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Heat powered fans -your opinions

#Post
1

Hi, I am thinking of getting a heat powered fan to sit on top of freestanding kent type firebox to help push the heat around the room..the fireplace is one side slightly out from wall and between the dining area and the lounge..quite a big space.
I'm hoping someone has had one for a while and can give me their opinion..Are they any good? How long do they last?

demsey - 2021-06-29 12:06:00
2

We have one, we like it...
I’m not sure whether it makes a difference but I like watching it!
It works forever, no batteries are needed and makes no noise so, yeah, it’s a thumbs up from me!

lovelurking - 2021-06-29 12:28:00
3

This message was deleted.

andrew697 - 2021-06-29 12:41:00
4

I just think they are a gimmick.
Yes I have seen them and seen them working.
I just didn't FEEL any breeze from the blades spinning.

smallwoods - 2021-06-29 13:01:00
5
andrew697 wrote:

Where do I buy a heat powered fan?

Mitre 10 has had them - presume other hardware or places that sell fireplaces do as well.

brouser3 - 2021-06-29 13:38:00
6
andrew697 wrote:

Where do I buy a heat powered fan?

Here's some. Most places that sell log burners sell the fans.

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/eco-fireside-fan_p0161088

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/scandia-thermal-powered-eco-fan_p
3171516

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/nouveau-stove-fan-with-4-blad
es-black/p/297098

oakcottage - 2021-06-29 14:27:00
7

Ours is the one from mitre 10. This is our 3rd winter.

lovelurking - 2021-06-29 14:38:00
8

Oh it's good to know they last for years..I was worried they would not be durable. I saw them last winter but thought they might just be a gimmick...i suppose they take a while to make a difference as the fan size + the room size and the speed they spin at would vary the result..

demsey - 2021-06-29 15:41:00
9

if you look at some of that manufactures charts of those fans the range they claim it throws heat out is really small. they make it look like its a big room, but the actual measurements is quite small.
given the size and power of the fan, its only going to work in a very small room.
in large rooms use a mains powered fan, even better a ceiling fan.

tweake - 2021-06-29 16:06:00
10

The Mitre 10 ones are $135 and the Bunnings one $39. Naturally the $39 one is sold out everywhere.

bryshaw - 2021-07-01 11:36:00
11

Saw one in action today on top of a Kent fireplace. I could not feel any air flow from the fan at all despite it turning quite fast.

rovercitroen - 2021-07-01 18:12:00
12

We bought one off here last week and it's spinning rapidly as I type. It moves the air around the corner of our u shapped room and I noticed a good difference straight away.

hazelnut2 - 2021-07-01 18:14:00
13
demsey wrote:

Hi, I am thinking of getting a heat powered fan to sit on top of freestanding kent type firebox to help push the heat around the room..the fireplace is one side slightly out from wall and between the dining area and the lounge..quite a big space.
I'm hoping someone has had one for a while and can give me their opinion..Are they any good? How long do they last?

My bro has two on his corner log burner in his rather large living/kitchen/dining room. Cosy as! Dunno how long they last though,'The one I bought has a 'heat limit' of 350C.

hazelnut2 - 2021-07-01 18:43:00
14
rovercitroen wrote:

Saw one in action today on top of a Kent fireplace. I could not feel any air flow from the fan at all despite it turning quite fast.

They're not designed to create a draft, otherwise the heat wouldn't stay hot and the blades would have to be rather big (think free-standing fan). I like ours, it made a good difference straight away, moving warm air from the firebox around the corner of our lounge wall to where we watch tv.

hazelnut2 - 2021-07-01 18:47:00
15

We've had one for about 8 years and bought another a couple of years ago when we saw it reduced in Bunnings. When the living area has heated up we aim the fans towards the hallway and really notice the difference in the bedroom temperatures if we forget to do this.

phoebe22 - 2021-07-01 19:05:00
16

Just bought a Bunnings one and placed it on top of my "Schooner" log-burner. It certainly speeds up heat distribution rather than just relying on natural convection from the burner. So yes, worth getting, but not at inflated prices being charged by some sellers.

