If you use a wood stove to heat your workshop of house, you will know it is very different to other kinds of heating systems. On of the problems is that unless it is plumbed into a water circulating central heating system with radiators, it can be difficult to get the heat from the stove evenly distributed about the place. In fact a big problem is stopping the heat simply escaping up the chimney, and I have written at some length on this here in relation to my experimental sideways burning stove. A standard electric fan is one way to distribute the heat – but they use energy and can be quite noisy.

Stove top fans still use electric motors, but are low key enough that they are virtually silent, and are powered by the heat from the stove. I have made a number of these fans now and they work great. The one key downside is that the TEG (thermoelectric generator) tends not to last too long.. Why? Because it invariably experiences overheat conditions at some point when the stove gets hotter than usual.

My latest tinkerings fix this problem! I have published a really comprehensive instructable of the upcycling adventure. If your interested in making one do check it out! It’s entered in their ‘TRASH to TREASURE” competition, so if you feel like showing your support please do head on over there and vote for it! It’s all free and Instructables is awesome.

I am using an automotive style thermostat attached to a sprung loaded sliding pin to mechanically lift the ecofan off the stove top when it overheats.

The thermostat is housed inside the hot-side heat sink (an old chainsaw jug), with the motor mounted from the spark plug hole. When it is in overheat it tilts up so only a corner is in contact with the stove’s hot plate. the air gap effectively reduces the heat transfer and the fan cools off a bit, before lowering back down. If you are interested do watch the youtube video and/or check out the instructable for the complete lowdown.

Posted: 04|30|18 at 11:38 pm. Categorically squeezed into: Upcycling.

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