Rate my setup :)

[Woody Stover]

If the stairs to the upper level is in the stove room, I would think cool air would flow down the stairs to replace the heat rising through the vents (if they are above the stove.) A clearer idea of your floor plan and vent/stair location may help folks come up with better ways to move heat, using less electricity than two big fans.

 

[rdust]

40 F is usually my line.... house maintains 60 - 65 F on it's own when it's 40 F outside, unless it's been bitterly cold, windy, etc

I burn wood so I don't have to sit in a cold house. House gets below 68 a fire gets built regardless of outdoor temp. Also the benefit of a cat stove, can run it slow and low.

 

[oska]

I'm dead serious I thought my setup was very clever with the fans, and being able to heat the house very well - but I've now learned that there's a lot of mean people, and some helpful ones too.

To Woody Stover:

Yes, it's a split level and the stairs basically act as a massive convection current - I can feel the cold air coming down the stairs - it's like a giant constant current.

In regards to the fans, they are dumping the heat from the metal into the room via convection current. The metal can only get so hot, and so when air blows over the heat, it cools it down - but then is immediately replaced by the heat from the fire inside. Moreover, this helps circulate cooler air in the room directly onto the hot stove, increasing the room temperature more rapidly.

I don't have a fire alarm down there, but I do have a carbon monoxide detector and a fire extinguisher.

I think maybe buying another fire alarm for downstairs would be a great idea.

Can you please recommend a really sensitive one that will alert me if something happens.

I agree with wood leaning against the fan :/ But it's so hard to get it angled and wood seemed like a good idea at the time.

And for meanies telling me I'm a troll: Why don't you post your pictures up on the internet for everyone to judge - I'm just trying to be a better skilled fire-maker just like everyone else.

Rdust: thank you for your post. I felt like such a terrible person for burning wood during this warm fall, but now that I know I'm not the only one who doesn't let it get to 60 or lower before turning on the stove makes me feel better. I think you are even more sensitive than me I tend to turn it on when it gets to around 60-64, depending on my mood

 

[quotejso]

I don't know what kind of houses you guys have, but if its 40 degrees outside at my house it is getting cold inside might need two fires.

 

[Cedarjunki]

Just want to point out that i have melted/distorted a couple fans over the years and they were no where as close as yours are.. just be careful if you choose to keep them there

 

[jatoxico]

Is that stove rated to burn cord wood?

 

[begreen]

No, that was pointed out in another thread.

 

[claydogg84]

You've had a few suggestions/concerns brought to your attention and yet always seem to have a witty, challenging response. You claim to want feedback/advice, but don't actually take it very well. So I'm not going to bother "rating your setup", I'll just wish you good luck.

 

[oska]

I decided to implement the idea of moving the fans away from the stove - it didn't seem worth the risk of melting and destroying $65 worth of fans.

I haven't yet seen a good suggestion for how exactly to blow cold air into my room though - considering that it's a den in a split level house.

I thought of maybe blowing the air down through two registers my dad cut into the ceiling, but it wouldn't work out too well because the fans are so big - and we already have a register booster fan.

 

[Dix]

Oska, all you might need is a small fan at the top of the entry way landing blowing down to the second level. If your lay out (walk in front door, and a landing with a set of stairs going up, and a set going down), this will force the convection loop to intensify

GF, not to be mean, but the current set up is a disaster waiting to happen, Don't go there. Everyone here wants everyone to be safe and warm.

It's why we're here, and some of us for a very long time.

FYI, one of my set ups, which has been posted many, many times here on Hearth ....

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

First off... Good on you for coming on here and asking questions. This place is a great place to get information.

Don't take what is being said as harsh or mean... They are just looking out for your well-being. Noone wants to hear that someone lost their home or life.

Anyways... It looks like you are trying and that's a start.

First, move the fans away from the stove asap. I didn't believe it that blowing cold air into the stove room would work at all but much to my surprise, it greatly increased the warmth in the whole house. Sit a small fan at the top or bottom of the stairs blowing down towards the stove room. If you don't have anyway to get heat up through the floor, consider adding a straight through duct that would go from the ceiling in the basement to the floor up stairs... No fan or anything needed... With cold air blowing into the room, heat will be forced out into the rest of the house. The duct will help with circulation.

Also take a look around and make sure all your wood/paper are respecting clearances.

Do you have a stove pipe damper? Get your temp probe installed and see how hot the stack is running. You may be pumping too much heat up the chimney.

Keep asking questions and b safe.

 

[spirilis]

Part of burning efficiently is allowing the stove's metal to get hot enough - to a certain extent the outside temp has an influence on the inside temp and wood, for sure, burns more efficiently when it gets hotter (plus less chance of chimney fire from creosote buildup). If the Harman doesn't have its own special blower in the back (using that would be more tidy and probably more effective), I say move the fans further back - it will still help with heat distribution a lot.

 

[bholler]

Is that stove rated to burn cord wood?

It is exactly the same stove they sold as a combo unit years ago they just can no longer sell it that way because it does not meet epa standards for wood. It is not a great wood burner but it works ok.

