Wood burner and heat activated fan

[Jbcory74]

The heat in the room air shouldn't be going up the chimney; the burner should be flued and the chimney sealed off so room air does not escape up it

The air inside the burner that contains the smoke from the fire escapes up the flue taking pollutants and a large amount of generated heat with it, but that's not going to change if you change the burner

Yes I understand the heat / smoke exiting the stove needs to escape.

But the heat emitted from the stoves hot surface exterior is also likely getting lost / trapped due to the tight space in which the stove has been fitted?

As hot air rises and there’s just a tiny space for the heat to travel outwards most will be going up and getting trapped is what I gather from everyone else on this forum?

 

[robinbanks]

A lot of the heat emitted from the burner is coming from the top, but above it is only a 2” space so it’s the consensus that the heat is actually getting trapped..

I'd say test the theory; pick up a flat fan heater like this:

And sit it so it's blowing underneath the fire in fan-only mode.. Air is pushed out at the top of the fire and perhaps everything works better

If it's just a general air circulation problem then you may have options to put air ducting elsewhere; perhaps breaking into the chimney further up and fitting a fan there means you can draw air past the burner and the flue before ejecting it back into the room

 

[robinbanks]

But the heat emitted from the stoves hot surface exterior is also likely getting lost / trapped due to the tight space in which the stove has been fitted?

As hot air rises and there’s just a tiny space for the heat to travel outwards most will be going up and getting trapped is what I gather from everyone else on this forum?

Getting lost/trapped where though? If 2 inches of a gap was enough to shut down convection then radiators wouldn't work, fridges would overheat..

 

[Jbcory74]

It is closed off, but the heat can still get partially trapped and sucked into the wall cavity?

or do you think that our set up is the best it could be and any alternations - smaller stove / larger gap around would be pointless?

Appreciate your feedback!

 

[Jbcory74]

I'd say test the theory; pick up a flat fan heater like this:

View attachment 289577

And sit it so it's blowing underneath the fire in fan-only mode.. Air is pushed out at the top of the fire and perhaps everything works better

If it's just a general air circulation problem then you may have options to put air ducting elsewhere; perhaps breaking into the chimney further up and fitting a fan there means you can draw air past the burner and the flue before ejecting it back into the room

This wouldn’t be a fair test? This fan could only be placed on the hearth which doesn’t get hot and is by the foot of the stove. It needs to be on top to catch the rising heat in order to push it out?

 

[Jbcory74]

Getting lost/trapped where though? If 2 inches of a gap was enough to shut down convection then radiators wouldn't work, fridges would overheat..

I am going off what the 6 other people in this forum have said. And looking online at stove installations they all have decent space above.

Could the heat not get forced and lost in the walls? Thus not all of it entering the room like it would if there were more space?

 

[denso13]

smaller stove / larger gap around would be pointless?

Pretty much. The associated costs for such a small gain, if any, would rule it out for me.

 

[Jbcory74]

Pretty much. The associated costs for such a small gain, if any, would rule it out for me.

Oh really?

@Burnerman @Mr Chibs any more thoughts?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Indeed BUT I think you will have to find somewhere else for the plasma as a lot of heat goes upwards even with stovetop fans!

Up high on a wall, look aesthetically correct, but that is not good from a practical point of view. It can cause a neck pain sitting down, spending hours gazing up. The ideal is a similar height to your eyes, whilst in a sitting position. Plasma sets are also energy hungry sets, costing 2 or 3 times as much to run as LED ones.

 

[Jbcory74]

Up high on a wall, look aesthetically correct, but that is not good from a practical point of view. It can cause a neck pain sitting down, spending hours gazing up. The ideal is a similar height to your eyes, whilst in a sitting position. Plasma sets are also energy hungry sets, costing 2 or 3 times as much to run as LED ones.

Our sofa is far back we are hardly looking up really, guises it just looks it from the photo!

 

[Burnerman]

We seem to be getting a wee bit of target here, but for what it's worth......(not trying to be patronising here, to you or anyone else)!
At the end of the day, I guess it's to do with what's in the piggy bank, or how much you value a real fire!
The original installation doesn't seem to be effective so either abandon it, put up with it or try something else. In my opinion, if you can get the 10 or 11 inches required above the burner then go for a smaller one - I can't comment on the cost of a new one, or how much the existing one is worth. This gap gives you the possibility of using an eco fan, but there will be much more natural convection too......at the moment there is none.
I don't like the idea of an electric fan heater positioned beneath.
The eco fan is just there to gently waft heat away from the stove - if you could feel the draught then it would feel to be cool.
I bet you wish you'd never started this one!!
John

 

[Jbcory74]

We seem to be getting a wee bit of target here, but for what it's worth......(not trying to be patronising here, to you or anyone else)!
At the end of the day, I guess it's to do with what's in the piggy bank, or how much you value a real fire!
The original installation doesn't seem to be effective so either abandon it, put up with it or try something else. In my opinion, if you can get the 10 or 11 inches required above the burner then go for a smaller one - I can't comment on the cost of a new one, or how much the existing one is worth. This gap gives you the possibility of using an eco fan, but there will be much more natural convection too......at the moment there is none.
I don't like the idea of an electric fan heater positioned beneath.
The eco fan is just there to gently waft heat away from the stove - if you could feel the draught then it would feel to be cool.
I bet you wish you'd never started this one!!
John

Thanks so much. Yeah this forum got a little manic!

I have the funds it was just seeing people comment that it isn’t worth it put me off, but what you’ve said makes complete sense. I’ve been in homes with wood burners in (they have all had much more space around them) and they seem to offer more heat!

So I think that’s the conclusion I’ll contact the installer and get more space around the stove!

I’ll be ready then for the next blast of -10 temperatures lol!

Again thanks so much really appreciate everyone’s time!

 

[robinbanks]

This wouldn’t be a fair test? This fan could only be placed on the hearth which doesn’t get hot and is by the foot of the stove. It needs to be on top to catch the rising heat in order to push it out?

The intention of the suggestion was for the fan (which in that specific shape produces a fairly narrow flat stream of air), to blow underneath the stove, whereupon the air hits the wall at the back and spreads out sideways and upwards, and turns around, emerging from the top and sides of the stove and carrying the warmed air into the room like a stove top fan would. Picking up cool air near the floor and pushing it into an enclosed space where it can only emerge from warmed parts should help prove whether arranging significantly increased air movement around the burner will improve your situation elsewhere in the room.

It's £20 for a fan that helps test whether making potentially expensive and drastic alterations is worth doing (and you still have a fan heater which, of that particular design is quite handy for arranging directed warm air on places such as where a carpet has been spot cleaned for whatever reason..) - it's also not a recommendation to site that particular fan permanently on the hearth. Do consider applying some science to it and putting a thermometer elsewhere in the room, away from the fire so you can assess objectively whether increased air movement really is heating the room more effectively?

 

[baldykev]

Gap around fire looks to small should be 150 mm ,they are the figures I was given when had one fitted and looking on google same figure keeps coming up ,the heat can not escape and walls are being used as a heat sink.(and lack of air flow round the fire)
How much difference it will make I cant say ,but the figure must be there for a reason
Good luck

 

[Jbcory74]

Gap around fire looks to small should be 150 mm ,they are the figures I was given when had one fitted and looking on google same figure keeps coming up ,the heat can not escape and walls are being used as a heat sink.(and lack of air flow round the fire)
How much difference it will make I cant say ,but the figure must be there for a reason
Good luck

Agree thank you!