Wood fireplace

Pauloswindon · Jul 06, 2018 7:48 pm

We’ve just moved into our new house and have a wood fireplace. There is a 3 setting fan attached to the fire. Any recommendations on which setting I should use for a first time use (low,medium,high)

Hfranco2018 · Jul 07, 2018 3:25 am

The amount of (heat) energy transferred from the stove to the air surrounding it will increase in some proportion with the difference in temperature between the stove wall and the nearby air.

If you wish to maximize the net transfer of heat from the stove into the room's air, you would want to run the fan at its highest speed, so as to minimize the temperature of the air in the immediate vicinity of the stove.

However, moving air at temperatures less than 98 or so degrees Fahrenheit can tend to make human beings lose heat more quickly, especially in conditions of very low humidity. So, the fan setting for optimal comfort may differ from that for optimal heat transfer into the room. That said, unless the fan is blowing what feels like cold air directly at someone, I believe that the highest setting is still likely to be the best for comfort overall.

Harpies · Jul 07, 2018 7:25 am

Probably if you go to the website of the manfacturer/distributor you will find a manual to tell you what you want.
I have an Arrow heater with 3 speed fan and the instructions are to run the fan all the time, and I mostly run it on low other than when there is a big fire and I will put it on medium. If the flue is glowing then you need to turn the fan up or turn the fire down.

If I want it to just tick over then I will have one piece of wood with the fan off. This keeps the heater warmer and the wood doesn't go out. This is for red gum. Grey box burns hotter and leaves more red coals and is a better firewood, but harder to get. Red gum tends to smoulder on low settings. Also depends on how dry the wood is.
I've never used my heater on high fan and I think most people would find the noise annoying.