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Distributing air from woodburner via ducting and fan?


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With a woodburner you get lots of hot air above it. I was wondering if it would be possible to use ducting and 12v computer fans to take some of this warm air and move it to other bits of the boat? So rather than having a hot end and a cold end you could have a more uniform temperature. Daft idea or doable?

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Not 100% or so ive been told, i dont have my boat yet but i know it does work to a certain extent and people swear by them. They work off heat exchange between 2 metals powering a small motor to turn the blades (i think.....the pros will be along soon....)so dont use any electricity so are immediately benneficial over a power drawing source ie pc fans.

You could go all old fashioned and get a tray and waft untill your wafted the hell out of breath and voila your done.

 

Out of interest do you have any other form of central heating ie eberspacher webasto etc.....surely this should make the boat toasty along with the stove.

Edited by Matt&Jo
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In the depth of winter I hang a computer fan on a bit of string to the rear of the saloon.  To start with I have it pointing down so that it directs some of the hot air from head level down to the floor, as it can take a while for the floor to warm up.  Then turn the fan so it is blowing towards the stern.  It's not ducted, but is effective.  I'm not convinced that the Ecofan does much to move warm air down the boat, but it does help with the stratification of hot air in the saloon.

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A friend of mine had a converted ex working boat 70ft he fitted one of the dash board fans available for motor homes the mounting allowed powered swiveling of he unit when switched on, the time I was aboard it worked very well

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I'm sure there have been threads on here in the past about n/boat owners rigging up ducting along these lines, successfully.  

But as others have said, a simple computer fan or ecofan will make a big difference.  Last winter I noticed one evening how cold the bedroom (towards the stern) was. I found the ecofan had been knocked against the flue so stopping the blades from turning.  I just wish our boat had the "corridor" on the same side as the stove as then the warm air would circulate even better.

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10 hours ago, Boisdevie said:

But would an ecofan push air to the end of a 56 foot boat? I've no experience of them.

Save your money for fuel and just put plenty on you will have no problem heating a 56 foot boat unless the stove is too small.

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We  just rig up a 100mm 12 volt fan above the stove. Turn it on for 5mins now and then and it works a treat. It gets rid of the stratification you experience when you stand up and nearly feint in the heat at high level as well.

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Narrowboat deckheads (ceilings) are so low that natural convection does a perfectly adequate job. However, fans can't put warm air through bulkheads any more than convection, without a hole.

3 minutes ago, tizzy said:

It gets rid of the stratification you experience when you stand up and nearly faint in the heat at high level

Suggests not enough ventilation maybe?

Edited by Machpoint005
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