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Eco-Fan, doe's it work?

captain rosie

By captain rosie
in Living Afloat

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freedom Gongoozler

freedom

Posted
Posted
if you drop 'em straighten up the blades - that should stop the ticking!

 

Thanks Bones, have tried that, it seems to have bent the spindle through the motor.

it was dropped and bent before I got it, I've tried to bend it right but theres no chance!

Can't complain. it was a freebie :lol:

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chris w Veteran II

chris w

Posted
Posted
Thanks Bones, have tried that, it seems to have bent the spindle through the motor.

it was dropped and bent before I got it, I've tried to bend it right but theres no chance!

Can't complain. it was a freebie :lol:

As they say...................... there's no such thing as a free lunch :lol:

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AjW Contributor

AjW

Posted
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It makes the most difference the following morning when the whole front of the boat still feels warm, or when we've been out for a few hours and the fires are damped. Without the fans running through the night there was just a hotspot near the stove. We have a stove thermometer at the base of the flue and breeze from the fan starts to really kick in at 150+ deg C.

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LEO Influencer

LEODonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
Thanks Bones, have tried that, it seems to have bent the spindle through the motor.

it was dropped and bent before I got it, I've tried to bend it right but theres no chance!

Can't complain. it was a freebie :lol:

 

Hi,

 

I have a small safety 'chain' on mine, which stops it falling over and damaging the blades/spindle.

 

They do make a difference and are a good investment. I seem to remember a similar thread at the beginning of the year.

 

I thought you should position them so that the air was drawn from the flue of the fire, but mine is on top of a Kabola which runs on a low setting, heat circulation through the boat (including galley, bathroom, engine room and boatman's) is excellent.

 

Leo.

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Roger Gunkel Rising Star

Roger Gunkel

Posted
Posted

If you want to spend a lot of money to move a tiny bit of air for nothing, then go ahead. As I think Dor said, having spent about £80 you will convince yourself it was worth it. If you want to be green, remember that the energy used to make it will certainly be many times more than any power you will save using it.

 

Like a number of others, I bought a 4" computer case fan for about £3.50, which sits on the ceiling at the warmest part of the boat, pushing warm air down the corridor. I run it at half voltage, which makes it totally silent and doesn't produce a draught. It is very efficient, and uses about 0.1amps, which would cost about as much in power over a thousand years as buying an eco fan now. (probably a slight exageration, but puts puts the eco fan more into perspective.)

 

Roger

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mickspangle Community Regular

mickspangle

Posted
Posted

There's a chap up in the Midlands who repairs ecofans. He repaired mine when it fell off the stove once too many times. I think it cost about 20 quid to get repaired - I certainly didn't have to send it back to Canada. I can have a hunt for his details if people are interested.

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Gibbo Veteran II

Gibbo

Posted
Posted
There's a chap up in the Midlands who repairs ecofans. He repaired mine when it fell off the stove once too many times. I think it cost about 20 quid to get repaired - I certainly didn't have to send it back to Canada. I can have a hunt for his details if people are interested.

 

Surely it's "down in the midlands" to most people :lol:

 

Gibbo

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AlanH Proficient

AlanH

Posted
Posted
There's a chap up in the Midlands who repairs ecofans. He repaired mine when it fell off the stove once too many times. I think it cost about 20 quid to get repaired - I certainly didn't have to send it back to Canada. I can have a hunt for his details if people are interested.

When I bent the motor spindle on mine I Emailed Ecofan for a new motor. They wouldn't supply one and they said that there were no authorised repairers in the UK. THey insisted that I send it back to them. I found the motor on the net and replaced it myself. Maybe this chap down in the miidlands is an unofficial repairer.

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Nine of Hearts Experienced

Nine of Hearts

Posted
Posted
When I bent the motor spindle on mine I Emailed Ecofan for a new motor. They wouldn't supply one and they said that there were no authorised repairers in the UK. THey insisted that I send it back to them. I found the motor on the net and replaced it myself. Maybe this chap down in the miidlands is an unofficial repairer.

 

You're both wrong. It's here in the Midlands.

