One woodstove is in an old fireplace, the builder's opening, which I have rendered the inside of. To the sides of the stove, about 200mm. To the back, 70-80. Above, say 400mm, easily enough for the fan, anyway.
Which way is best to point the fan? I normally have it towards the back of the top of stove, pointing into the room, so it can blow (sort of...) air into the room, taking it from behind and round the stove, perhaps. However, what if I put the fan at the front of the top of the stove, pointing towards the wall, which is only 1/2 a brick thick just there, and gets quite hot? Perhaps it will take cooler air from the room, and reflect it off the hot wall, and pushing it down behind the stove, cooling the wall... but perhaps there's no difference.
I've also thought about using a mains fan, instead of a stove-powered one, which would create much more airflow...
Any thoughts?