hulloitsme - 2021-07-08 01:09:00
17

They are on 1 day quite often lately, and weve had ours for 3 years. We bought it after seeing them used all the time on canadian tv programms. They do move warm air and cost nothing to run.

articferrit - 2021-07-08 07:47:00
18

Saw one operating at a friends place. They raved about the difference it made moving the heat around. Think we will try one.

strathview - 2021-07-08 19:30:00
19

They do make a noticable difference.
Someone i know has one on his sorta enclosed woodburner & while theres hardly a breeze from it, theres more warmth in the room.
I'd make my own from a Aluminium heatsink from a heatpump & a computer heatsink & fan & 2 Peltier devices. Since i have them anyway.

marte - 2021-07-08 20:41:00
20

We got ours on 1day a month or so back for $30 or $40. Skeptical for sure, didn't realize how much of a difference it made til we didn't use it one night......

kay34 - 2021-07-13 18:26:00
21

It is very cheap to power ordinary electric fans, so I would recommend that you plug one into the mains and get as much breeze as your want.

trade4us2 - 2021-07-14 13:17:00
22
trade4us2 wrote:

It is very cheap to power ordinary electric fans, so I would recommend that you plug one into the mains and get as much breeze as your want.


+1

the best thing of course is ceiling fans.
the new DC fans have much better speed control than the old 3 speed.

Edited by tweake at 1:38 pm, Wed 14 Jul

tweake - 2021-07-14 13:38:00
23
rovercitroen wrote:

Saw one in action today on top of a Kent fireplace. I could not feel any air flow from the fan at all despite it turning quite fast.


This, saw one yesterday at my sisters and she doesn't think it works well. It didn't feel like it made a difference but as other said looks fun. I think it could be designed better so it would funnel more heat up. The heat collection part is level. If it was angled with a wider opening at the base and thinner into the fan I world hope more would be pushed through. Not that I know anything about that sort of thing but thats what came to mind :)

bryalea - 2021-07-15 08:06:00
24
demsey wrote:

Hi, I am thinking of getting a heat powered fan to sit on top of freestanding kent type firebox to help push the heat around the room..


Think about it. What moves the fan blades? The heat waves....so what does the fan actually accomplish? Nothing, the heat is pushing outwards (and upwards actually) anyway, the fan isn't going to add anything at all.

A powered fan does, because it uses it's own power to move air. You're better off with either a ceiling fan to push the hot air (which rises) down or a ducting system to heat the rest of your house.

lythande1 - 2021-07-15 08:30:00
25
trade4us2 wrote:

It is very cheap to power ordinary electric fans, so I would recommend that you plug one into the mains and get as much breeze as your want.

A family member without a fireplace copied the fan principle by putting a pedestal electric fan blowing behind an electric heater after seeing our fire fan.
I thought it was a clever thing to do...

lovelurking - 2021-07-15 11:05:00
26
lythande1 wrote:


Think about it. What moves the fan blades? The heat waves....so what does the fan actually accomplish? Nothing, the heat is pushing outwards (and upwards actually) anyway, the fan isn't going to add anything at all.

A powered fan does, because it uses it's own power to move air. You're better off with either a ceiling fan to push the hot air (which rises) down or a ducting system to heat the rest of your house.

The heat powered fans use a Peltier device. Thats a neat little electronic gizmo that, if you put electricity into it, will get cold on one side & warm on the other. That effect is used in small chillybins & fridges.
As well as doing that, if you make one side of it warm & the other side cold, it will generate electricity.

Heat powered fans use a heatsink that touches the firebox, its ' Hot side' A Peltier device on top of that, and another heatsink on top of the Peltier device, on its 'Cold side'.
The electricity generated by the Peltier device powers the fan, which removes heat from the top heatsink & pushes it about the room.

Heres a neat YouTube video where somebody made their own from scrap metal. It explains it quite well & theres lots of different videos where others have made their own too.
https://youtu.be/1u7POtVxtMI

marte - 2021-07-15 14:22:00
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