Ecofan AirMax, Nickel Blade

We worked collaboratively with the University of Waterloo who developed a test procedure and protocol to evaluate the impact on the thermal comfort of the end user, with and without the use of an Ecofan. Our definition of:” thermal comfort” was defined in accordance with the following two standards:

1. Ashrae 55-2004 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, and
2. ISO7730-2005 Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment

We conducted extensive testing in accordance with the test protocol and procedure and determined when an Ecofan is used with a wood stove, the burn rate could be reduced by 14 – 18%  and still achieve the same level of thermal comfort at a specified distance from the wood stove, when compared to testing without an Ecofan.

Yes, but placement is key. The Ecofan requires cooler air to flow through the fins at the top of the fan to operate properly. The Ecofan Original Mini (Model 815) has been specially designed to fit smaller spaces and stoves. Alternatively, you can try angling the Ecofan slightly, so the unit is able to draw room temperature air from the back.

Ecofan generates its own electricity through a difference in temperature. The base must make contact with a heat source within the operating range as outlined in the manual and the top of the fan must remain cooler. The Ecofan also needs to draw cooler air from behind to create the Seebeck effect and operate as intended. Free blade rotation, a proper heat source, and a functioning motor and module are the essential elements required for the Ecofan to operate.

Genuine Ecofans are manufactured by Caframo in Wiarton, Ontario, and come with a manufacturer’s warranty of 2-4 years based on the model of Ecofan. The Ecofan logo is laser engraved in the top of every fan, along with the serial number. Of course, if you’re not convinced, you can always contact us to be sure. Call us Toll Free at: 1-800-567-3556.

As the original manufacturer of Ecofans with over twenty-five years of quality craftsmanship and engineering in Canada, we are confident we are producing top-of-the-line wood stove fans to meet your needs. Dependability and performance are what set Ecofans apart from any other stove fans on the market today. Our customers choose Ecofan not only because our fans work the way we claim, but because we are the only award-winning wood stove fan manufacturer with the evidence to back up those claims.

Please consult the 'Where to Buy' tab located at the top portion of our website to find a retailer in your area or select the product you are most interested in, and purchase directly from us. You may also purchase an Ecofan or a motor kit directly from Amazon as well.

Ecofans have been designed to operate maintenance-free. If you would like to clean your Ecofan, use a detergent-free cloth to wipe down the blades and body of the unit, or carefully use compressed air to clear away dust and debris. Please be sure not to touch the wires of the Ecofan or pull them loose.

All our Ecofans come with a 2-year limited warranty, apart from the AirDeco Models which come with a 4-year limited warranty. If you are unsure if your unit is still under warranty, please contact our Customer Service Team for more information.

Once the Ecofan is placed properly on your woodstove there is no need to move it. We recommend leaving it in position on top of the stove year-round. If you would like to remove it from the stove, please take care to store it in a location where it cannot be knocked over or dropped.

Unfortunately, no. The Ecofan generates its own electricity through temperature differential. The base must make contact with a heat source within the operating range as outlined in the manual and the top of the fan must remain cooler. The Ecofan needs to draw cooler air from behind to create the Seebeck effect and operate as intended.

If you own a fireplace insert, the Ecofan may be suitable for your particular set up. However, you may need to angle the Ecofan or place the unit at either end of the insert so that the unit may draw room temperature air from the back.

We recommend the use of a stove top thermometer to ensure good stove safety. Please check the maximum stove temperature outlined on this site or in your manual for your model. Relocate your Ecofan to a cooler spot on your stove if the surface temperature exceeds that maximum temperature. Placing the Ecofan in front of the chimney pipe will also cause the unit to overheat and could damage the motor, module or the wires connecting them.

We feel strongly that we have built quality fans that will last and have offered a manufacturer’s limited warranty on our Ecofans. Our warranty does not cover abnormal wear or damages resulting from overheating, accident, misuse, abuse or, if applicable, breakage (when such breakage is not due to a manufacturing defect) and any other incidental or consequential damages. Simply put, our warranty covers all manufacturer defects. Care for your Ecofan and it will care for you!

