Month: December 2009

Ecofan Heat Powered Wood Stove Fan

Here is a great device that is is both useful as well as a great conversation piece. The Ecofan heat powered wood stove fan uses the heat from your wood stove to power its fan. The heat powered fan can move up to 100 cubic feet per minute of warm air from your stove throughout the room to help evenly distribute heat. By circulating the warm air away from your stove and into your living space, your stove will be more efficient because you won’t have to keep it as hot in order to make your room feel comfortable. This will save you money by burning less firewood or gas.

Ecofan heat powered wood stove fan comes already assembled. Simply place it on the top of your stove and when the stove reaches at least 150ºF (65°C) it will automatically generate its own electricity and start circulating air. This temperature is easy to reach since wood stoves typically operate well above that temperature. The hotter it gets the faster the fan will operate. Ecofan is 100% self contained, has no power cord and uses no batteries.

Ecofan heat powered gas stove fans are also available.

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How Ecofan Works

Ecofan works by using a thermocouple to generate electricity. In order to work, its base which must be in contact with the top of your stove at a minimum of 150ºF (65°C) and the top of the fan must be cooler than the base. This is easy to accomplish by placing the fan close to the back or side of the stove where cooler air from the room can circulate over the top of the fan.

As heat from the base travels through the Ecofan to the cooling fins on top, it passes through a semiconductor thermocouple device that generates an electric current. When two dissimilar conductors or semiconductors are joined together they can create an electric current as heat passes from one to another.

This electric current is then used to power the motor that turns the fan. As the heat powered fan blows hot air away, cooler air moves in to replace it and passes over the cooling fins on top of the fan. This continues to maintain the temperature difference between the base and the top.

What are the Advantages of Ecofan?

  • Saves energy and money by making your stove more efficient
  • Makes your room feel more comfortable by circulating warm air away from the stove and into your living space
  • Ultra quiet operation
  • 1 year manufacturers warranty
  • Zero operating cost, generates its own electricity
  • Comes pre-assembled and ready to use
  • Comes with carbon neutral shipping
  • Makes an excellent conversation piece

The FTC will get very angry if we don’t inform you that if you purchase any product from any of the Ecofan links above, we will receive a commission.

Where to Buy Firewood

Depending on what part of the world you live in sometimes it can be difficult to find where to buy firewood. Any place where people commonly burn firewood there will likely be able to find firewood dealers, you just have to know where to look.

Unlike with many other products and services that we buy that are well advertised, firewood often comes from small, often one person businesses who don’t have much of a budget for advertising. Firewood dealers do advertise but typically not on TV commercials, radio and in many areas you won’t find them in the Yellow Pages of the phone book.

If you only want a few pieces sometimes grocery or convenience stores will sell bundles of firewood but it can be expensive. Below you will learn where to buy firewood in larger amounts.

Where Firewood Dealers Advertise

A very common place for firewood dealers to advertise is in local newspaper classified ads. Also the weekly papers that you can pick up free that are all ads. There are some dealers who have websites or are listed on the internet so you can find them with an internet search but most do not. If you want to find firewood on the internet look on Craigslist. A lot of dealers are advertising on Craigslist.

If you drive through some rural areas it common to see firewood for sale signs in front of people’s homes or in industrial parts of the city where a commercial firewood yard may be. You may not want to drive around specifically looking for signs but when you are driving keep a look out for them.

How to Find Firewood Dealers Who Don’t Advertise

Word of mouth in a good way to find where to buy firewood. Ask people you know who burn firewood where they get their wood and what kind of experience they had with the dealer and whether they would recommend them. Sometimes this way you can find dealers who don’t advertise at all, they may just sell a little on the side to make some extra money. These people may be more willing to bargain.

Ask a local tree service or forestry related business. In most areas of the world where there are trees you can almost always find tree services advertising, often in the yellow pages. If you call them a lot of times they will be able to tell you where to buy firewood. And a lot of times tree services will sell firewood on the side. Other businesses who may be good referrals are loggers, sawmill operators, lumber yards. Anyone who deals with forest products may be able to tell you where to buy firewood or will know someone who can.