Wood Heat Thread ~ post pics

I got a stove fan last year. So much better than just moving air in the room.

 

I have 2 Ecofans on my woodstove , works great , no power , no noise

 

Ecofans are cute but they don't really move much air. I use mine mostly to tell me when its time to add a log.

 

Not compared to a ceiling fan or a noisy box fan, maybe. But 100-125 cubic feet per minute in total silence is pretty nice.

 

Yep

I hate listening to noisy blower fans

 

Me too, which is why I don't have any on the stove and don't plan on having any. Plus from what I've heard anecdotally the fan motors are prone to failure from being exposed to the heat.

The other thing in our case is that the space the stove will heat is really, really open; the main living area is essentially 2 rooms with no ceilings. It's open all the way up to the roof.

 

The blower on my parent's stove is nearly 20 years old. The rheostat has had to be replaced, but the motor is still fine. My house is huge and open with vaulted ceilings throughout. Without the factory blower kit, my wood stove would be pretty much useless. It's the difference between the fire being an ambiance and actually heating the house.

 

My Ecofans are both over 10 years old

 

I put a Christmas light timer on my blower so it only kicks on periodically. Helps with the noise.

 

Mine has an automatic setting where it turns on once the stove is hot enough and turns off once the fire goes out. This probably helps prevent the motor from getting too hot. I'll admit that the blower does make some noise. The alternative is to pay to keep the propane truck idling next to my 500 gallon tank to keep me topped off.

 

I love my ecofans!

 

10 year old Eco fans? I can never get one to last more than 2 seasons, gave up on them and got a Stirling engine fan. But it needs a finger flick to get it going once it's up to temperature.

 

One thing I've heard is that you want those to blow cool air over the heat, and not blow hot air out.

 

Anyone else like me, hates to find a piece of stovewood just a little bit too long or too short for the stove? Here's my fix for that.

5/16 rod, thread the end or weld to a neo magnet (case) to stick to the saw bar. Cut the rod to the length you want your firewood minus 1/2 inch or so. Other end has a washer welded to it. Start at one end of your log with the washer at the flush face. Do a little zip cut (just through the bark). Take a step to the left or right (magnet goes on either side of the bar), let the washer slip into the previously made zip cut and do another zip cut...and so on down the log. All your cuts will be the same length. Ready to buck the piece, just pull the measuring bar off the saw and put it in your pocket. Mine is painted flourescent orange so I can see it where I put it down...most of the time.

 

I use my chain saw to know where to cut. Lay it on the wood, then cut. I know where 24" is on my chainsaw.

As for fans.
I use Vornado fans to circulate air. They really do move the air. I particularly like the 633.
https://www.vornado.com/shop/circulators-fans/633-medium-air-circulator

 

I used to do the "lay the saw out" measurement, but the saws get heavier, the patience less as the years go by. And I find that the larger the diameter of what's being bucked the more likely it is to end up with a longer length cut if I don't mark it. Must be the size of length relative to the log diameter or something...or it's just me.

 

One is actually older

 

They are meant to go near the back of the stove to draw air from behind and over the top , yes

 

Same idea as a quick stick, then. I used to use one, but I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing my cuts; they're almost never more than an inch or so different. Practice makes perfect, though; the reason I got the quick stick was because at one point my cuts were varying as much as 6-8 inches, lol!

 

6-8 inches, I can relate. I had a large pile of "16" inch pieces I had to set up a sawhorse to re-cut to stove size. Lots of 4-6 inch chunks to daytime burn. Doesn't happen anymore, usually. The over-length ones all came from a 26-28" diameter white oak. Sometimes cuts through big bruiser stuff squews at the end of the cut and you end up with a few inches more than you bargained for. But it all burns.

Now I keep a check stick out at the wood shed so if one is suspect i can check the length quickly before bringing in to the house and finding it doesn't fit the stove.