Gonna Go With a Hitzer, Fan or No Fan?

sourbeer · Post by **sourbeer** » Sat. Mar. 14, 2009 7:43 pm

After looking at DS machine, Harman, Alaska and Hitzer, I've decided that I'm going to get a Hitzer 50-93. The dealer has units in stock with or without the fan. Just trying to determine which might be better. So far, my woodburnign stoves have been all radiant heating, no fans other than the ceiling fans in the room. I'm heating 2200 sf, 2 story bi-level home.

Devil505 · Post by **Devil505** » Sat. Mar. 14, 2009 7:53 pm

Get the fan.

009to090 · Post by **009to090** » Sat. Mar. 14, 2009 7:58 pm

I'm a believer in the fan. I'll never own another stove, Wood or Coal, without getting the fan option.

RedRockHunter · Post by **RedRockHunter** » Sat. Mar. 14, 2009 9:06 pm

i have a 50-93 with a fan, wouldn't want it without it.

CapeCoaler · Post by **CapeCoaler** » Sat. Mar. 14, 2009 9:08 pm

If you had no fan before and the temps were good in the house...
No fan needed.
I bet the store would switch from the fanless to the fan model...
Ask them!

Qball · Post by **Qball** » Sat. Mar. 14, 2009 11:30 pm

My fan is on 99% of the time.

Paperboy · Post by **Paperboy** » Sat. Mar. 14, 2009 11:49 pm

If you get the fan, you can always turn it off, but if you don't get the fan....

!!

Post by **Fire375** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 12:17 am

You can not add the fan to a radiant model because they are built different. If you get the one with the fan you don't have to use it or you can run it on low. Might suprise you how well it will distribute the heat even on low. Its your call, you know your house better then anyone else on here. Its just nice knowing you have the option to turn the fan on if needed.

Pete69 · Post by **Pete69** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 5:30 am

There is a difference between the heat felt from a radiant stove as apposed to a stove with a blower, that is hard to put into words. I guess you would have had to experience both for yourself to really know. Reasons people might chose not to use a stove designed with a fan other than the comfort of radiant heat would be no electric use, and no noisy fan blowing 24/7.
I believe that by their very nature, stoves designed with blowers are best used with the blowers, and not nearly as efficient when used as a radiant stove, as a stove that was designed to be used as a radiant stove. I also believe that using a stove engineered to be used with a blower, as a radiant stove, at full operating temp, runs the risk of damaging the stove due to heat build up in the heat exchanger. That being said, I believe it wise to chose what form of heat you want, chose a stove accordingly, and use it the way it was intended to be.

topper · Post by **topper** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 6:26 am

For my set-up a fan really helps to move the heat around.

GRinRI · Post by **GRinRI** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 12:17 pm

Get the fan. It will be there when the temps drop and you need more heat. The stove is pretty good withpout it when the temps are down to mid 20s. Below that I feel that the fan is realy the trick to getting this stove to put out. When it was down to single digits I never had to turn my 50-93 to more than #10 on the dialwith the fan on. Stove was about 425', house was 85' in the stove room, 76' at bottom of stairs, 68' upstairs.
Also you can put the fan on a timer. Set it to run an hour before you wake up and it'll have the house toasty for your am. coffe. I run the stove a little lower overnight. With the fan on it's like turning it up a notch.

sharkman8810 · Post by **sharkman8810** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 4:10 pm

It depends on the heat distribution method. If you are using as a space heater in an area, then a fan is probably a good idea. If you are using it for more of a furnace type idea, and using duct work, then no fan. I personally like radiant because they work better without electricity, and you can use other fans to move around the heat, without a built in one.

grizzly2 · Post by **grizzly2** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 4:24 pm

I wish I had NOT gotten the fan model. The fan is noisy on the 30-95, although someone here said the fan on the 50-93 is quieter. I like the radiant heat without the noise and electricity use. I had a wood stove for 30 years, and if I needed to wash more heat off the stove or move heat into other parts of the house, I used a box fan, which moved more air with less noise.

Pete69 is correct about the fan model being less efficient when not using the fan. My flue temp actually goes up when I turn the fan off. I run my stove with the fan off most of the time when outdoor temps get to about 25*.

Devil505 · Post by **Devil505** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 4:34 pm

The other alternative is to buy your own blower fan & just connect it to your stove with duct fitting. That's what I did with this fan
**Broken Link(s) Removed** which was 1/2 the price of the Harman fan, is very quiet & easy to clean since it sits behind my stove on the floor...Works great!

duck · Post by **duck** » Sun. Mar. 15, 2009 9:30 pm

When our Hitzer 30-95 was delivered we didn't get the blower, noting the shortage it was shipped by Hitzer and we received it a few days later, also included was a speed control, setting this in the lower spped range keeps the noise at very low levels. We started experimenting with the stove temp and blower as other folks have stated in the posts and now have a nice option. During a day like today the blower is off during daylight hours, as the evening sets in and outside temps go to the 30's we turn on the blower at the lowest setting for the extra boost of heat, works good. When I opened the box for the blower it was a Dayton (Graingers), the company I work for uses hundreds of Dayton blowers per year on the machinery we build and have virtually no returns on these for poor performance.
One question - If a Hitzer is ordered without the blower option is the actual construction of the stove different leaving off the air channel?