Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Corner Doorway Fan

 
Our farmhouse is 160 years old and was a drafty old gal.  This past spring we had an energy audit that said just that. We were able to have the whole house insulated.  We hope to have a much warmer winter this year.   We don't heat with fuel oil.  We have a furnace in the basement but it is disconnected.  We use this wood stove in the kitchen to heat as much as possible.  There are gas logs in the living room to keep us comfortable in the front part of the house.  Problem #1, the gas logs.  They are efficient but propane is still expensive.  Problem #2, the wood stove is in the kitchen and about 30ft from the rest of the house.  How to solve this problem?
I had seen an add for a fan that helps circulate warm air to other rooms.  Of course, I Googled it.  That's what we do now, we Google it. Well, this is what I found.  The Entreeair.  A little fan that is mounted in a doorway and brings the warm air from the kitchen into the dinning room and then the living room. 
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Prices vary as is expected.  The cheapest price I found was at Home Depot at $19.97 and the most expensive was at Plow and Hearth for $39.00.  Same fan and shipping was extra.  I figured for around $20.00 it might be worth a try. So home it came.  Mounting was easy.  Two screws and a template. 
They advertised it as quiet. Well, it's a fan. It makes noise. Not a propeller level of noise but it is noticeable. It has a 10ft cord so it is relative easy to reach an outlet.  There is a roller clamp on the cord for easy on and off. 
The big question is....does it work? 
YES!!! For such a small fan it does of very good job of moving the air into the living room.  The logs are on a thermostat and remain off most of the time.  Well it was down to 19 last night so they did come on when needed. I used the enclosed clamps to make the cord more secure and to the side. Did you notice that the dog crate is gone?  No? Well, Emma and Lucy are old enough and behave well enough that their crate was taken down and put into the basement. I felt a bit like we took the crib down because the kids were in big girl beds now.
Well, maybe beds is the wrong word. How about big girl sofa? I guess Emma got a little sleepy after reading the Thanksgiving issue of Food Magazine and took a nap.
Silly dogs and we love them.
Much Love and Prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm
 
 

5 comments:

Mary Ann said...

What a great idea! Our old house is so drafty, but I would love to have a wood stove of some kind!

luckybunny said...

We use our regular fans for our stove because our house is an open concept and small - however this is such a great idea for a big older house, those fans look great they are easy and out of the way and it's awesome they work! I'm so glad you'll be warmer this year. I

jaz@octoberfarm said...

i have been reading about these fans and they seem to work very well! glad to hear you like yours!

Paula said...

That little fan is just about the neatest thing ever, Kelly!
Loved that last picture... too cute!!

Marigold said...

What's really neat is that when you look at the fan in the picture, it looks like you have put 'Gingerbread' in the corner. It really adds to the neat 'old' look. Put one in the other corner and you got it made and double the air flow. :)