The optimal operating temperature to run an Ecofan varies by model. We advise you to check your stove temperature with a stove top thermometer prior to selecting which Ecofan might work best for your stove. The operating temperatures are detailed below:

Ecofan Original (Model 800): 230°F - 650°F (110°C - 345°C)

Ecofan UltrAir (Model 810): 212°F - 650°F (100°C - 345°C)

Ecofan AirMax (Model 812): 185°F - 650°F (85°C - 345°C)

Ecofan BelAir (Model 806): 167°F - 392°F (75°C - 200°C)

Ecofan AirDeco 1 (Model 8203): 149°F - 650°F (65°C - 350°C)

Ecofan AirDeco II (Model 8204): 158°F - 650°F (70°C - 345°C)

Be sure to position the Ecofan on a smooth flat surface on your stovetop near the side or back of the stove where the Ecofan can draw cooler room temperature air through the fins at the top. Do not place your Ecofan in the center of the stove, in front of the stovepipe or at the front of the stove.

Simply place your Ecofan on the top of your stove, away from the chimney pipe. The back of the fan must be exposed to cooler, room temperature air to draw across the fins of the heat sink to create the difference in temperature. This temperature differential is required by the thermoelectric module to create the electricity needed to operate the fan's motor. The Ecofan does not run from a battery or power cord.

The very first Ecofan was manufactured in Wiarton, Ontario in 1994, and has been in production ever since!

Typically, a motor will function for 3-5 burning seasons and the module will function for approximately 10+ years. Factors that affect the lifespan of the module are if the unit has been dropped or overheated. If the blade requires a slight nudge to start, or if the Ecofan has become slow and it has not overheated or fallen, a new motor kit should resolve the issue.

Our motor replacement kits have the two wires and the small black quick connector already soldered onto the motor. If your Ecofan is an older model that does not have the quick connector part, then you do not need this part. Please unsolder or snip those wires from the new motor and disregard that part. You will then follow the instructions on how to solder the new motor into place. This will involve soldering the wires from your Ecofan onto the new motor.

Our 800 Original model Ecofan spins clockwise. However, our other Ecofan models spin counter-clockwise. When developing our new line of Ecofans, there were a few performance goals that we wanted to achieve, i.e. higher airflow performance, wider operating temperature range and smoother start-up of the Ecofan. We evaluated many different motors for the new Ecofan generation and the one motor that met our criteria and had the best characteristics happened to turn counter-clockwise. We designed the new blades to complement this motor so that the counter-clockwise rotation still provides forward movement of air flow. 

The functionality and longevity of the Ecofan is very much based on temperature and placement. The Ecofan requires the heat from the stove top (within the recommended temperature ranges stated below, and we suggest using a stove top thermometer to ensure this), it also requires to be positioned on the stove top where it will receive enough cooler room temperature air to flow through the fins on the top of the Ecofan to prevent overheating. Overheating will permanently damage the Ecofan and will also void the warranty. We recommend the use of a stove-top thermometer to monitor the surface temperature.

The operating temperatures for our Ecofans are as follows:

• 800 Original Model: 110-345°C / 230-650°F. Moves 100 CFM’s and is designed for a room size of 120 ft2.
• 810 UltrAir Model: 100-345°C / 212-650°F. Moves 125 CFM’s and is designed for a room size of 120-240 ft2.
• 812 AirMax Model: 85-345°C / 185-650°F. Moves 175 CFM’s and is designed for a room size of over 240 ft2.
• 8203 AirDeco Model: 65-345°C / 149-650°F. Moves 160 CFM’s and is designed for a room size of over 240 ft2.
• 8204 AirDeco Model: 70-345°C / 158-650°F. Moves 190 CFM’s and is designed for a room size of over 240 ft2.
• *806 BelAir Model (for gas, pellet or contemporary stoves with lower surface temperatures only): 75 - 200°C / 167 - 392°F. Moves 140 CFM’s and is designed for a room size of 120-240 ft2.

Our 800, 810, 812, 8203 & 8204 models are designed for wood stoves, and our 806 model is specifically designed to be used with gas/pellet stoves only. Our 806 unit is designed to be used with lower temperatures. If you have a wood burning stove with a soapstone surface, and it is not as hot as a traditional wood burning stove, then the 806 model may be the one that you require. Knowing the surface temperature of the stove would determine this.

