I have a smaller Fisher brand wood stove in my garage. I dont heat it all the time but a lot on the weekends. I was thinking of getting a "heat reclaimer" one of the 6 inch electric fans that go inline on the stove pipe and help blow hot air. (most of which would normally be escaping) I could see no reason not to buy one until I started reading on the net. A lot of people say not to use them for two reasons.
1. It robs the heat from the pipe so you have draft problems and get smoke problems.
2. The lower heat in the pipe will cause a lot more creosote build up and you will be more prone to chimney fires.
I cant see these fans taking enough heat out of a stove pipe to cause problems. Anybody have one of these or know of anyone that does???
Thanks
Here is a pic of what I am talking about (I Hope)

[attachment=32832:HeatReclaimer3_1_.gif]

never seen that setup before.?

i also have a woodstove in my garage, and what i use is a small osillating fan near the ceiling by my woodstove to move the heat,and a blower on the woodstove itself. :)

I can remember going to Gamma's place and the woodstoves pipe ran though the house they did this to get as much heat as possible out of the woodstove .......if you did this today you properly have no insurance...

ask you insurance company..... if they let you do it keep a eye on your pipes clean them more often...

I burnt wood for 24 years we used to let it rip once a day to help keep the pipes clean it does work we never had any problems...

good luck with what you decide


Rick

A friend of mine has an "All Nighter" stove that has a blower built in and its basically the same set up. There are tubes in the stove and the air in the tubes gets heated up. The external blower pushes the heated air out. I am not as concerned about trying to capture the heat I am loosing as I am the fact that he can get his place warm so much quicker as that hot air is being blown out of the stove. But again his tubing is in the stove and not the pipe. I know there are a lot of people on here who burn wood.

We have been using Fishers for years they work a little different than most. Open up the drafts 2 full turns for at least a 1/2 an hour to get a good bed of coals and burn the pipes out. T hen fill it till you can't jam another piece init and shut the drafts to 1 full turn open.
it will sweat you out of that garage. We curently have a grampa bear and a baby bear.

Honestly I can't see any great benefits. A small oscillating fan blowing on the chimney would accomplish the same thing but personally wouldn't bother, you get radiant heat anyways and yes the cooler the pipe the more creosote.

I've heard those same arguments against the "reclaimers". You need heat in the chimney to pull fresh air in, and get the creasote and stuff out. I have a wood forced air furnace in my garage, so its a little different, but I've never heard of anyone successfully getting more heat out of a reclaimer.

I'm with these guys. Oh, and make sure you check with your insurance company before you (or anyone else) installs a wood stove especially in a garage. I don't like open flame heating without separation in a garge-type workspace. Remember, gasoline vapors travel along the floor. This is why you typically see ceiling mounted heaters in industrial/service garages etc.

On a homeowners policy, some companies will not accept a wood stove at all. We used to fall into that category. Now as long as it is inspected and meets criteria, it is ok... but not in a garage.

I'm with these guys. Oh, and make sure you check with your insurance company before you (or anyone else) installs a wood stove especially in a garage. I don't like open flame heating without separation in a garge-type workspace. Remember, gasoline vapors travel along the floor. This is why you typically see ceiling mounted heaters in industrial/service garages etc.

On a homeowners policy, some companies will not accept a wood stove at all. We used to fall into that category. Now as long as it is inspected and meets criteria, it is ok... but not in a garage.[/b]


I under stand what you are saying. i use a woodstove in my garage and i work on cars,sleds,paint vending machines.and have spilled gas,brake cleaner,thinners so there has been lots of fumes and i have never had a problem. I,M NOT SAYING WOODSTOVES ARE SAFE BY ANYMEANS AT ALL.But has anybody ever had a fire start from FUMES.?

(AND I REMEMBER THUMBDOCTOR HAD A BAD FIRE START LAST YEAR FROM A TROUBLE LIGHT BREAKING SO I NO LONGER USE BULB TROUBLE LIGHTS)

My brother inlaw uses a similar product and swear by it, but he gets his chimney cleaned every year like clock work. His stove is used to heat the basement and first floor level, sooo 1200 square feet.

I under stand what you are saying. i use a woodstove in my garage and i work on cars,sleds,paint vending machines.and have spilled gas,brake cleaner,thinners so there has been lots of fumes and i have never had a problem. I,M NOT SAYING WOODSTOVES ARE SAFE BY ANYMEANS AT ALL.But has anybody ever had a fire start from FUMES.?[/b]


I've paid for a few of them :( The best one was the wood stove in the garage with the race car and continers of racing fuel. No big deal until they started spray painting the roll cage......
Those are the ones that tend to end up on the news.

I have seen the brand "MAGIG HEAT" and they work better than my fan on the ceiling. I would make sure to burn it out often and clean it more regularly.

I can remember going to Gamma's place and the woodstoves pipe ran though the house they did this to get as much heat as possible out of the woodstove .......if you did this today you properly have no insurance...

ask you insurance company..... if they let you do it keep a eye on your pipes clean them more often...

I burnt wood for 24 years we used to let it rip once a day to help keep the pipes clean it does work we never had any problems...

good luck with what you decide
Rick[/b]
Running the stove pipe on the inside of the house is the recommended way to do an install, especially if the stove goes through regular periods with the fire out. Chimneys's on the outside of the house require alot longer to heat up, meaning increased creosote buildup, and it rob's heat which should be heating your living area. As well, a straight chimney will draw better and give you a better burn.

As far as Insurance goes, they'll want to know that it's safely installed, meaning you'll likely have to shell out $100 for a WET inspection, and if it's supplimentary heat (which it would be in you garage) in normally means an increase of 20% to your rates.

As for the original question, I've never tried one of those things, but even something like a fan mounted behind the stove near the ceiling will make a world of difference to the heat you feel from the stove.

In my buddies garage, he has a small fan behind the stove pipe directly above the stove. It heats up alot quicker. After its warm, turn off the fan.

When I was working on my 93 formula I pulled the seat off to get to the battery. This was the first sled I owned and I did not know that there were two seperate fuel lines that ran to the tank. I had the first line out and blocked off and I then proceeded to yank the seat and tank off. Needles to say about 5 gallons of gas spilled onto the garage floor and the wood stove was going with the door half open as we has just had the fire going a few minutes. Luckly we didn't go up in smoke that day. That was my buddies all nighter stove and we have done all kinds of work in his garage with know problems at all.

there is a product called an ecofan - i got one this year and swear by it - works on convection - and does it ever work !! blows heat straight out! amazing little gadget!

this is a linkk to it - for information purposes

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_...fromSearch=true (http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=140847439 6673445&bmUID=1170298909484&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443279077&assortment=primary&fromSearch=true)

good luck

I just built a 30'x48' workshop. When I insured it my agent said it will cost me an extra $100 per year if I put a woodstove in it. The woodstove in the basement has an oscillating fan sitting on the floor beside it to move air across the stove and it works pretty good.

U DO NOT WANT THE CHIMMY TO COOL 2 MUCH IT WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS THEY DO SELL AND I DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GET THEM BUT THEY ARE FINS YOU SLIDE OVER THE STOVE PIPE AND THEY CAUSE A TURBINE AFECT AND GIVE MORE SURFACE TO GIVE OFF HEAT IF I CAN FIND THEM I WILL POST IT FOR YOU BUT B CAREFULL WITH THE OTHER IT WILL BE GOOD IF IT IS REAL HOT BUT ON START UP OR SHUT DOWN YOU COULD LOSS THE DRAFT