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Eco Fan

mrsmelly

By mrsmelly
in General Boating

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tree monkey Veteran II

tree monkey

Posted
Posted
On 01/12/2017 at 16:32, Dr Bob said:

If you look back to post 73 you will see a link to a paper written by the makers of Ecofans and a couple of Profs from the University of Waterloo in Canada. There has been a lot of discussion on this paper on pages 4,5 and 6 of this thread. The main focus of the paper was on the fuel saving gained by using an Ecofan 800 but there are passing comments on the 'comfort factor'. No one has produced a paper to say the opposite. Here is the link again:

http://www.ecofan.ch/pdf/Studie_Energieeinsparung_Ecofan_komplett.pdf

You dont need much airflow to disrupt the 'no fan' airflow convection current. There was also a great comment by BSP that the smell of her essential oils could be smelt halfway down the boat much sooner when using the fan compared to when it was not in use. To me, that is the slam dunk that these fans are moving the air enough (but you dont need much movement to break the stratification in the 10-12ft near the stove - which is all they are doing). I reckon you need a good fan though. The Ecofans are good but I think those cheapo chinese copies (or Aldi ones) just dont work.

From what I read on here as well, the hotter you run your boat, the less you need a fan. Prime example Mrs melly running his at 27deg C. At that temp your feet are going to be plenty warm enough!:giggles:

As I said in a recent post, I was going to do a back to back test but it was too cold to have the fan off :)

 

Just like to point out the ecofan that BSP was using was one of the cheap Aldi ones

Although I obviously told her it was massively expensive and dead posh and put a gold ribbon on it and everything

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cuthound Veteran II

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Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

Just like to point out the ecofan that BSP was using was one of the cheap Aldi ones

Although I obviously told her it was massively expensive and dead posh and put a gold ribbon on it and everything

Gold is highly conductive, and is probably conducting the heat away from the ecofan, impairing its performance...

 

 

 

Or possibly not. :P

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tree monkey Veteran II

tree monkey

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, cuthound said:

Gold is highly conductive, and is probably conducting the heat away from the ecofan, impairing its performance...

 

 

 

Or possibly not. :P

Well when I say gold....it was more like cardboard cut into strips, it looks goldish if you squint and its dark

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Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, tree monkey said:

Just like to point out the ecofan that BSP was using was one of the cheap Aldi ones

Although I obviously told her it was massively expensive and dead posh and put a gold ribbon on it and everything

.....so just think how much quicker the essential oil would have spread down the boat with a real one! Way to go Ecofan!

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Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

A new kid on the block https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flue-Pipe-Stove-Fan-Four-Blade-Fan-Save-Fuel-Stove-Fan-Stove-Air-Circulator-/272952730135

 

Well that's never going to work! It will pull hot air over the top fins so reduce temperature differential and so reduce fan speed. No wonder some people reckon they don't work.

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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

Posted
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1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

A new kid on the block https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flue-Pipe-Stove-Fan-Four-Blade-Fan-Save-Fuel-Stove-Fan-Stove-Air-Circulator-/272952730135

 

Fraud is a funny thing innitt. When I was a bobby we had to be careful what we considered fraud. What always made me laugh is that Fortune tellers could read your palm or tea leaves or cards, crystal ball etc, they still do but we didn't ever nick em for what is out and out con cos basically no one with a brain realy believed it. People sell these fans and give all that complete bunkum write up about saving fuel etc which is nonsense and again don't get done for it. Funny old world. Perhaps the manufacturers should work for VW and tell us the diesel engines are pollution free?

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Machpoint005 Veteran II

Machpoint005

Posted
Posted
On 12/2/2017 at 23:54, mrsmelly said:

Perhaps the manufacturers should work for VW any automobile maker and tell us the diesel all sorts of engines are pollution free?

See edit above!

On 12/2/2017 at 23:54, mrsmelly said:

cos basically no one with a brain really believed it.

Would that that were true!

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WotEver Veteran II

WotEverDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
On 02/12/2017 at 23:54, mrsmelly said:

no one with a brain realy believed it.

I despair of the human race sometimes. A week or so back in a game show on TV the contestants had to try to name ten UK monarchs from the last three hundred years. 

The first guy walked up, thought a moment and proudly declared “Queen Elizabeth the Third”

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Sea Dog Veteran II

Sea DogDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
On 02/12/2017 at 23:54, mrsmelly said:

People sell these fans and give all that complete bunkum write up about saving fuel etc which is nonsense and again don't get done for it. Funny old world. Perhaps the manufacturers should work for VW and tell us the diesel engines are pollution free?

I don't think you really believe Eco fans work, do you. :wacko:

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Tony Brooks Veteran II

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Posted
Posted

This is not the first time this topic has been discussed and there is always a strong showing by the "its all psychological and does not work" fraction so when I fitted the stove in the rear cabin of a side gangway boat and found that the heat took ages to move up the boat I was reluctant to buy an Ecofan. However after getting the annual nagging about birthday & Christmas presents I agreed to have one bought for me.

I know this is in no way scientific because I can not take measurement but the first time I used it it seemed the floor area in the back cabin was warmer and I got the impression the heat moved up the boat more quickly.

Last month in a cold snap we stayed on the boat. Now, we store the Ecofan when not it use on a hook fixed to the deckhead and on this particular occasion I forgot to put it on the stove. I was busy at the back of the boat, carrying stuff from the car, bilge pumping etc. so the stove was well away before I walked up the boat and noticed the galley was much colder than expected. At that point I realised the fan was still hanging on its hook so I put it on the stove. Within minutes the bedroom (between stove and galley) was getting warmer and not so long afterwards so was the galley. Now maybe it was coincidence but I suspect not. My conclusion is that such fans do help with heat distribution but is more to do with shifting a large volume of air slowly than a small volume fast such as a computer fan would do. I suspect a large computer fan may well distribute the heat faster and would be cheaper but it would need wiring and fitting. An Ecofan is easier and quieter.

Incidentally my cousin who uses a stove at home bought an Ecofan after using the boat for a week in the late autum because he thought it worked.

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

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Posted
Posted (edited)
16 minutes ago, mross said:

You could try running your engine with boat secured, pour some food dye into the wake and see how far it moves astern.  I think it will be only a few yards.  Even milk would do.  Obviously, the water would need to be clear.

But it would swirl round and come back in front or the prop, just sit in a lock against the top gates in tickover and look behind you with the bottom gates shut before the paddles are drawn. The fan is not outside,its in a box, the boat

Edited by ditchcrawler
some bugger swapped R for F on my key board
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mross Influencer

mross

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

But it would swirl round and come back in front or the prop

Just like an Ecofraud!

29 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Within minutes the bedroom (between stove and galley) was getting warmer and not so long afterwards so was the galley. Now maybe it was coincidence but I suspect not.

What make and model is your stove?  I think what happened was just convection with negligible assistance from the fan.  But we can't prove it either way. 

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nb Innisfree Veteran II

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Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

No, we can't, because there are only personal anecdotes, not scientific tests. Same thing with gods.

Whether or not an Ecofan makes any  difference is irrelevant if there is no record of its effect, such as a thermometer or a person or condensation. 

A bit like a dream, is it real while you'e in it, or does the proverbial tree in the forest make a noise when it falls and there is no one to hear it?

Grasshopper.

Edited by nb Innisfree
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