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tripitaka Engager

tripitaka

Posted
Posted
hi all, my mate has "lent" me her eco-fan, it cost her £75. I can't seem to tell if it makes my boat any hotter? I think it's warmth is purely phsyco-sematic (spelling?) It spins so i feel warmer! I've used a thermometer (because i'm a bit geeky like that) but the readings are very similar. Whats the science behind it? Before i buy it from her i want to make sure it's a sound investment? Any thoughts? Are Eco-Fans any good?

We reckon to raise the temperature by about three degrees at the front of the boat by using ours. Our stove is in the middle and the kitchen at the back (galley,stern) so we have warmth there whenever we need it. The Eco fan makes the front just right for us. We try to remember to remove the fan when opening what could be a smokey stove 'cos the ecofan shoves that smoke swtraight towards the smoke detector!! We love ours but do remove it from the stove as I too hit lock walls sometimes.

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churchward Veteran II

churchward

Posted
Posted
and I thought they use an electric motor with thermoelectric power generation :lol:

 

I wonder where the Thermoelectric module gets its heat from, yer smarty pants?

 

Since it is the stove it is true to say the stove drives the blades all be it in an indirect way.

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churchward Veteran II

churchward

Posted
Posted
If you want to spend a lot of money to move a tiny bit of air for nothing, then go ahead. As I think Dor said, having spent about £80 you will convince yourself it was worth it. If you want to be green, remember that the energy used to make it will certainly be many times more than any power you will save using it.

 

Like a number of others, I bought a 4" computer case fan for about £3.50, which sits on the ceiling at the warmest part of the boat, pushing warm air down the corridor. I run it at half voltage, which makes it totally silent and doesn't produce a draught. It is very efficient, and uses about 0.1amps, which would cost about as much in power over a thousand years as buying an eco fan now. (probably a slight exageration, but puts puts the eco fan more into perspective.)

 

Roger

 

 

I know what you mean Roger anything that has the letter eco in front of the product name needs to be treated with suspision. However, we all have things that may or may not serve a practical purpose or cost more than something else that does the same thing. For instance why buy a Ferrari (not that I have one) when a Nissan Micra will do much the same thing.

 

We are fortunate to be able to afford to buy things that not only serve a practical purpose but things that please us and for no reason more than that, we buy them. For some of us i.e. non liveaboards the whole boat is a rather expensive toy.

 

I do have an eco-fan I find it does serve a practical purpose but as you point out I could achieve the same effect more cheaply but I like the fan and the way it works. I just enjoy it so I don't mind the extra money.

 

and I wonder how it keeps the other end cool!!! :lol:

 

Keep digging bucko! :lol::lol:

 

It is the airflow and the heat sink on top of the generating unit and indeed it is the difference in the temperature that makes for efficient electric generation but take the fan away from the fire and it will stop working after a few mins therefore it is the stove and its heat that is the source of the energy to make the fan run.

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Roger Gunkel Rising Star

Roger Gunkel

Posted
Posted
I know what you mean Roger anything that has the letter eco in front of the product name needs to be treated with suspision. However, we all have things that may or may not serve a practical purpose or cost more than something else that does the same thing. For instance why buy a Ferrari (not that I have one) when a Nissan Micra will do much the same thing.

 

We are fortunate to be able to afford to buy things that not only serve a practical purpose but things that please us and for no reason more than that, we buy them. For some of us i.e. non liveaboards the whole boat is a rather expensive toy.

 

I do have an eco-fan I find it does serve a practical purpose but as you point out I could achieve the same effect more cheaply but I like the fan and the way it works. I just enjoy it so I don't mind the extra money.

 

Totally agree with what you say, some go for the green element no matter what, some go for economy and some get things just because they like them!

 

If it makes you feel good, do it :lol:

 

Roger

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churchward Veteran II

churchward

Posted
Posted
this is going way :lol:

 

but again, the chemicals that allow the 'black smoker' to operate all came from a sun

 

Ahh I see clutching at straws now huh? Instead of "everything is powered from THE sun" and "no sun everything stops" (i.e. our dear old sun we revolve around) to A sun (i.e. any sun will do). Not very accurate.

 

Nighty night :lol:

 

If you ever get to drive a Ferrari, this will become a non-question. :lol:

 

I have. I'd prefer a DB9, not that I own one of them either. Can't afford it I have got a boat!! :lol:

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