Description
The SmartFan stove fan: The name says it all!
The SmartFan stove fan works on the basic principle that more electricity will be generated if the air that surrounds the fan is hotter at the bottom and colder at the top. This can pose a problem for conventional stove fans because the fan itself becomes warmer, and therefore it is not able to benefit from the colder air meaning that it will slow down. The SmartFan is different because it has a secondary fan at the rear. This keeps the temperature of the fan down, making it more efficient at circulating warmer air around the room and heating up your living space. The blade at the front is aerodynamically designed and is capable of moving air around the room at a rate of 200 CFM (cubic feet per minute).
There are many people who rely on wood stoves and fireplaces to heat their homes. They are an excellent, cost-effective method of providing home heating, but they come with one drawback. If you’ve ever used one yourself, you already know what that drawback is. The temperature is scorching hot in the immediate vicinity of the stove, and significantly cooler in the rest of the room. If you don’t mind pulling your chair up close to the stove to stay warm, or wrapping up in a blanket if you’re farther away, it works out, but there’s got to be a better way, right?
As it turns out, there is. SmartFan technology greatly enhances both the efficiency and the effectiveness of your wood burning stove. It does this by gently and quietly circulating the hot air coming from the stove itself, into the rest of the room. The best part is, it does all of this without actually using any electricity.
This is possible thanks to a technology built into the fan called TEG, which stands for Thermo-Electric Generator Module. The fan gets all the power it needs to run from the heat of the stove itself. When the air temperature of the stove gets higher than 65 degrees Celsius, the fan automatically powers on. When the temperature drops below that threshold, the fan shuts off by itself. There’s nothing for you to do. Nothing to configure, attach, or plug in. It’s a beautifully designed, brilliantly engineered device that can turn your fireplace or wood stove into a hyper-efficient home heating solution.
For best results, you should place the fan to the right hand side on the top of your wood burning stove, facing toward the room. Because of its relatively quiet operation, you won’t feel a direct draught of air unless you’re standing quite close, but never fear, it will gently spread the warm air all around the room.
The packaging for the SmartFan stove fan is a high quality, solid cardboard box, the fan itself is securely encased in thick foam specially shaped for the fan. Needless to say, there is little to no movement within the box itself guaranteeing your purchase will remain undamaged by the postal service.
The SmartFan is made from light anodized black aluminium, guaranteeing a quality high end finish and reliability. The wide base is intended to sit on the hot stove top distributing heat to the TEG (ThermoElectric Generator) that sits between the lower heat sink and the upper cooling chamber.
The cooling process is aided by the ridged fins in the outer circle of the cooling chamber made more efficient by an additional lightweight plastic fan that spins at nearly 30 revolutions per second and is capable of pushing up to 20 cubic meters of air per minute. This creates the ideal temperature difference for the TEG module to drive the two powerful 9v DC motors.
The main fan on the front of the SmartFan is made from the same light anodized aluminium as the body and spins up to 25.5 KPM. Which equates to the SmartFan circulating a staggering 360 cubic meters of air per hour around your room.
In keeping with the practical approach to the design of the SmartFan stove fan, there is a small plastic handle situated on top of the fan. Should you need to remove the fan from the heat of the stove top (if it’s reaching the upper limits of the temperature range for example) you can do so avoiding both spinning fans.
The Pros
• The presence of the TEG means no electricity and no complex connections and hookups
• Well priced solution to enhance heating efficiency
• Attractively designed
The Cons
There actually aren’t any notable negatives to this device. There are only a very few customers who have used the device who have complaints, but their complaints tend to be non-specific (i.e.,, “it just didn’t work for us.”).
What Others Are Saying
A staggering 89.3% of purchasers give this product high marks (four to five stars), while only 10.6% of purchasers give it low marks (one or two stars). As mentioned above, the complaints about the device tend to be quite rare and non-specific in their nature.
What makes The Original SmartFan stove fan so special.
SmartFan stove fan is, in many ways, a product that has completely revolutionized the industry
Our Recommendation
It’s rare indeed to find a product that works well with no significant down sides, but that’s what the SmartFan represents. This product is highly recommended.
A couple of years ago IQ Design released a smaller version of the original SmartFan called SmartFan Mini. This product is about 30 mm shorter than it’s predecessor, which makes it a suitable item for some of our customers. Both motors and the TEG module of SmartFan Mini are exactly the same, and work on the same principle, as the motors used to power the regular SmartFan, which means the mini version of this product is almost as effective as the regular version.
