Description
The SmartFan Mini stove fan is an exquisitely designed device that will help your fireplace or wood burning stove circulate heat generated from it more evenly throughout your living space. It is well priced, exceptionally engineered, and amazingly effective. Don’t let its small size fool you, this is a serious piece of equipment that will make your fireplace or wood burning stove vastly more effective as a means of heating than it otherwise would be.
There are times when you may forget that you are even using a SmartFan Mini on your stove due to its clean and quiet operation. Designed for use on stoves that burn solid fuel, this fan will heat the whole of your room while generating its own electricity, so your fuel bills are kept low. The inclusion of an additional fan near the top of this device keeps this area cool, which means it is able to circulate the warm air around the room efficiently, providing you with a comfortable environment to relax in. The compact size of the fan means that it won”t distract from the attractiveness of your stove. The maximum speed at which air can be moved by the SmartFan Mini is 200 CFM (cubic feet per minute).
The fan is securely boxed and padded with tough foam, which has been shaped specifically for the contours of the fan’s handle, blades and, of course, the fan itself. This protects the fan more than the cardboard packaging of other models. It can also be reused many times without misshaping or damaging the foam. This is an underestimated feature that might turn out to be useful in the unlikely event the fan needs to be returned to the manufacturer to be replaced or repaired.
The Pros
There’s a lot to like about the SmartFan Mini. Like the other fans in the SmartFan lineup, this one utilizes a TEG (Thermoelectric Generator) to power it. Essentially what this means is that rather than relying on some outside power source, the fan draws power from the heat of the stove itself, which makes it doubly efficient. Not only does it create better circulation and air flow which helps even out the temperature in the room you’re using it in, but it manages to do that without using electricity! The device is extremely quiet, has a small footprint as its name would suggest, and operates in a temperature range between 65 – 330 degrees Celsius. Given that there is no external power source needed, there’s nothing to set up or plug in. The fan will automatically power on when the temperature is inside the band mentioned above, and will automatically shut off when the temperature falls below its operational threshold.
The Cons
About the only downside to this device is the price. Some people have complained that for as small as it is, it seems a bit pricey, and there’s at least some truth to that. What those people don’t realize, however, is that there is a premium to be paid for miniaturization. You see this nearly everywhere. Take computers, for example. For the same money spent, you’ll always be able to get more computing power in the form of a desktop PC than a laptop. Again, what you’re seeing here is the premium for the miniaturization. It just takes more intensive product engineering to create an effective device with a smaller footprint.
The SmartFan Mini is a smaller version of the very successful SmartFan Original. It is common to have a stove fitted into the recess, which has a limited opening over the stovetop surface. So, in response to growing customer demand, the SmartFan Mini is 30mm smaller 20mm narrower than the SmartFan Original. Even though the SmartFan Mini’s front blades are also 30mm shorter in diameter, they spin faster than its bigger brother, so the loss of airflow overall is unnoticeable, and is well compensated in the price difference.
What Others Are Saying
The SmartFan Mini gets consistently high marks from those who have purchased and used it. 78.9% of purchasers rate this device highly (4 or 5 stars), while only 15.8% of purchasers rate it poorly (1 or 2 stars). What negative reviews there are, were fairly non-specific in their complaints and center around statements like “it just didn’t work for us.” Overwhelmingly, however, the reviews are quite positive.
Our Recommendation
You’ll pay a premium for the miniaturization of this device, but if space is an issue, and you need something with a small footprint that’s quiet and reliable, then this is an excellent choice indeed.
