3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[Aunty e]

So I know at least two of you have ecofans - do they work? Are they worth the money? I have the room for one now I've opened out the hearth, but it's a lot of money to spend if they don't really work...

[Charlottechicken]

I'd pm Olly, if I were you

[Olly]

I'm HEEEERE!! *waves* funny you should ask, as I've just lit my woodburner for the first time this year and my ecofan is merrily whirring away.

 

I find it hard to say if it's helped or not, I think it has - my stove is in a corner of the room, and so the heat doesn't spread through the house as much as I'd like. I think that since I got the Ecofan there are fewer cold pockets in the room, but I haven't actually done a scientific test on that.

 

Tell you what Aunty E - you're only down the road, why not borrow mine for a week and see what you think? PM me if you want to do that - I'm around this weekend.

[Aunty e]

Ooh, very kind! I'm moving ALL my furniture in a couple of weeks so that we can sit the other end of the room (by the fire). I shall deffo PM you then! Right now I'm not really conscious of the heat from the stove, although it's absolutely warmer with it on than off. I'm guessing that sitting in front of it, instead of three metres to the right of it, will mean that we feel it more.

 

So can't work out who is more fascinated by the fire - the cats or Imogen...

[Rhapsody]

How much does one of these cost?

[Olly]

About £90!

 

I thought long and hard before getting mine, believe me. I felt the warm air was staying by the stove and not circulating - however part of the problem is that my stove is in a kitchen/diner which is divided in half by a peninsula unit anyway, so that may have more to do with it. I'm not disappointed but the difference with/without the fan isn't dramatic It might be more noticeable in a more normal shaped room.

[Rhapsody]

I have a three-bladed nickle one whirring away on top of the stove now

 

Seems to make a difference!

[WitchHazel]

I've just found this thread.

 

We first had an Ecofan on our narrowboat. The small solid fuel stove for the boat is at the front in the corner, so that area tends to get very very warm, but the heat didn't really get to the back of the boat. A friend bought us an Ecofan, and we were amazed at how effective it was. We've broken the Ecofan twice, but we managed to get spares from a company called Greenweld.

 

When we moved house in 1997, we had to get the fireplaces opened up. As part of our renovations, and because we had been impressed with the boat's stove, we decided to have a stove put in our living room, and we got an Ecofan as well.

 

I think it does make a difference. If I stand near the Ecofan, I can feel the heat coming from it.

 

We had an enormous ceiling fan fitted a couple of years ago, and we keep menaing to try it with the blades reversed to see if that helps circulate the warm air. (Problem is the cat had an unfortunatel encounter with a ceiling fan, and now won't come into any of the rooms if the fan is turning).

[Henslaved]

We have an Eco-fan on the top of our Rayburn . Not only does it help to circulate the heat, it's a good indicator as to what your fire is doing (if you don't have glass in your fire door ) e.g. if it's turning slowly it's time to throw a few more logs on

[Olly]

Sorry Hazel, I'm sure it wasn't funny (especially for the cat) but the last bit of your post has had me guessing wildly at just what went on with the fan!

 

I'm still convinced by my Ecofan, there are still cooler 'pockets' in the room but I think it makes a difference. And yes, I agree with Henslaved - I have a stovepipe thermometer, but the Ecofan is a good guide as to when it's hot enough to close the draught down a bit.

[Ms Marple]

Would it work on top of an aga too?

[Henslaved]

Aga/Rayburn almost same thing (only about £4K difference ) .

 

If memory serves me correctly, I think in the leaflet that comes with the fan it does advise against putting it somewhere too hot as it could damage the fan. I put mine at the front of the Rayburn next to the hotplate never on it .

[Aunty e]

We've not bought one, as moving the seating area to the end of the room by the woodburner and opening out the top of the fireplace to give some extra clearance seems to have done the trick. We've also learnt our woodburner I think, it requires almost no effort to get going and keep going, and I actually banked it overnight a couple of times! Most of our wood is softwood, so no real chance of banking it regularly, but it's always still warm in the morning

 

I'm about to order next winter's wood, hope everybody else is planning ahead too! It made such a difference this winter, having wood in the shed from last year (even if the roof did leak over half of it).

[abwsco]

Aunty e, where do you order your wood from. Mind you, no use if it's somewhere local to you as I don't think they'd deliver this far.

[Aunty e]

It's quite difficult actually, as you need to find someone close! We have a useful place in Essex, and I can get 3.5 cubic metres for £100 if I'm prepared to take stuff which is mixed soft and hardwood and a bit damp. That fills my shed and does me nicely for the year, although it's no good to burn straight away.

 

I tend to look first on ebay, there's always lots of people selling stuff under 'seasoned logs' or firewood etc etc and you can refine the search so it only shows people close to you.