My experience is that the IS needs a blower on it to really get the heat off during the high heat burns. Right now I've got a floor fan that I turn on when I get the stove going and turn it off sometime later. However, I'd really like that to be controlled by SST, and not manually. Something like the Auber thermometer would work well if, instead of an alarm, it would just close a relay circuit when the temp rises past a pre-set point and then opens the circuit at some point on the way down. I did online searches, and there appear to be about a million and a half options, which may or may not really do what I want. There have to be people on here who have rigged their own systems to do what I'm thinking of. What did you use?
Drolet Quick Connect Therm-O-Disc Model Number: AC02055. Not cheap but it works perfectly. I removed a screw from the back of the Ideal Steel and mounted the thermodisc using the existing hole.
I'd like to try this also. I have a couple/three fans that I wired up an a 3way switch already that I can turn on/off as needed. It would be nice to have it shut off if the stove gets down to a preset temp.
Can you talk a little about the experience that led you to this? I’m interested because I’ve never felt the IS would benefit much from a blower. I get some strong heat currents simply by pushing cold air toward it. I’ve always felt the blower wouldn’t add anything but noise. Do you have a ceiling fan?
I don't have a ceiling fan in the stove room. It's in my basement, and the ceiling isn't high enough for one. I haven't experienced the strong convection currents with the IS that you mention. It's putting out a lot of radiant heat, but the basement walls soak up a lot of that. (I'm sure it would make a difference if I furred out and insulated the walls) If I'm not in line-of-sight of the stove it doesn't seem warm. Last winter(the first winter with the stove) we didn't have much heat coming up the basement stairs. Turning a fan on it when it's hot makes a huge difference. We get the hot air currents coming up the stairs that I wanted in the first place. What I want to do is install a vent fan in the wall of one room and blow that cool air onto the stove. (there's just a curtain between the rooms right now so the return air flow is not a problem.) I'd like to mount a washer type thermocouple to the flue collar of the IS and then use that reading to control a relay circuit that turns the blower on and off. Or maybe just use it to control the fans I have now. Either way, my experience says the current fans do a lot to get usable heat where I want it. I just don't like having to mess with them manually.
This is my opinion only, however, the Drolet thermodisc coupled with a quiet fan has been outstanding. The fan sits behind the stove on a ledge and does a great job of distributing heat into the room. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
You could use a snap- switch such as this one (only used for an example): SUPCO Thermostat,Adjustable Limit,120/240V - 2FBY4|SHM180 - Grainger These are the types of temp. control switches usually used to control devices exactly as you are trying to do. With just a little more wiring, you could use multiple snap switches to control a multi- speed fan too; they are set up in rising temp. switching. For example, you could use 200F, 250F, and 275F snap switches. Each one wired to a progressively higher speed on the fan motor. It might take a couple of relays to make that work but really it would be inexpensive, relatively simple and very robust. Brian
