I was just reading about a type of fan that you sit on top of your wood stove called an Ecofan. It doesn’t plug in or use batteries, but works from the heat of the stove. From what I read it uses the difference in temperature of the bottom of the fan (hot), and the top of the fan (cool) to gerenate a electric current to run the fan. Made by a company named Camframo, Ecofan model 800 blows 100 CFM (cubic feet per minute) and Ecofan model 802 blows 150 CFM. I had been looking at buying a backup battery system to run the fan on my stove in the case of a power outage, but backed off from that idea when I figured out that it would really on buy me a few hours unless I want to spend a BUNCH of money. But this might be a good idea to keep the hot air blowing from the stove when I can’t run the regular fan. The built in fan is rated for 85 watts, and according to what I read in the specs blows at 125 CFM. But looking at photos of the Ecofan, I find it hard to believe it would push more air than the built in fan. Still, it might be a worthwhile investment in the case of a power outage. They are listed on Home Depot’s website, but note sure if they sell them in the store, or if Lowes sells them. I will have to search for some reviews. One thing I read is that if the stove gets too hot, they can burn out.
My Eco friendly mother-in-law just brought us one of the ecofans for an early Christmas present, living in New Zealand it is mid-winter here and we had been complaining about our house being very hot at one end of the house,Where the wood-burner is, and cold at the bedroom end especially at night. we were very skeptical when we saw this small contraption having never heard of one before but were amazed at how the ecofan moved the warm air about the house making the lounge area a bit cooler and warning up the bedrooms considerably. I would recommend this to anyone having similar problems especially considering it needs no electricity and is completely silent. will save us much money as we where considering installing a fan system in the ceiling to move the heat around.
Comment by Dreenagh — June 20, 2009 @ 5:18 am
Some users have complained the Ecofans don’t work very well. In my experience of using them you need a good heat output from your stove for them to do their job. They DO work if you use them properly.
Comment by rob — February 18, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
Unique Invention, circulates warm air created by wood burning stoves without using any batteries or mains. Prices have really come down now, available a Eakers, Crediton
Comment by abc123 — August 14, 2010 @ 8:04 pm
I had a problem with my Ecofan and learned that the most common cause of slow operation or failure is a damaged or burned out thermoelectric power generation module. Caframo quoted a price to repair the unit that was almost as much as the fan cost new. I learned of a great source for inexpensive replacement modules and decided to give it a go on my own. I was amazed how easy it was to repair on my own. I ended up saving quite a bit and my fan is now operating as good or better than new. The modules are available from Thermal Enterprises email: thermoelectrics@aol.com or you can buy them from Thermalenterprises on eBay.
Comment by Larry — September 18, 2010 @ 2:21 pm
We have been using ours for three winters now, and we heat our house almost entirely with our wood stove. We can’t say enough good things about this fan. In our experience it is very effective in helping the air to circulate, it is quiet, and quite the conversation starter too. We also have a little temperature gauge sitting on top of the stove, which is helpful for keeping an eye on the heat so as not to end up with a chimney fire or a burnt out eco fan.
Comment by btwist — October 25, 2010 @ 12:19 pm