room into other areas of the house. I only try to move the cold air, at floor level, towards the stove. Once that air starts to move it will push the warm air out of the stove room and into other areas of the house. You CAN also use raised fans to help the warm air along but at some point even warm air feels cool if it's moving too fast so I've given up on doorway fans and such. The one floor fan I use to establish the air current can be cut off once the air is circulating and the current keeps itself going unless something happens to disturb it. (Closing the door to a "through" room, or opening and closing an exterior door a few times in rapid sucession.) Long story short, my advice is to concentrate on moving the cold air towards the stove and don't try to move any air too fast or you'll get a drafty feeling in the whole house. Good luck!