Part of burning efficiently is allowing the stove's metal to get hot enough - to a certain extent the outside temp has an influence on the inside temp and wood, for sure, burns more efficiently when it gets hotter (plus less chance of chimney fire from creosote buildup).

I agree when she is burning wood but not true when burning coal. But yes the fans are to close

And for meanies telling me I'm a troll: Why don't you post your pictures up on the internet for everyone to judge - I'm just trying to be a better skilled fire-maker just like everyone else.

I am not sure what was meant by it but i really dont think it was meant to be an insult i hope they come back and clear it up. If it was meant that way shame on them.

 

[begreen]

I decided to implement the idea of moving the fans away from the stove - it didn't seem worth the risk of melting and destroying $65 worth of fans.

I haven't yet seen a good suggestion for how exactly to blow cold air into my room though - considering that it's a den in a split level house.

I thought of maybe blowing the air down through two registers my dad cut into the ceiling, but it wouldn't work out too well because the fans are so big - and we already have a register booster fan.

Can you post a sketch of your floor plans? It doesn't have to be a work of art, just something that gives us the general idea of how the floors are laid out.

 

[cookin2night]

I decided to implement the idea of moving the fans away from the stove - it didn't seem worth the risk of melting and destroying $65 worth of fans.

I haven't yet seen a good suggestion for how exactly to blow cold air into my room though - considering that it's a den in a split level house.

I thought of maybe blowing the air down through two registers my dad cut into the ceiling, but it wouldn't work out too well because the fans are so big - and we already have a register booster fan.

Push air via your fans from other rooms or stair wells into the stove room. One of my friends just tried it out. He got the rest of his house 10 degrees warmer. Put a fan blowing air into the stove room and put a fan blowing air from upstairs to down stairs. Try it. If it doesn't work then try something else. Good luck.

 

[firefighterjake]

A smoke detector for the floor where the stove is would be a good idea . . . but you really don't want a "sensitive" smoke detector . . . for that matter, I probably wouldn't put it in the same room with the stove or at the very least make sure it is several feet away.

Incidentally, most smoke detectors today are rated to activate at a set point so technically there are no detectors that are more or less sensitive . . . I say "technically" because some types of detectors can activate sooner rather than later to certain types of smoke and of course when manufacturing any product you are bound to have variances in the product whether it be a car, stove or smoke detector.

 

[maple1]

Ummm - is that a plastic ash bucket I'm seeing there?

 

[Woody Stover]

I think one fan on low, some distance in front of the stove, might help establish the convection loop better. You don't want to be blowing a lot of air around near the stove; You want to let the heat stratify in the stove room somewhat to strengthen the loop. You can quantify how much the fans are helping by using the stack thermometer, about 18" above the stove top. If the fans on high aren't really dropping the flue temp much, you know that you can run one fan on low and pull about the same amount of heat off the stove.

Can you post a sketch of your floor plans? It doesn't have to be a work of art, just something that gives us the general idea of how the floors are laid out.

Yeah, that would give us an idea of how to optimize the movement of warm air. Like begreen says though, a stove is basically an area heater and there's only so much you can dot to move heat to areas that are far from the stove. Without seeing the layout, I'd say that putting one small fan on the floor at the base of the stairs, then another small fan closer to the stove if the stove is far from the stairs, should give good results. What are you trying to optimize; Where are you trying to get the heat to go?

 

[spirilis]

Ummm - is that a plastic ash bucket I'm seeing there?

If it's the white one on the left, front near camera, I think that's holding coal.

 

[oska]

Thanks for all the awesome posts, as requested here's a schematic:

I have terrible handwriting, so please forgive the painful eyesight you're going to witness:

http://imgur.com/gallery/gG5ogdS/new

Also - we have 2 holes in the floor my dad cut open with a hack saw thingy and made a big mess - one of them has a register booster fan that goes all the time (and I can feel the hot air coming up through it). The other one has no fan at all.

 

[Woody Stover]

doesn't have to be a work of art

OK if it's abstract art?

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Oska, all you might need is a small fan at the top of the entry way landing blowing down to the second level. If your lay out (walk in front door, and a landing with a set of stairs going up, and a set going down), this will force the convection loop to intensify

GF, not to be mean, but the current set up is a disaster waiting to happen, Don't go there. Everyone here wants everyone to be safe and warm.

It's why we're here, and some of us for a very long time.

FYI, one of my set ups, which has been posted many, many times here on Hearth ....
View attachment 168727 View attachment 168728

Does the dog help to divide the flow of air away/towards the stove?

 

[oska]

Any suggestions?

 

[begreen]

I looked at the sketch, but can't decipher it well enough to help. That's ok, not everyone can draw a good floorplan. Maybe ask dad to help with a sketch that shows a top down view of the first and second floor plan showing where the stove and vents are located.

 

[maple1]

Take another picture or pictures to show how you've got your fans now since you moved them.

The general idea & thought, is to put your fans at the bottom of the steps, blowing towards your stove. That should get a circular flow going, down the steps, to the stove, up through the ceiling to upper level, back down the steps & repeat. Or, maybe one fan there, and the other one on the floor at the top of your top steps, also blowing down the steps. Fans are much more effective when they are moving cooler air, since cooler air is more dense. (Someone likely already said that).