New to Woodstove with Blower

[shelby2001]

We have just replaced our Vermont Castings Woodstove we had for over 20 years with a Regency F1100 to heat our addition. We have never had a blower on a woodstove (it was free promotion regency was running) What is the best way to use the blower if at all?
Thanks,
Shelby

 

[HotCoals]

If I use mine at all..it's on low.
Blowers take away from the ambiance imo.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We once had a stove with a blower. We hated it and removed it. Why did we remove it? We sold it.

 

[WES999]

I have the same stove, (really like it )

I only use the blower when the stove top is near max temp( over 600 °F ) and want to heat the room up fast, otherwise I leave it off.

BTW the Regency blower is very quite on low, you can barley hear it.

I think on a stove with a small fire box like the Regency F1100, if you use the blower all the time it cuts down quite a bit on your burn time.

Enjoy your stove.

 

[begreen]

shelby, a blower is used to increase convection of the stove. It takes cool air, usually at the bottom of the stove, and forces air across the hot part of the stove. Some do this across the back of the stove, or sides or the top. On the F1100 Classic it blows across the top of the stove. How often a blower is used depends on the stove location and house floorplan. With the stove in a central location with an open floorplan that convects well naturally, it may never be needed. Conversely, if the stove is in a side room and the desire is to circulate the heat to other areas in the house, then a blower can really help, especially if the front of the stove is pointed toward a hallway door or another main area of the house. For some basement stoves a blower is a necessity, in order to get the heat blown toward the stairs.

In milder weather, when burning short hot fires, a blower may not be needed. But as it gets colder outside it often helps to get the air circulating better so that the stove's heat reaches further. The other benefit of a blower is that it cools down the stove. If you are having a hard time keeping the stovetop temps from getting too high, running a blower will often drop the stovetop temperature by 100 degrees or more. WES999's summarized the benefits nicely. Experiment around and see what works best for you.

 

[shelby2001]

Thank you all for the information I guess we will just be playing around with this and see what happens.

 

[BrotherBart]

One thing to always do. Get the fire established and the stove temp up in the five hundred degree range before turning on the blower no matter how you use it. You don't want it to slow down or keep the stove from getting to optimum operating temperature. And turn it off before removing ashes or ya might get a face full of'em.

 

[fossil]

I have a Lopi Liberty in a great room with cathedral ceilings. It's a fairly large space. I bought the Liberty with the factory blower kit and I wouldn't have it any other way. The blower control won't power up the blower until the stove has been good & hot for a while, and keeps the blower running until the stove has cooled down on the other end of the burn cycle if I choose to let the fire burn out. The blower speed controller is infinitely variable between minimum and maximum, and I can shut it off any time I want. In the lower range of speed, the blower is very quiet (if the TV is on, the blower's not even noticeable). If folks are sitting at the dining table having a quiet conversation, I can just turn the blower off. At high speed it most certainly makes noise, as any device moving a bunch of air will. I only ever turn it up to high when I'm retiring to the bedroom down the hall for the night. I find that the blower on the stove working in concert with the ceiling fan make for a very effective combination at mixing and destratifying the air in the room, tending to keep it quite comfortable. I really like having the blower option installed on the Liberty, as it provides me with an additional tool in my heating toolbox when I choose to use it. Rick

 

[certified106]

Just thought i would add that I love the blower on my stove.
Fossil: that great room is incredible, I would love to have a room like that!

 

[lopiliberty]

I have a lopi liberty with a blower also. The only time I use my blower is if the stove top exceeds 750 degrees or if I am trying to warm up a very cold house. The stove is in a 25 by 13 living room and without the fan running it keep the room usually between 82 and 90 degrees, we like a warm house. If the blower is running it will easily get the whole first floor above 95 degrees. In fact as type this the living room temperature is at 87 degrees with no blower running. Stove is cruising at 650 with two pieces of oak. I also find that if the blower is running it cuts down on the length of time I have coals in the stove.

 

[rudysmallfry]

The only time I use my blower is if the heat is so strong around the stove it's blowing me out of the room. Otherwise, the radiant heat is much nicer.

 

[Geppetto83]

The blower option enables you to redistribute the heat from the back of your heater to the front of it and into the room. By forcing hot air toward the front of the heater, the blower extends the radiation power of your unit. Most appliances can also have a thermodisc installed. It will start the blower automatically when the air temperature in the back heat shield reaches approximately 115F. Likewise, it will turn the blower off when the temperature in the back heat shield goes below 100F.

 

[raybonz]

Just thought i would add that I love the blower on my stove.
Fossil: that great room is incredible, I would love to have a room like that!

+1 on both comments!

Ray