Please try the following trouble-shooters:

1. The blades may be slightly bent. With the Ecofan completely cooled down and facing you – gently pull the blade tips away from the body of the Ecofan. If that does not resolve the issue, please proceed to step #2.
2. The blade may be sitting too far back on the motor shaft. Ensure the motor shaft is not sticking out through the front hole on the blade – it should be flush. If you need to readjust the blade onto the motor shaft, you will require a 1/16th inch allen key to loosen and retighten the set screw on the side of the blade. If this does not fix it, please see step #3.
3. The clicking sound may be coming from behind the blade which could indicate the bearings in the motor are wearing out. A new motor kit should resolve this issue.

This type of thermometer is specifically designed for use with a wood or gas stove. It is typically a puck- sized shape and has magnets on the back which attaches to the stove pipe. You can also place it on the surface beside the Ecofan to register the temperature. They are typically found in hardware stores or stores that sell wood stoves.

The approximate dimensions of our current models of Ecofan are as follows;

• 815 Original Mini Model: 3.0"L x 3.9"W x 6.5"H (7.62cm x 9.9cm x 16.51cm)
• 800 Original Model: 3.0"L x 5.5"W x 8.5"H (7.62cm x 13.97cm x 21.59cm)
• 810 UltrAir Model:3.0"L x 5.5"W x 9.0"H (7.62cm x 13.97cm x 22.86cm)
• 812 AirMax Model:3.3"L x 5.5"W x 10.0"H (8.38cm x 13.97cm x 25.40cm)
• 8203 (formerly 8201) AirDeco I Model: 2.6"L x 4.0"W x 8.8"H (6.6cm x 10.16cm x 22.35cm)
• 8204 (formerly 8202) AirDeco II Model: 3.0"L x 4.0"W x 9.4"H (7.62cm x 10.16cm x 23.97cm)
• *806 BelAir Model: 3.8"L x 9.2"W x 9.5"H (9.6cm x 23.3cm x 24.13cm)

The blades lengths for each one of our Ecofans are as follows;

• 815 model: 6.3”
• 800 model: 8”
• 810 model: 8”
• 812 model: 9”
• 8203 (formerly 8201) AirDeco I model: 9”
• 8204 (formerly 8202) AirDeco II model: 9”

The Ecofan is not like a typical ‘fan,’ as it does not blow air. The Ecofan is designed to circulate the warm air from your stove out into your living area. If you do use an Ecofan on your stove, the warm air will rise to the ceiling first and disperse the warm air from there. The blade design on the 810 and 812 is an aerial blade design, which moves more air, but you will not feel air movement from the front. The most air movement you will notice will be at the sides of the blade. As long as when the blade is spinning and the propellers are a blur, then the Ecofan is functioning correctly. If you can see the individual propellers as it spins, then it is not functioning properly.

The short and simple answer is, “No.”  Here’s why!

• Two vaned blades use less power to start and operate. This means the blade will start to spin sooner and create less stress on the motor, resulting in a longer motor life.
• Three vaned blades require more torque power (the force required to get a mass moving) to start their great mass and overcome the greater drag of their increased surface area.
  
  
• Three vaned blades create more turbulence, or dirty air, for the blades to fight through given the small amount of power generated by the Ecofan. This makes it difficult for the product to reach its peak efficiency.
  
  
• A two vaned blade is easier to balance and remain balanced so it will run smoother with less vibration and noise.
  
  
• 3 vaned blades are more suited to when you are delivering unlimited power to the blade. Consider it in the context of airplanes where you have lots of horsepower being delivered to a propeller. The first planes had 2-bladed props and then as horsepower increased, manufacturers utilized 3-bladed props. Today, most power turboprop planes use 5 or 6 blades.

We do not have a noise measurement for each Ecofan, as our noise meters are not sensitive enough to measure such low values. The Ecofan does not make any discernable noise. If your stove is very hot and the fan is spinning at top speed, you might be able to hear a small noise if you are within a few feet of the Ecofan. Our Ecofans are whisper quiet but not 100% silent.

We do not provide details or specifications regarding the module, as this is proprietary information.

Unfortunately, we do not offer the module as a replaceable part. During production they use air pressurized equipment and tools that are set to certain torque specifications to install it. It has been our experience that without using the proper assembly jigs and tools the thermoelectric module can be improperly installed, resulting in damage to the module or pre-mature failure as a result of damage to the module during the installation process. It is for this reason that we decided it is not in the best interest of our customers to offer the module as a replaceable part. At this point, you will require a new Ecofan.

Please use a 1/16” inch allen key to tighten the set screw located on the blade hub of the Ecofan.