Stove Fan That Runs Without Electricity
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 02. 9.06
Here is the perfect accessory for anyone that picked up a pellet stove (be it the US or European version) this winter: a fan to help circulate heat that works without electricity. Just set it on top of the stove, and a heat-activated motor goes to work when it gets hot enough, fanning the stove's hot air around the room. This makes the stove more efficient, so you'll use less fuel for it, too. According to the manufacturer's website, the small fan moves about 100 cubic feet per minute (CFM), while the big guy moves about 150 CFM, though the speed of the fan varies with stove temperature; the hotter the stove, the faster it goes. Prices range from $139 to $179 US, depending on the size. ::Garrett Wade via ::Apartment Therapy
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
If one set this fan on a mat finished black stone or tile, with a bottom heat protector, could this fan work with an east, west, or southern exposure?
Also, Lehman's
More info about fan
http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=306&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=fanthis fan
Redistribute warm air using stove's heat
Reduce hot and cold spots in your room. Fan powered by the heat of your stove circulates air away from stove and throughout the room. Ingeniously designed fan converts thermal energy into electrical energy. Blade automatically increases speed as the stove gets hotter and is specially designed to gently move a broad section of air. Unobtrusive and virtually silent. Will amaze and intrigue guests - a great conversation starter! No maintenance required. Aluminum body and anodized brass blades, one-year warranty.
Made in Canada.
Note: Fan will start turning when stovetop reaches about 250° F. Do not use on surfaces that exceed 700° F. If surface exceeds 700° F, remove fan from stove or move to edge of stove where it is cooler.
For optimal performance stove surface should be between 400-600 degrees..."
I don't know about yours, but the top of my pellet stove does NOT get hot at all, therefore, this product would be useless on my pellet stove.
The Circulation of the air in the surrounding area may make for a more consistant temperature over a larger area which is nice and has some benefit.
One could say it this product can make existing stoves more effective in their goal of keeping the whole house warm.
But putting device on top of your stove is not going to make it more efficient.
Every pellet stove I've experienced stays cool to the touch. As well, they come with blowers. That's how they work -- a tiny little flame with a built-in circulating fan. It's just a wood-fired furnace but without the ducts.
On a potbelly coal stove, this thing could move some real heat though.
I have to agree with the above. I have two pellet stoves heating my house during the day. Unlike a traditional wood stove, a pellet stove is only warm (except at the glass window), but not hot.
In addition I did a measurement of one of my pellet stoves last week. It used about 1.7kW hours per day with the unit turned off at night while we slept (9pm-6am). Instantaneous power ranged from 120-240 watts depending on how high the fan blew. Factor the electricity usage in when considering one.
My Dad bought one of these fans as a novelty about 8 years ago. You can hold your hand 9" in front of the fan and not feel the slightest breeze. Although the science behind the fan is interesting, passive convection currents will do much more to actually distribute heat in your home.
I bought one of these last fall. And immediately noticed a reduction in the amount of wood I used to heat my (off-grid) small log cabin. I was pleasantly surprised by the air flow - no strong wind cone. Rather a pleasant daft that moved the air around. Not certain about pellet stoves, but traditional wood stoves - YES! Stongly recommended. This product delivers.
My favorite thing being, when you wake up in -10 morning and the fire has gone out. Usually you need to build a stong fire and wait for the heat to 'eventually' get to you. With this fan i was able to immediately get warmth. Thereby I was able to make smaller fires before leaving for work and use less resources... good stuff!
Does anyone happen to know if these are beta or gamma configuration stirling engines? I know there are gamma configured stirling engines that can run off of the heat from your palm, or off the heat from a cup of hot coffee.
Snake Oil. The fan turns because the air moves upwards on the convection current caused by the heat of the heater. The air moves the fan, not the other way around. The obstruction might redirect some of the air, but not much. A baffle or a duct would do a better job. Regardless of how much people want "Green Miracles" they don't exist unless thermodynamics allows them to be.
These fans use a Peltier cell that generates the current for the fan motor. Nothing snake oil about it.
Xela: the fans aren't positioned to take advantage of convection. Also, since you mention thermodynamics, you should take a sec and google either these peltier effect fans or their slightly beefier cousins, the stirling fans. Plenty of solid physics going on, no perpetual-motion mythbusters need apply.
The proper term for the power source for these fans is "Thermoelectric generator (TEG)" or "Seebeck cell". The Seebeck effect is the reverse of the Peltier effect. No snake oil needed. These things operate on the semiconductor version of the thermoelectric effect.
I have one of these, and they work well. They *do* make the stove more efficient because they increase convective heat transfer greatly. They don't help the combustion, but do help the heat transfer. On a pellet stove that already has a jacket and a blower, these fans won't do anything useful. They work wonders on stoves that don't already have a blower.
How noisey or these things?
The fan turns because the air moves upwards on the convection current caused by the heat of the heater. The air moves the fan, not the other way around. The obstruction might redirect some of the air, but not much. A baffle or a duct would do a better job. Regardless of how much people want "Green Miracles" they don't exist unless thermodynamics allows them to be.
We want to know weather this fan can be used as blower in the charcoal institutional stove to provide more air to the combution chamber. Please clarify it.I want know the heat energy can be used to run a blower with out electric current .