Stove Pad Gives Back Heat

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wkpoor

Minister of Fire
Oct 30, 2008
1,854
Amanda, OH
Finally got the upstairs stove installed and operational. Lots to say about that but not in this thread. What I would like to comment on I don't think I've read about before. And that is how much heat retention the tile holds long after the stove is out. 1st off I didn't expect the tile to get so hot. I have measured it at 300 degrees. I let the stove go out yesterday because the house was getting too hot (25 degrees out). It took over 10hrs for the stove to get down to around 150. The tile however was hotter than that and stayed very warm for at least another 4hrs.
So it turns out the hearth pad will absorb heat and give it back hrs after the stove is cool. Anyone else notice this.
 
!!! 300F on the stove hearth tiles? :eek: That is really hot! Is that normal for an Elm?

Where are you measuring this temp and how well insulated is this hearth?
 
Exactly my thoughts BG. No matter how hard I've run my 30, I can't get the area under the stove above about 120, and that thing requires a ton of hearth protection!

This sounds similar to what I found with that atlanta huntsman stove I installed at camp. The book didn't specify much for a hearthpad, but dang does it get hot under there.

What's under that WK? Hoping since it's the downstairs stove you are going to say concrete.

pen
 
Yes, I'd be really worried about the floor under the hearth. That's awfully hot...as hot as the stovetop often is, and I sure wouldn't want that on my floor, just from a safety standpoint. The tiles in my hearth pad never get uncomfortable to the touch, even directly in front of the glass.
 
He has an Elm in the basement and this is probably another Elm for the first floor. Given the barrel shape of those stoves there is probably a ton of heat radiated from the belly of the beast.
 
A material that soaks up and stores heat like that is said to have a high thermal mass. Our passive solar home has literally tons of high thermal mass materials, notably concrete, tile, and natural stone. A high thermal mass moderates the temperature fluctuations of an intermittent heating source such as the sun and makes the home extremely comfortable to live in, giving off a nice soft heat long after the primary heat source is out.

That said, you have a problem as others have noted. Today is cloudy so we have been burning. The wood stove is on the way down from its last burn. The top is currently at 300F and the stone it sits on is only 100F. The stone never gets much hotter than that, nor should it. 300F tiles sound like an extreme hazard to me. Are they something that an individual or pet could inadvertently touch or step on? That kind of temperature would do a number on bare skin or bare paw.

I also think you may possibly be risking structural damage beneath the pad. Do you have a way to measure the actual floor temperature when the tile is 300F?
 
Its a type 2 pad. Box says 1.58 R factor. The bottom of the Elm is 6" from the pad. The pad is protecting hardwood flooring. Yes it will burn your feet if you try to stand on the pad. I'm going to check floor temps in basement on the next firing. I'm sure I'll be installing a bottom heat shield next week.
 
I'm sure I'll be installing a bottom heat shield next week.

Good plan. You'll want to cut those hearth temps in half at least.
 
I ran down and checked mine..100f in front on the brick.
From behind I shot the ir up to the bottom of stove..150f..but still 100f at bottom.
300 would freak me out!
550 stove top right now but no flames in box.
 
1st off I didn't expect the tile to get so hot. I have measured it at 300 degrees. I let the stove go out yesterday because the house was getting too hot (25 degrees out). It took over 10hrs for the stove to get down to around 150. The tile however was hotter than that and stayed very warm for at least another 4hrs.
Holy crap, man! That is truly disturbing.
So it turns out the hearth pad will absorb heat and give it back hrs after the stove is cool. Anyone else notice this.
I can safely say; hell no. Not even remotely close.

I've had the Vigilant past 800 degrees, the Defiant north of 750, the 30 north of 750. Non have bottom heat shields. And I have never had the hearth or hearth pad north of 180 degrees.
 
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