After a lot of reading and digging for information for a quiet blower I can use with my setup, I'm no closer to having an answer.
The fan (Englander AC-16) that came with my stove (Englander NC-13) doesn't have enough clearance behind the stove and it is very loud. While I currently have a fan pointing at the side of the wood stove to move some air, I think it would be more efficient to have a fan or blower behind the stove blowing air up to the block off plate and then out. I'd likely need to create some sort of mount to rest it on the ground, but I have confidence I can figure that out. What I don't know is what fan or blower I can use that is quiet (targeting 50 dB or less at 5 feet distance) but still moves air (preferably 100+ cfm) . Having the ability for the fan to turn on automatically when the stove gets up to temp would be nice, but not essential.
Looking for recommendations for a quiet blower, or feedback if you have a better idea. Picture of my install attached.
After a lot of reading and digging for information for a quiet blower I can use with my setup, I'm no closer to having an answer.
The fan (Englander AC-16) that came with my stove (Englander NC-13) doesn't have enough clearance behind the stove and it is very loud. While I currently have a fan pointing at the side of the wood stove to move some air, I think it would be more efficient to have a fan or blower behind the stove blowing air up to the block off plate and then out. I'd likely need to create some sort of mount to rest it on the ground, but I have confidence I can figure that out. What I don't know is what fan or blower I can use that is quiet (targeting 50 dB or less at 5 feet distance) but still moves air (preferably 100+ cfm) . Having the ability for the fan to turn on automatically when the stove gets up to temp would be nice, but not essential.
Looking for recommendations for a quiet blower, or feedback if you have a better idea. Picture of my install attached.
View attachment
Could you get an angled adaptor and move the stove out enough to fit the englander blower in? I see you already have a block off plate (well done), and you might have to enlarge the center hole, on top of all the work to pull the stove and reattach the liner with the new angled adaptor, but that would sure solve your problem.
Another thought- maybe shorter legs would give you enough play to get the blower in there? I don't know if they are available from englander, or if that would even help. This would also involve enlarging the hole in the block off plate.
I will add my 2 cents about insulating the sides and back of the fireplace- it will help a lot. I'd use rigid rock wool.
Consider insulating the fireplace if it's an exterior chimney, that is eating most of your heat production. That is a very tough position for a stove to heat from. Insulate above the blockoff too, if it's not already.
jetsam, I do have an exterior chimney. I did build a block off plate and also stuffed half the bag of rockwool up the chimney from the smoke shelf to whats left of the old fireplace damper, so heat loss up the chimney is fairly minimal now. I did not consider insulating the fireplace though.
To the OP if your aim is to get more usable heat out of your stove I very strongly recommend insulating the fireplace and installing a block off plate. I have a similar set up to yours and when I insulated and installed a block off plate it made a very significant improvement in my usable heat production.
I imagine I could use my leftover steel flashing and rockwool to do that similar to what Das Jugghead and Easy Livin’ did. Any good write-ups out there on insulating the fireplace?
You might try pointing a table fan on the floor, following the side angle of the fireplace to blow cool air in on one side and hot out the other. That works for some folks.
begreen and SidecarFlip, I'm currently using a small table fan pointing at the side of the wood stove from 3 feet away. The fan moves a lot of air and is quiet, but I have to wonder if putting something behind the stove might do better at moving air.
Could you get an angled adaptor and move the stove out enough to fit the englander blower in? I see you already have a block off plate (well done), and you might have to enlarge the center hole, on top of all the work to pull the stove and reattach the liner with the new angled adaptor, but that would sure solve your problem.
Another thought- maybe shorter legs would give you enough play to get the blower in there? I don't know if they are available from englander, or if that would even help. This would also involve enlarging the hole in the block off plate.
I will add my 2 cents about insulating the sides and back of the fireplace- it will help a lot. I'd use rigid rock wool.
Easy Livin’ , I should have used an angled adapter when installing - would have made life easier then in now. Too much hassle to change at the moment though. I could probably stick the Englander blower behind the stove pointing up to the block off plate to test it out, but even on low that thing is really loud. But maybe not as loud with a stove in the way?
You might be able to find a fan that can do it but is it designed to withstand and operate for extended periods at high temps. ( I was thinking about the really big computer fans 200-300+ mm but I bet they don’t last long.)
Durablow GFK-160 Fireplace Stove Blower Complete Kit for Lennox, Superior, Heat N Glo, Hearth and Home, Quadra Fire, Regency, Royal, Jakel, Nordica, Rotom Amazon product ASIN B00HJ82S6U
EbS-P, I'll take a look at the Durablow GFK-160. I also thought about computer fans, but also concerned about the heat even if closer to the base of the woodstove.
jetsam, I do have an exterior chimney. I did build a block off plate and also stuffed half the bag of rockwool up the chimney from the smoke shelf to whats left of the old fireplace damper, so heat loss up the chimney is fairly minimal now. I did not consider insulating the fireplace though.
I imagine I could use my leftover steel flashing and rockwool to do that similar to what Das Jugghead and Easy Livin’ did. Any good write-ups out there on insulating the fireplace?
Your problem is that your stove is radiating directly into an infinite heat sink (masonry which is exposed to the outdoors and the earth both).
Your ideal solution involves some construction (build out the hearth, move the stove out of the fireplace, make a new hole in the chimney higher up for the flue... or just run the flue through the roof).
I doubt you want to do all that, so second-best is insulating the fireplace. I think in your case it will be a large difference in the heat output you perceive from the stove. And yes, we have a couple great writeups on that topic, my favorite being this one by mellow.
I know it looks crude at first but keep following the thread... he eventually finishes it using cement board painted with stove paint, and it looks nice.
And when he says it made a big difference for him.... that is with an insert that is designed not to radiate much heat to the sides and back! Your improvement should be even better.
Your problem is that your stove is radiating directly into an infinite heat sink (masonry which is exposed to the outdoors and the earth both).
Your ideal solution involves some construction (build out the hearth, move the stove out of the fireplace, make a new hole in the chimney higher up for the flue... or just run the flue through the roof).
I doubt you want to do all that, so second-best is insulating the fireplace. I think in your case it will be a large difference in the heat output you perceive from the stove. And yes, we have a couple great writeups on that topic, my favorite being this one by mellow.
I know it looks crude at first but keep following the thread... he eventually finishes it using cement board painted with stove paint, and it looks nice.
And when he says it made a big difference for him.... that is with an insert that is designed not to radiate much heat to the sides and back! Your improvement should be even better.
That was quite a thread, but a lot of interesting variations there. Will have to take some time to read more. One advantage my fireplace has is that it is constructed with several layers of air gapped brick (which I found out when coring a hole for outside air), so theoretically that makes it less of a heatsink.
I use this:
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I actually remove the whole blower assembly that come with my flush insert and put this fan in it's place. It is an DC blower controlled by PWM and electronic temperature sensor. I tape the sensor in roughly the same place as the snapdisc before. Obviously mounting holes don't match up but with HVAC tape and some extra padding I made it fit.
It is rated at 200CFM but I don't think it can deliver 200 CFM in my stove; maybe 100? It feels like somewhere between the low and high settings of the original blower. Noise wise there is some improvement but not a whole lot. However now I gain the controllability without keeling on the ground. It is precisely temperature controlled so it spins faster when it gets hot and spins slower when it is cooler. I can make the sensor spot exactly 113F +- 2F for 90%+ of the my burning cycle. With the old snapdisc controlled AC fan, you set a speed and the fan is either on or off; and the snapdisc has a huge (like 30F) temperature hysteresis so there is a lot of temperature variety.
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